Projections around the proposed intercity railway “Northern Lights Express (NLX)” line from Duluth to Twin Cities are presented below. The first two columns of data are from the Statewide Rail plan, funded by MnDOT, prepared by Cambridge Systematics (lead). The last column is from the recent draft Environmental Assessment by USDOT, MnDOT and WisDOT
| State Railway Plan | Environmental Assessment | ||
| Base | Best | ||
| Scenario Evaluated: | High speed, 8 RT | High speed, 8 RT | |
| Phase | I | I | Route 9 |
| Capital Cost | $878,500,000 | $676,600,000 | $820,000,000 |
| Operating and Maintenance Cost (Annual) | $45,700,000 | $35,900,000 | |
| Revenue | $9,600,000 | $12,000,000 | $27,660,000 |
| Farebox Recovery | 21% | 34% | |
| Capital Cost per Mile | $5,800,000 | $4,500,000 | |
| Capital Cost per Rider (2030) | $2,042 | $1,049 | $732.14 |
| Operating Subsidy per Rider | $83.82 | $36.96 | |
| Ridership 2020 | 938,000 | ||
| Ridership 2030 | 430,000 | 645,000 | 1,120,000 |
| Ridership 2040 | 1,302,000 | ||
| Feb-10 | Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan | ||
| http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/railplan/finalreport/MNRailPlanFinalReportFeb2010.pdf | |||
| Apr-13 | Northern Lights Express High Speed Passenger Rail Project from Minneapolis to Duluth, Minnesota | ||
| http://www.dot.state.mn.us/nlx/documents/nlx-evironmental-assessment.pdf |
David Levinson, Transportist
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