Train knowledge

Mike Creger Apr 27, 2009 17 Comments

For those who want to be in the know, I’d highly recommend the meeting at the Depot from 4-7 Wednesday. From 4-5, the plans for a transportation mecca downtown will be discussed. From 5-7, the talk is the Northern Lights Express passenger train. A lot is happening right now and I’d like to see many more people informed on the project and end this “it’s just another Amtrak” talk or “not my money” plaint. We subsidize roads and other travel options and never expect a return. While the rail gets up and going with significant public investment, it is being planned as a self-sustaining operation. Anyway, come to the meeting, get informed. The NLX has a Web site: www.northernlightsexpress.com

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17 Comments

enealio

about 16 years ago 

I'm going to have to write Savage Love and ask him what a Northern Light Sex Press is. 

I'm guessing it involves igloo's.

Patsy

about 16 years ago 

As Duluth commits to spending millions on a new air port terminal, I can't help wondering how we justify that expense while we still have city councilors who oppose the NLX plan for the Twin Ports.  Far more people will be able to afford train tickets than can afford planes, and as airlines fail, there will be fewer flights available to place like Duluth.  We have to learn what rail can offer us.  I'm looking forward to riding a train to Minneapolis and leaving my car at home.  Please come to the presentation at the Depot this Wednesday at 5pm to learn more and hear the details of this exciting plan!

spy1

about 16 years ago 

Yeah, when they picked that URL I thought the only logo should be the train going into a tunnel.

spy1

about 16 years ago 

Patsy:
Mayor Ness was at the monthly NLX meeting in Pine City last week and told the alliance that despite some "grumblings," he, the council and administration are "fully behind this plan."

The only nit is Superior and Duluth finding money to stay in the alliance in these days for economic woe.

Commitment proof is in the DTA transport hub choice next to where the train would come in at the Depot. It's locked in.

Patsy

about 16 years ago 

Spy1... I didn't know about the Mayor going to a meeting and making that statement, but I'm glad to hear he did.  We still need to have a good turn out for this, even with the DTA and other forces working on this, there are a lot of hands out for transportation funds in the State, and let's face it; Duluth doesn't have the clout we did at one time.  So, citizens need to show up and show support.

edgeways

about 16 years ago 

I'm kind of hoping some of the stimulus money, that was earmarked towards projects like this gets applied to this project.

Barrett

about 16 years ago 

This may be a stupid question that everyone else knows the answer to, but what is the proposed price of a round trip ticket from Duluth to Minneapolis?

I would like to see that price, and discuss whether it is worth it to people who live in this community. I've heard naysayers who believe the price will be unaffordable, and I've heard optimistic hippie types who believe the price will be something like $1.75. I know both are largely wrong, but I've never actually seen a price quoted. 

That price, to me, will largely determine the success of this endeavor.

spy1

about 16 years ago 

Good question. It's on par with commuter Metro Transit NYC to Conn. and Poughkeepsie upstate New York. I've heard $20+ each way Duluth-MPLS. Could be more, could be less. Likely more. There will be lots of incentive pricing, i.e with casino and getting ridership up. (Twin Cities events, Twins will have deals as well). Unlike large EC cities, TC remains an event driven destination, not just a destination in itself. Factor in costs to park in each city, etc. and car costing .50 cents a mile in longterm. Or parking at airport.
$1.75? Good one.

spy1

about 16 years ago 

The Big Lake to MPLS line that will be running in November charges $8 for the 51-mile trip. 16 cents a mile, rounded up. So the 140 mile Duluth-MPLS trip would cost $22.40 under that fare system.
Link: http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6981&Itemid=28

edgeways

about 16 years ago 

anything in that price range would be pretty sweet.

Patsy

about 16 years ago 

I've heard the figure $67.00 for a round trip, but they also figure there will be incentives from the Casino in Hinkley and lots of discounts from Twin City venues, like the Twins, Wild, and hotels down there.  So, the $67.00 is like the cost of a first class airline ticket; no one pays it, but that's the top rate they quote.

Chester Dark

about 16 years ago 

I'm also curious about how parcels or luggage will be handled as most of my Twin Cities involve Trader Joe/Surdyks/Holyland/Asian grocery store runs. The thought of lugging around bags and boxes of booty is not thrilling. 

Now if there was a jitney or sherpa available to help out....

Calk

about 16 years ago 

Skyline Shuttle is $69 RT, I always assumed train RT fare would be in that ballpark, hope it is in the $22 range though, I'd go down to the TC even more than I do now. I just bought plane tickets for a summer trip back East, we are flying out of MSP to save $150 per person on airfare. As long as DLH airfares are so ridiculous, I'm going to fly in and out of MSP. They have post-security restrooms too, another plus. So, train, shuttle van, whatever gets me down to the TC in one piece -- I am all for it.

Chester Dark

about 16 years ago 

Ok Calk, I'm not sure what a "post-security restroom" is....

Patsy

about 16 years ago 

Post Security restrooms are restrooms located in the area you wait to board after clearing security at an airport.  In Duluth, once you clear, you're stuck in the waiting area; no restrooms available.  In most airports these days, and in the new one planned for Duluth, there are restrooms in the post security area, so it's safe to clear security early and wait for boarding, instead of hanging out in the general airport so you can use a restroom before boarding.  I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere!

Calk

about 16 years ago 

It was  no joke when my daughter was a toddler, we cleared security at DLH, and *then* she tells me she has to go to the bathroom. i ask the nice woman sitting next to me to watch my luggage and take my kid to the bathroom on the other side of security, b/c they won't let us on the plane so she can do her business. I return to the boarding area and was *surrounded* by big beefy men in uniforms who chewed my ass out for leaving my luggage with a woman whom I've never met before. I told them she seemed like a nice woman, and good lord, she'd gone through security already, wasn't like she could stick a bomb in my suitcase. This experience really turned me off from flying out of DLH -- that and the ridiculous airfares.

edgeways

about 16 years ago 

I've had the weirdest times going through security at DLH. From overly chatty TSA agents, to being made to remove my hat and show the inside, to going through security with a dense mass of wires and metal in my carry on (don't ask), but not asked about it. It is a strange little place.

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