Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Emmer led the entire Minnesota Republican congressional delegation in a letter to the leadership of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development urging them to eliminate federal funding for the Northstar Commuter Rail, the Blue Line Light Rail Extension, and the Northern Lights Express commuter line.

“Investments in transportation infrastructure are essential to keeping Minnesotans and our economy moving, not only for our generation but for generations to come,” the lawmakers wrote. “Unfortunately, these three projects have raised serious financial and community-centered concerns. As such, any future federal investment should be closely scrutinized and all short-term funding for these specific projects should be eliminated.”

Background
The effort aims to ensure Minnesotans’ tax dollars are utilized effectively, not squandered on failed, unpopular initiatives.

The Northstar Commuter Rail, which has never met ridership expectations, has seen a dramatic drop in ridership, from 2,660 daily riders in 2019 to just 275 in 2022, a 90% decline. The project costs taxpayers more than $12 million per year and is millions of dollars in debt.

The Blue Line Light Rail Extension project, with a projected budget of $3.2 billion, has seen weekly ridership expectations continuously revised downward, most recently from 27,000 to 12,500. The project is expected to go over budget and will result in serious traffic disruptions for Minnesota motorists.

The Northern Lights Express, with its estimated cost of $600 million, will rely heavily on federal grants for its completion and risks adding to Minnesota’s projected $6 billion deficit.

You can read the letter in its entirety here.

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