The Northern Lights Express passenger rail project, a long-envisioned high-speed rail line between Minneapolis and Duluth, may have just hit a dead end.
In a dramatic turn over the weekend, lawmakers at the Minnesota State Capitol voted to pull a significant portion of the project’s funding. The move comes as the 2025 legislative session wrapped up, and the decision could signal the final chapter for a rail line that had been years in the making.
Both the Minnesota House and Senate voted to reallocate $77 million originally set aside for the NLX. Instead, the funds will now support unemployment insurance for seasonal education workers—a budget shift that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support: 131-0 in the House and 44-23 in the Senate.
Not enough funding for NLX
That decision leaves the Northern Lights Express passenger rail project with just $108 million in state funding, which many believe isn’t enough to keep it on track. Republican Rep. Jon Koznick, chair of the House Transportation Committee, declared the project all but over.
“…the Northern Lights Express train is effectively dead, and taxpayers are better off because of it,” Koznick said in a statement.
The NLX was envisioned as a modern, faster alternative to driving along the I-35 corridor, offering four daily round-trips and stops in communities like Coon Rapids, Cambridge, and Hinckley. It was to run along approximately 152 miles of existing BNSF Railway tracks.
A long history for the project
A major milestone was reached in 2018 when the Federal Railroad Administration approved the project’s environmental review and service development plan. In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature allocated $194.7 million to serve as the required 20% local match for federal grants, which were expected to cover the remaining 80% of the costs.
Now, with a large chunk of that local match redirected and legislative support evaporating, the future of the Northern Lights Express passenger rail project is uncertain at best.
The measure is now headed to Governor Tim Walz’s desk. If he signs off, the once-promising rail connection between the Twin Cities and Duluth may officially reach the end of the line.
