by Dennis Dalman
A meeting about a proposal to increase the number of Amtrak trips between Minneapolis and St. Cloud (and possibly to Fargo-Moorhead as well) is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, April 26 at Salem Lutheran Church, 90 Riverside Drive SE, St. Cloud.
The extended Amtrak proposal is an attempt to provide rail service multiple times per day between St. Cloud and the Metro area.
Recently, the State House Transportation Committee voted to discontinue Northstar commuter rail service between Minneapolis and Big Lake. That issue has yet to be fully resolved.
Northstar commuter rail service began in 2009, but in recent years (partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic), its number of passengers has been declining. There is now talk of creating a commuter bus service instead to connect Big Lake and Minneapolis. The original North Star plan called for the rail service to extend to St. Cloud, but that plan was scuttled.
Amtrak, founded in 1971, stands for the National Passenger Railroad Corp. and provides inter-city rail service in the United States.
Slated to attend the April 26 meeting are State Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) and State Sen. Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park), who is co-chair of the House Transportation Finance Committee. Also attending will be Anne Buckvold, a long-time advocate of commuter rail and one that would connect St. Cloud to Minneapolis.
Buckvold is a mental-health therapist at Kennedy Community School in St. Joseph. She is a former member of the St. Joseph City Council and has long been a community activist.
In a recent interview with the Newsleaders, Buckvold spoke about why extending Amtrak’s service and multiple daily trips are good ideas.
“Some have called Northstar a boondoggle, but it was only a financial boondoggle because it was a political boondoggle,” she said, adding if the rail had been extended to St. Cloud to begin with it would have been much more successful. “It turned into a partisan issue, with legislators not willing to work across party lines.”
Buckvold said the corridor between the Metro area and the St. Cloud area is the fastest-growing transportation corridor in the state.
“We’re inviting people to come to our meeting (at Salem Lutheran Church) to share their support for this proposal (extended Amtrak service). They can ask questions and share their opinions.”
Studies about the Amtrak plan have already been completed, she noted.
Members of the clergy will also be present at the meeting, including many members of “Isaiah,” which is an ecumenical, multi-racial non-partisan faith organization with chapters throughout the state, including the greater St. Cloud area. Isaiah works to strengthen racial and economic justice for all Minnesotans. Its members have been and still are strong supporters of commuter-rail plans, including Northstar and now the plan for increased service by Amtrak.
Buckvold organized with the Isaiah group from 2012 to 2016. She recently testified before the House Transportation Committee about the Amtrak plan.
