I heard sometime ago that the old St. Paul (MN) Union Depot, at least in some reincarnation, might be put back into operation. Right now it’s a US Postal facility. I had heard (and I think some of the info came from this forum) that there was talk of running commuter trains between Red Wing, Hastings and St. Paul (not part of the current Northstar commuter line starting this September). The area where the station’s approach tracks ran is now just a big (and under-used from what I’ve seen) parking lot.
Has anyone heard anything further on this subject?
Here’s what I just found (it’s fantastic what you can find by looking):
http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/rail/UnionDepot.htm
Boosters of SPUD have been releasing press every so often to keep this topic alive in the local media. There have been several suggestions:
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Have Amtrak stop at the old depot(when the new Midway depot is so under utilized)
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Red Rock Corridor(communter trains to the south)
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West Wisconsin Corridor(an Eau Claire group who want commuter service to St Paul)
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Rush City corridor(north, but just roadbed is left in some area)
I do not think anything has come out of any of the above efforts other than some ‘public information’ meeting. The only rail related corridor activity that may be moving ahead is the LRV line between Mpls & St Paul. And they would not need the SPUD for a ‘loop’. Ramsey County and the USPS have been talking about a sale of the existing property if the USPS moves to a new location. Most of this has been the usual political ‘hot air’ to get camera time on the local TV news show.
While we are at it, there is another group that wants HST’s between the Twin Cities and Chicago, via Rochester & Madison. My understanding is that they got a little over $1M approved for a ‘study’ to be done on routes and type of trains(either rail or Maglev). Without massive Federal funding, I do not see this one going anywhere fast as well. With only 2 buses serving Rochester, there cannot be lot of ‘traffic’ base to pull from.
Another Winona based group would rather see ‘DMU’ trains between Rochester and the existing Amtrak service in Winona.
Jim