Linking communities throughout the corridor and the broader region
The purpose of an I-94 rail spine is not exclusively to connect the two downtowns — although that is a critical component of our vision. More broadly, our aim is to leverage this right-of-way to construct a corridor capable of anchoring a wide-reaching rail network that serves passengers throughout the Twin Cities and beyond.
Trains should come often enough that trips can be made spontaneously, both within and outside of the city. A few Northstar trains per direction per day? That’s not cutting it. Copenhagen’s S-tog runs every 10 minutes at peak hours and every twenty minutes off-peak. In the city center, where all of the lines join together, trains come every few minutes. This makes the service useful both as commuter rail and as an express metro, providing fast and dependable travel options for urban and suburban residents alike.
Regional rail is just one component of a comprehensive transit ecosystem. As such, it should be designed to integrate with rapid transit lines and allow seamless transfers between them. This takes the pressure off of other modes to satisfy long-distance demand and allows them to feed into the regional rail network. Slower, low-capacity services like light rail should not be relied upon for long trips, such as from Minneapolis to St. Paul; instead, they should be used for short hops along a major corridor with multiple transfer points.
Not all trips start or end downtown. In fact, typical city-to-suburb commuting makes up less than 20% of all travel in the U.S. A strong regional transit network should provide competitive options for the other 80% (or something close to it). Even outside of major destinations, there’s plenty of demand for suburb-to-suburb travel. This includes shopping, activities, employment centers, and dense nodes near transit hubs. Effective regional rail should prioritize crosstown and circumferential routes to complement existing "spoke" lines.
Regional rail makes it easy to get from city to city; from suburb to suburb; and everywhere in between.
Offering more one-seat rides for commute and non-commute trips makes transit a more practical alternative.
Local economies benefit from transit-oriented development by creating job centers and housing near stations.
