Lawmakers seek to lift gag order on commuter rail between Minneapolis, Northfield

Despite a scarcity of public transportation options south of the Minnesota River, a longstanding gag order has barred study — much less construction — of the Dan Patch commuter rail line, which would link Minneapolis to Northfield.

The unusual law has proven to be remarkably effective. Development of the line, which would include stops in St. Louis Park, Edina, Bloomington, Savage and Lakeville, has stalled over the past 20 years, and efforts to lift it have failed.

But with Democrats in full control at the State Capitol, there's a renewed push to repeal the gag order, along with a similar prohibition banning study of rail service between the Twin Cities and Rochester. Bills for repeal have been introduced in the House and the Senate.

Not a moment too soon for Rep. Jessica Hanson, DFL-Burnsville, a sponsor of the House bill. While campaigning, she said, one of the questions she heard from older constituents and those with disabilities was: Can't you improve public transportation?

"We need to look at all options," Hanson said, adding that when discussing transportation, "it's good policy when all stakeholders are involved, and you can't do that with a gag order."

The gag order, championed by anti-rail suburban Republicans, went into effect in 2002. It barred the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Metropolitan Council and county rail authorities from taking "any action or [spending] any money for study, planning, preliminary engineering, final design, or construction for the Dan Patch commuter rail line."

And it scotched any mention of the line in long-term planning documents.

"The fear is if we lift the gag order, we get a study, then there's a train," Hanson said. "They're not synonymous."

Several Republican members of the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee said last week the current law doesn't stop the cities along the Dan Patch corridor from studying a rail line. But Hanson called such a patchwork approach to planning a big public transportation project "meaningless."

Rep. Bjorn Olson, R-Fairmont, noted that some communities along the corridor oppose commuter rail. Pursuing such a project would be akin to "throwing taxpayer dollars in a pit and lighting it on fire. It doesn't seem like a really good idea."

The repeal bill also would lift the ban on study of high-speed rail between the Twin Cities and Rochester. That proposal drew sharp opposition in the mid-2000s from rural residents who lived between the two urban areas.

Rochester officials said they haven't discussed rail service lately. But Rep. Andy Smith, DFL-Rochester, a co-sponsor of the repeal bill, said passenger rail for southern Minnesota is "long overdue. Rail is a more affordable, sustainable, equitable and convenient way for our society to travel when implemented correctly."

Looming large over the discussion is the performance of Northstar, the state's sole commuter rail line, which links Minneapolis to Big Lake and has struggled to regain ridership since the advent of COVID-19.

Even before the pandemic, some questioned whether Northstar should be shut down given its scant ridership — or, conversely, perhaps extended to more-populous St. Cloud. A report on Northstar's standing is expected in March.

Building a rail line in the south metro corridor isn't farfetched. The Dan Patch Electric Railroad — named for the famed Savage harness racehorse of the early 1900s — linked Minneapolis to Northfield from 1910 to 1942. The tracks, now owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, are still used in some areas for freight.

It was a 2001 study by Dakota County that likely prompted the gag order. It predicted the Dan Patch line would draw 7,500 rides a day by 2020, but also noted public resistance from residential property owners. The cost of the line in 2010 was estimated to be $441 million — about $600 million now.

Edina tiptoed into the Dan Patch fray in 2017, spending $30,000 to study whether it should pursue commuter rail service west of Hwy. 100. But St. Paul-based Kimley-Horn, a nationally known planning and design firm, recommended the city halt efforts to study rail options for the time being. It noted community concerns about decreasing property values and safety, and said it wasn't aware of a similar gag order elsewhere in the United States.

There's no consensus among the cities in the corridor on whether commuter rail is a good idea. Edina Mayor Jim Hovland said the City Council hasn't discussed the Dan Patch line of late, but he's in favor of lifting the ban. "It's a conversation worth having," he said.

Bloomington officials said they feel basically the same but are noncommittal on actually building the line.

Lakeville has long opposed the Dan Patch line, said City Administrator Justin Miller. In some places, commuter trains would operate within 50 feet of residential properties, he said, noting that storage of idle freight cars is already a headache for the city.

A few days after the House debate on the Dan Patch line, bills were introduced by DFLers calling on counties to study a rail link between St. Louis Park and Savage — leaving out Lakeville, which would likely oppose such a measure.

But Savage is all-in on studying the Dan Patch corridor. "It should be debated in the light of day," City Administrator Brad Larson said.

MnDOT officials had no comment on the legislation to lift the gag order. Met Council spokesperson Terri Dresen noted the transportation system has changed since the gag order went into effect. The council, she said, "supports robust planning and community engagement as the basis to advance, or not advance, transportation projects."