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Northern Lights Express Minneapolis-Duluth rail
Northern Lights Express - proposed Minneapolis-Duluth intercity passenger rail over approximately 152 miles of existing BNSF Railway track, at a published MnDOT cost estimate
Every fact on this page is free. Exact values, dates, award detail and the procurement route open in the United States edition — one edition is free with one email. Open your free edition · Open this record in the Atlas
- Buyer
- Minnesota Department of Transportation
- Where
- Minnesota · Duluth
- Segments
- Track, Signalling, Stations & depots, Rolling stock
- Technology areas
- Track & civil, Signalling & train control, Rolling-stock hardware
- Status
- Planned — In Step 1 of the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program.
- Value band
- $500m–1bn
- Currency
- USD
- Key dates (month)
- Accepted into corridor id December 2023 · Step 1 obligated March 2024 · Step 1 deliverables accepted March 2025 · State appropriation May 2023 · State appropriation reduced May 2025 · Fra report as of March 2026
Status in full
Read more
In Step 1 of the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program. MnDOT states that the corridor was accepted into the programme in December 2023, that the FRA obligated the Step 1 grant in March 2024 and accepted MnDOT's final Step 1 deliverables in March 2025, and that the next action is for the FRA to issue a Step 2 grant so that MnDOT can prepare the service development plan. The FRA's own obligation status report of March 2026 records the Step 1 obligation and no Step 2 or Step 3 obligation. MnDOT publishes no start date: 'There are many additional steps that need to take place before we can determine the start date.'
Next step
Withheld in the free surface
- Full scope
- Exact value
- How the figure was arrived at
- Key dates (6)
- Published bidders
Full detail withheld: 5 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example
4 sources · all primary
- ● Minnesota Department of Transportation · Northern Lights Express — approximately 152 miles of existing track owned by BNSF Railway between Minneapolis and Duluth; accepted into the FRA Corridor Identification and Development Program in December 2023, Step 1 grant obligated March 2024, final Step 1 deliverables accepted by FRA in March 2025, awaiting a Step 2 grant (published 2026 · checked 2026-09-14)
- ● Minnesota Department of Transportation · Northern Lights Express frequently asked questions — 'The most recent cost estimate is $718.9 million. This number is based on capital improvements that were identified in 2017. The estimate is based on a MnDOT analysis and did not include input from partners, such as the host railroad.'; May 2023 legislative appropriation of $194.7 million and the May 2025 shift of $77.232 million away from the project; $500,000 of CIDP funds received; four round trips a day at up to 90 mph with new stations at Coon Rapids, Cambridge, Hinckley and Superior, Wisconsin; 80 per cent federal and 20 per cent state funding (published 2026 · checked 2026-09-14)
- ● Federal Railroad Administration · Corridor ID Program Monthly Obligation Status Report, CID Obligation Status Report_3.31.26_PDFa.pdf (3 pages, 611,403 bytes), 'Last updated: Tuesday March 31, 2026': under New Conventional Rail, Northern Lights Express, corridor sponsor Minnesota DOT, Step 1 obligation date 3/26/2024, Step 1 obligation funds $500,000, with no Step 2 and no Step 3 obligation recorded Read with the full browser header set (HTTP 200, 611,403 bytes); a plain curl is answered HTTP 403. (published 2026-03-31 · checked 2026-09-14)
- ● Minnesota Department of Transportation · Passenger rail in Minnesota: existing intercity services Borealis and Empire Builder; 'Northstar commuter rail service was suspended by Metro Transit effective Jan. 5, 2026. In its place, Metro Transit is operating an expanded bus service'; current studies including the Twin Cities-Duluth/Superior Corridor (published 2026 · checked 2026-09-14)
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Same buyer first, then the same segment in this market.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashmont and Mattapan Infrastructure Upgrades | MBTA | Open | $100–500m | |
| Green Line Riverside Inner Belt VMF Type 10 | MBTA | Open | no package value published | |
| Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Borealis service | MnDOT | Planned | $25–100m | Target 2026 |
Show all 6 related tenders
| Tender | Buyer | Status | Value band | Next key date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Rail Modernization Program Tranche 3 Cromwell Facility | MDOT MTA | Open | estimated cost class L: over $100 million, in MTA's own construction look-ahead of August 2026; MTA publishes no contract value | Published July 2026 |
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| Light Rail Metro Facilities Ancillary maintenance construction | MDOT MTA | Open | estimated cost class H: $15 million to $30 million, for the matching line in MTA's own on-call master contract look-ahead of August 2026; MTA publishes no contract value |
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