City Council Meeting Date: November 18, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Resolution of Support for Passenger Rail (Big Sky North Coast Corridor route).
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves Resolution Support for Regional Passenger Rail Service Through Northfield via an alternative Big Sky North Coast Corridor route.
Summary Report:
The Northfield City Council is being asked to support a resolution of support for an alternative route to the proposed Big Sky North Coast Corridor, which would go through Northfield and neighboring communities.
The Big Sky North Coast Corridor is a proposed passenger trail route that would run from Seattle to Chicago. It would provide new service on an existing line, by restoring a route that Amtrak discontinued in 1979. This is the only new long-distance route in the nation included in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)'s Corridor Identification and Development Program (CIDP) which is a comprehensive intercity passenger rail planning and development program to guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country and create a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for implementation.
The original proposed route of the Big Sky North Coast Corridor would run through Minnesota, but north of Northfield and neighboring communities. A new proposed alternative route would run through Northfield, Faribault, Owatonna, Rochester and Winona, better servicing Southern Minnesota. Other area cities, such as Rochester who approved support for this route last evening, are also offering support for this alternative route.
The City has previously passed resolutions of support for passenger rail, for either specific routes or overall support for passenger rail through Northfield. The below resolutions are attached.
* Resolution 2025-107 (October 21, 2025)
Supporting passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Kansas
* Resoluti...
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