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February 27, 2009

Area lawmakers seek funds for Sibley rail

Improvements would benefit rural communities

By Mark Fischenich

Area lawmakers are seeking $10 million in funding to upgrade the decrepit train tracks that serve as the only rail service through Sibley County.

The chances of getting that much probably aren’t great, but state and federal lawmakers have been chipping away at the $70 million planned upgrade for years and have managed to get portions of the aged track repaired.

“This is a really important project that we’ve been working on for a while now,” said state Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has joined the effort, getting nearly $1 million into a federal appropriations bill.

And there’s at least some hope the federal economic stimulus bill might result in funding for the 95-mile Minnesota Prairie Line, owned by the Minnesota Valley Rail Authority — a partnership of the counties served by the line. The line is short and fragile enough that train speeds and sizes are strictly limited, but it’s a key to economic growth in the towns between Hanley Falls and the western edge of the metro area.

Sheran said supporters of the line estimate an upgrade will bring business expansion and new businesses to those towns that will total 600 new full-time jobs. The rail upgrade also will bring immediate construction jobs. And the completed project will ease pressure, and the expense of repairs, on highways in the region.

Completed upgrades have improved train speed to at least 10 mph — up from as little as 3 mph in some sections previously. Further improvements that will allow trains to travel faster still could result in the use of refrigerated cars that could serve food companies in Gaylord — eliminating many of the trucks those companies now rely on, Sheran said.

Both Sheran and Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter, were scheduled to make their first pitch for the $10 million in committees in the House and Senate Thursday. Final decisions won’t be made until later, when lawmakers decide whether to do a bonding bill this session, how big it might be and which projects to include.

If a bill is put together this year, Sheran will be in a position to champion the rail money when proposals are being approved and rejected because she’s now a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee.

“That means I won’t go away, and I’ll be a thorn in their sides,” she joked.

The difficulty might go beyond persistence because Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is insisting that any bonding bill be small. Pawlenty opposes a larger bonding bill this year because the state is already up against the Legislature’s traditional self-imposed maximum for the amount of general fund spending dedicated to debt payments.

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