Gov. Mark Dayton met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Washington, D.C. to tout the benefits of a Rochester to Twin Cities high-speed rail corridor, including broader access to a growing and first-class medical community. The St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Rochester Post-Bulletin and Minnesota Public Radio reported that Dayton presented the project to LaHood as a key component of a Midwest rail system.
Dayton believes Minnesota is in a strong position to compete for available stimulus dollars if they are rejected by Florida’s governor.
Excerpt from the TwinCities.com article:
Hopes for outstate rail may be revived
Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday jolted back to life flagging hopes for high-speed rail in Minnesota — from Rochester to the Twin Cities...After a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Dayton said that he intends to bid for a chunk of Florida's recent refusal of $2.3 billion in federal funds for a high-speed train there.
"(LaHood) indicated today he would put that out for competitive bidding," Dayton said in a conference call with reporters. Dayton said he responded by telling LaHood that Minnesota had a plan that could use that kind of funding. "Today really put Minnesota on the secretary's radar screen as one of those states that are interested in taking advantage of high-speed rail funds...if they become available."
The timeline for the Zip Rail is unclear. Dayton said the Minnesota Department of Transportation has estimated that $75 million would be needed for an engineering study.
Read more of this story.
Article that appeared in the Rochester Post-Bulletin:
Dayton touts Rochester high-speed rail route in D.C.
Rochester's high-speed rail efforts got a major boost on Thursday with Gov. Mark Dayton announcing that the project could be in line to get federal stimulus dollars rejected by Florida's governor.
Dayton met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Washington, D.C., and said he emphasized the importance of a Rochester high-speed rail line to the Twin Cities. He also talked about the possibly of connecting Rochester as part of a Twin Cities to Chicago rail line. Dayton said these were the first rail projects discussed with the secretary.
"I stressed the pre-eminence of the Mayo Clinic and its great economic value to our state and to our region," Dayton said. "(LaHood) recognizes what a superb resource the Mayo Clinic is to the entire upper Midwest region as well as the United States."
The governor added that LaHood told him that once it is confirmed that Florida Gov. Rick Scott has officially turned down $2.4 billion in stimulus money for a high-speed rail route from Tampa to Orlando, those dollars will become available for other states on a competitive basis. Dayton said he believes his meeting with LaHood puts Minnesota in a strong position to compete for those dollars.
Also view MPR’s Dayton has hopes for high-speed rail in Minn.
