New Campaign Holds Kickoff Meeting In Support Of Intercity Rail

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A new campaign to expand rail service in Minnesota kicked off this weekend. The campaign for MNfrastructure held its inaugural meeting at Salem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud to discuss expanding intercity rail in the state. Intercity rail would provide service between cities over longer distances, versus the NorthStar Commuter Rail, which is primarily to get people to the Twin Cities who work there.

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Organizer Anne Buckvold says intercity rail would provide more flexibility for St. Cloud and the entire state:

"I think right now we are in a really good position to explore all the possibilities regarding what rail service to St. Cloud could look like so maybe that is NorthStar, if we could rearrange that, maybe that is Amtrak, maybe it's another rail service provider but I really want something that makes sense, that's efficient, that's most affordable and reliable and that will do the job that we want it to be doing."

She says people want a rail service for Minnesota that is more than just getting people to work:

"People are very clear that they want to go to the city for events, for games, for doctors' appointments, to the airport, back from the airport, and they want to be able to go at different times throughout the day, they want a flexible rail service, that is intercity rail."

Buckvold says the meeting was to make clear to people what MNfrastructure is talking about, what they want, and to ask questions. About 40 people attended the kickoff, including State Representatives Dan Wolgamott and Erin Koegel, and representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Buckvold says Saturday's meeting was just the start, and they have more events planned throughout the year. MNfrastructure's next event is a group ride on the NorthStar Rail on June 6th to teach people more about how NorthStar works and how to use it.

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