Groundwork’s effort to establish a North-South Passenger Rail in Michigan is part of a national movement to improve and expand train lines that connect big and small cities around the country. Public opinion research and travel trends show that across the United States, a growing number of people don’t want to drive and fly everywhere. Further, factors such as access to dependable rail services and public transit are becoming increasingly important considerations as young people decide where they want to live and start their families, and seniors choose where they’d like to retire.
When the Urban Land Institute asked 1,202 adults if access to convenient public transportation was important to them when deciding where to live, most said yes.
Many policymakers and municipal leaders have taken notice of the desire for passenger rail and are working to develop rail options to help their communities thrive. This article is the first of a series in which we’ll take a deep dive into some of the most exciting passenger rail projects happening around the country. We’ll look at what they hope to accomplish and how our North-South Rail Project could accomplish similar aims here in Michigan.
The proposed rail project most similar to Michigan’s north-south line is found in our chilly Midwestern compatriot Minnesota. Christened the Northern Lights Express, or NLX, the project has made significant progress. The train will run 155 miles from Minneapolis to Duluth via Superior, Wisconsin, on tracks that will be rated for 90 miles per hour. The service would connect more than four million Minnesotans in the north and central regions of the state by rail for the first time in decades.
Similar to Michigan’s North-South Rail Project, Minnesota’s Northern Lights Express would connect a major southern metropolitan area with northern population centers.
Northern Michigan has been without passenger rail since 1966, but in Minnesota, where passenger rail service to Duluth ended in 1971, Amtrak introduced a replacement service less than five years later. It would be short-lived, however, as the federal government cut Amtrak’s funding in the 1980s and Minnesota decided not to continue financially supporting the line. The service, first known as the Arrowhead before being modified and renamed North Star, would operate its last trains in the spring of 1985.
So, for nearly 40 years, the people of Duluth and Northern Minnesota have lacked a rail connection to the rest of the state and country. The NLX project seeks to end this state of affairs by reestablishing the original service with modern improvements. Plans include a shorter travel time, free wifi, charging ports at each seat, and new stations, among other amenities. It’s been a long journey. Planning the new service began in earnest in the early 1990s, and an exploratory study was completed in 2000. Here in Michigan, the North-South Passenger Rail project completed its exploratory study in 2018.
Minnesota’s Department of Transportation, numerous labor groups, chambers of commerce, cities, and universities have persevered because they recognize the potential benefits of passenger rail are enormous. More than 700,000 passengers are expected to ride in the first year, generating ticket revenues that will cover a significant portion of the line’s expenses while significantly decreasing emissions along the I-35 freeway corridor. Freight rail operations will be bolstered—further reducing emissions—as crews upgrade the tracks, add more and longer sidings, install new signals, and improve grade crossings. All of this will enhance the input and output capacities of local warehousers and manufacturers.
One of Amtrak’s 1980s North Star trains waits for passengers at Superior Station.
The re-establishment of the line is further seen as a way to combine central and northern Minnesota into a more closely knit community. Residents will be able to easily access family, friends, attractions, employers—really, whatever they’d like—throughout the region without needing a car for the commute. The connection will feed the growth and development of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth, increasing their attractiveness to companies and potential residents alike, while also encouraging local young people who are drawn to transit to continue living near the communities they grew up in.
In 2007, following the completion of a favorable feasibility study, a group of local organizations, institutions, and governments along the line formed the NLX Alliance to advocate for the completion of the line. The advocacy led to the NLX again becoming a priority of Minnesota’s Department of Transportation and Legislature. The DOT commissioned a study on the feasibility and ridership of the line in 2013, and the state government appropriated $194.7 million toward the project in 2022.
In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded NLX $500,000 from its Corridor Identification and Development grant program, which provides federal assistance to projects that intend to enhance existing railways or expand service to new corridors. With initial studies complete and starter funds secured, Minnesota’s DOT has embarked upon the final steps necessary to restart service; securing federal funding, finalizing arrangements with the track owner and Amtrak, upgrading rail infrastructure, and developing stations.
Michigan’s North-South Passenger Rail project aims to fill a similar gap in our state transportation network. The 2018 ridership and feasibility study projected 250,000 to 870,000 riders in the first year of operation, similar to what’s expected in Minnesota. Also, as with NLX, nearly all of the North-South project track is owned by the state rather than private freight operators, which simplifies the arrangements necessary to establish service. In addition, manufacturing and logistics operations in cities along the line are expected to see significant benefits as their freight connection gains capacity and becomes more reliable.
Most crucially, this project is intended to bring southeast, central, and northwest Lower Michigan closer together with an option we haven’t had for nearly 60 years—connecting family members with family members, friends with friends, students with opportunities, employees with employers, and connecting everyone with fun things to do.
When you take a train to your destination, the fun begins as soon as you board.
The next step to make North-South Passenger Rail a reality is already in the works. This year, along with our project partners, we are launching Phase II of the planning efforts, which will underpin the business plan for the route. Over the next 16 to 18 months the study team will be investigating needed track upgrades, management structure, potential schedules, station locations, and last-mile connections.
If you enjoyed reading a bit about rail expansion outside of Michigan and would like to learn more about the exciting things happening around the country, here’s a link to the Federal Railroad Association’s summaries of the projects that received its Corridor ID program rewards. 
Michael Goldman Brown, Jr., Groundwork Transportation Specialist
michael.goldmanbrown@groundworkcenter.org
