By Chris Rogers, Winona Post; April 11, 2018
In Winona and across the state, passenger rail advocates are hoping the Minnesota Legislature will fund work to plan and design a potential second daily passenger train traveling between the Twin Cities and Chicago.
The prospective second daily train would augment Amtrak’s Empire Builder — a route that runs all the way from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, with stops in La Crosse, Winona, Red Wing, and St. Paul. Supporters say the second daily train would be much more likely to run on-time — because it would only run between Chicago and St. Paul, it would not be delayed in the Dakotas — and it would give riders many more options for what time of day they could depart and return. For example, in addition to taking the 7:47 p.m. Empire Builder to reach St. Paul by 10:03 p.m., Winonans could take a 3:42 p.m. second daily train to reach St. Paul in time for dinner. “As you make the passenger rail service more convenient, more people will ride,” Amtrak Senior Government Affairs Manager Derrick James told Winonans at a meeting late last month.
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