tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post4258517603426806714..comments2024-01-25T07:47:23.112-06:00Comments on Hi / Zeph / 400: Rochester's Zip Rail takes another stepMike Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-24003625666372699102011-10-03T13:47:08.166-05:002011-10-03T13:47:08.166-05:00I think the most obvious option is to go via Downt...I think the most obvious option is to go via Downtown St. Paul, through route via SPUD, and continue on to a Minneapolis terminal.<br /><br />I wonder how decent the Rock Island ROW is to Dennison/Kenyon.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02687312607902984438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-1800793426944270892011-10-01T15:16:36.236-05:002011-10-01T15:16:36.236-05:00Yeah, Rochester has never had a truly direct route...Yeah, Rochester has never had a truly direct route to the Twin Cities. One line (apparently shared by the Chicago Great Western and by the Chicago & North Western) used to weave its way up to Red Wing to meet the Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific/Soo). Another line (CGW) ran north from Dodge Center about 20 miles west of Rochester. Neither route is particularly straight, though the "Tri-State" series of studies have tended to favor the CGW corridor (though not necessarily the right-of-way itself) from Dodge Center because it's fairly flat over there. The U.S. 52 corridor crosses some significant valleys which would bring up the cost, but I suppose the Siemens folks have the advantage of 20 years of improvements in mapping technology and computing power and may have been able to find a good way of running further east.<br /><br />But yes, I agree that while a new line will be expensive, exclusivity would bring several advantages. For such a short corridor, high frequency would be essential to draw riders -- especially people who would otherwise drive. It wouldn't be any good to build a route that makes the run in 35 minutes but only goes a few times a day. Fortunately the county board appears to be pushing for as much frequency they get, since they mentioned 15 round-trips daily in the meeting packet.Mike Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-62462930733865734442011-09-29T13:41:05.703-05:002011-09-29T13:41:05.703-05:00^^^ THe AECOM/Siemens report for the Midwest High-...^^^ THe AECOM/Siemens report for the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association also preferred Hwy 52 going to St. Paul and then on an aerial along the BN ROW to Minneapolis—and no airport stop. It doesn’t look like there’s an extant rail line between the two cities—although that means any new route will be more expensive, it also opens the door for using non-FRA compliant equipment. Running quick, European DMUs between Minneapolis and Rochester would be a nice interim service, pending an eventual high-speed connection to Wisconsin and Chicago.Beta Magellannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-85331319944120717292011-09-29T13:17:43.358-05:002011-09-29T13:17:43.358-05:00Yeah, I think someone has U.S. 52 penciled in as a...Yeah, I think someone has U.S. 52 penciled in as an Interstate highway spur from I-90 (probably to become I-190 or something). It's already been signed at 65 mph for almost the entire route for more than a decade, and that bit in Cannon Falls is the last 55 mph stretch. I'm pretty frustrated that they're adding a <a href="http://www.dot.state.mn.us/elkrun/about.html" rel="nofollow">new interchange</a> in the middle of corn fields between Pine Island and Oronoco ($34 million for a diverging diamond interchange -- I thought those were supposed to be cheap, though some of the project cost probably comes from several miles of new frontage roads).<br /><br />Pretty frustrating to see that the planned improvements for U.S. 52 amount to nearly $800 million -- that's ballpark for how much the starter train line is expected to run.<br /><br /><br />I think there are several options for getting between downtown Minneapolis and the airport, but I can't say what the best one is yet. It'd be cheapest to skip the airport and just go via downtown Saint Paul, or to build the "airport" stop in Mendota and set up a shuttle of some kind.<br /><br />The quickest path to downtown Minneapolis would be along the Hiawatha Avenue corridor -- probably using the freight tracks on the east side of the highway, but I'm not sure what to do upon reaching the LRT tracks near Lake Street or especially upon passing I-94. This route would really benefit from a downtown tunnel, and I've had half a thought of terminating the line at the Metrodome, which was formerly a freight station. A <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0i5MTzspTQnODQ4OWQzZWItN2RlMC00MjVhLTkyMTQtY2ZjZGY1N2Y3NTc0&hl=en" rel="nofollow">2009 study</a> made for the Rochester rail group (it disappeared from its home on the web, so I uploaded a copy to Google Docs) suggested taking the Hiawatha corridor up to the Midtown Greenway and then zigging west before zagging back toward downtown. I'm not a huge fan of that since it'd prevent a streetcar from going in there, but it's certainly an option.<br /><br />I also suspect the train could be routed along the I-494 corridor -- either in the trench or possibly weaving through between the highway and American Boulevard -- until reaching the MN&S line, and taking that north to downtown. But, considering the opposition there is to running freights down that line to make way for the Southwest Corridor, I'm not sure how easy it would be.Mike Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-68479572048161830872011-09-29T09:50:24.581-05:002011-09-29T09:50:24.581-05:00MnDOT is obviously more interested in making Hwy 5...MnDOT is obviously more interested in making Hwy 52 a high-speed route:<br /><br />http://www.startribune.com/local/south/130508098.html<br /><br />I don't understand how it could work to stop at the airport. Wouldn't it have to go through St Paul to Downtown Mpls then? Or else new track built to Downtown from the airport?Alexhttp://gettingaroundmpls.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com