Greetings,

We have much to celebrate today! The Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA), the state of Minnesota and BNSF Railway Company signed a key agreement today that defines how Northstar will operate along the 40-mile stretch of BNSF train tracks between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis.

Today marks the completion of years of negotiations with BNSF and achieves one of the final Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements necessary to secure federal matching funds for the project. It also secures terms that Northstar and BNSF initially agreed upon last year.

The successful negotiations provide:

• A purchase and sale agreement that allows the state of Minnesota to acquire the right to use BNSF train tracks for the entire life of Northstar Commuter Rail. For $107.5 million, the state receives permanent land easements, which allow Northstar to continue commuter service even if BNSF sells its assets to another entity.
• A joint use agreement outlines how many trips Northstar trains will make. The schedule will include five trips from Big Lake to Minneapolis and one reverse trip each weekday morning, five trips from Minneapolis to Big Lake and one reverse trip each weekday afternoon/evening, and three roundtrips each weekend day. Special event service also can be negotiated.
• A service agreement has been worked out that identifies the terms by which BNSF may commit to operate the trains.

Read more here: State of Minnesota, Northstar and BNSF Sign Key Agreement

This represents a significant milestone for Northstar, expected to debut late in 2009. Thank you for your continued support!

Dan Erhart
NCDA Chair

P.S. If you haven't done so already, "get ready to ride the line in 2009" by visiting the Northstar Cost Calculator and animations of each Northstar station. Go to http://www.mn-getonboard.com/calculator/.