Activists are making another push for more passenger rail in Greater Minnesota-and this time around, they'll have Brainerd resident Robert Owens alongside them.
Owens was invited by the nonprofit All Aboard Minnesota to a public rally March 6 in St. Paul to stump for passenger rail all over the Upper Midwest-which, in terms of local interest, is a proposal billed to include Chicago, the Twin Cities and Fargo, N.D., along with new services between the Twin Cities and Duluth, and between the Twin Cities, Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Mo., connecting 25 Greater Minnesota communities in the process.
Lawmakers are mulling whether to back the initiative. As the Fargo Forum reported in mid-September, installation and upkeep would be shared between Minnesota and Wisconsin for about $1.5 million to $2 million a year-significantly cheaper than highways, which can cost millions per mile of pavement.
Estimates indicate the rail could grow the number of Minnesotans using long-distance train service by 150,000 to 200,000 riders a year and generate about $8 million in revenue for Minnesota, the Forum reported. Currently, about 140,000 Minnesotans use long-distance train service each year.
This isn't the first speaking engagement on the subject of railroads and particularly passenger rail for Owens-a former railroad employee sporting 10 years of experience in management with New York Central Railroad in Missouri.
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"I could see a glaring problem as far as passenger service goes," Owens told the Dispatch during a phone interview Tuesday, Feb. 26. "I got contacted by All Aboard America and was told about a passenger line between Fargo, through Minneapolis and Chicago-I thought, 'Hey, that's the answer to a lot of problems.'"
According to their website, All Aboard Minnesota is a nonprofit with a stated purpose to educate and advocate for a more balanced transportation system that places a greater emphasis on passenger rail than years past.
Expressing support for similar initiatives in the past, Gov. Tim Walz's proposed budget includes $11 million to leverage federal matching funds to develop passenger rail corridors such as the Northern Lights Express to Duluth and a second daily Amtrak train between the Twin Cities and Chicago.
Though his role at the rally is still murky, Owens said he's "willing to do anything" to help passenger rail become a reality in Brainerd and much of Greater Minnesota-though, he noted, that could be speaking at the rally, as well as meeting with lawmakers in a forum setting and individually.
"I don't know what the outcome will be," Owens said. "It sounds like a heck of an opportunity for everybody."
For his part, Owens criticized what he sees as a common misgiving among lawmakers-the cost of passenger rail, while not investing in these initiatives hurts Greater Minnesota communities and costs them dearly in the long-run.
"A lot of these politicos throw up their hands and say, 'No, no, no-it costs money,'" Owens said. "They don't want to spend money on it. That attitude has left Brainerd high and dry. If you want to go to Minneapolis or Chicago, it's going to cost you a minimum $100 to use shuttle service or $200 or something to fly by air. If you want a train, you have to go to Staples and catch one at 4 a.m. in the morning. It's very inconvenient.
"With the economy, where you can afford those kinds of services, it's unbelievable the kinds of benefits-it's just great."
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As the Associated Press reported, passenger trains hadn't been at the former Brainerd train depot's platform since the last Burlington Northern Zephyr pulled out of the station on April 30, 1971-though passenger rail had already been in decline when the depot was built in the 1920s, gradually giving way to affordable automobiles.
Owens thinks, by tapping into larger sports markets in the Twin Cities such as the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers or other major athletic attractions, passenger rail can facilitate economic benefits for both the metro and fandoms in cities like Brainerd.
In addition, Owens said he believes a two-rail line or double-track, versus a single-rail line currently in place, would be more efficient and conducive for passenger rail needs.
Rail has a special place in Brainerd's history-specifically, its literal existence and its name. According to the Crow Wing County Historical Society, the town grew around a Northern Pacific Railway crossing over the Mississippi River, which saw its first train arrival on March 11, 1871-almost exactly a century before the last passenger rail train stopped at what is now the Northern Pacific Center.
The president of Northern Pacific Railway at that time, former Vermont Gov. J. Gregory Smith, christened the burgeoning town in honor of his wife's family. Her maiden name? Ann Eliza Brainerd.
