Top state officials, including Congressman Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said today that they support moving a major train corridor around Rochester’s south side, routing trains away from downtown Rochester and the Mayo Clinic to reduce safety risks and allow for future development.

That future development would include the proposed high-speed rail line between St. Paul and Chicago. Rochester officials hope it will swing by Rochester, rather than following existing train tracks that run from St. Paul to Winona.

The proposed move would be a rerouting of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DM&E) rail line that bisects downtown Rochester, which includes the Mayo Clinic campus. The trains would then run about 48 miles from Dover in Olmsted County to just West of Dodge Center. The $325 million project would provide freight rail service and an option of an adequate right-of-way for future high-speed passenger service.

Mayo Clinic officials have expressed serious concerns about the economic and patient safety challenges CP rail line presents to the Mayo’s Rochester campus.

Walz, Klobuchar and Pawlenty met last week in Washington with Mayo Officials to discuss the four funding options for the corridor: (1) funding through the Surface Transportation Bill reauthorization; (2) funding through a loan application by the State of Minnesota to the Federal Railroad Administration; (3) funding obtained by applying for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars from the federal Department of Transportation; and (4) state share of bonding dollars to leverage federal funds.

There's more information on the Southern Rail Corridor proposal online.