FTA 19-04
Contact: Melissa Sabatine, Tel.: (202) 366-4043
Email: Melissa.Sabatine@fta.dot.gov
Saturday, June 26, 2004

New Federal Grant Will Fund Light Rail Extension into Minneapolis Suburbs
Announcement Comes During Grand Opening for New Hiawatha Line

MINNEAPOLIS – Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer L. Dorn today announced a $12.3 million grant to help extend the new Hiawatha Light Rail Line into the Minneapolis suburbs. Administrator Dorn was in Minneapolis to help launch the first phase of the new light rail line, the first rail system for the region in 50 years.

“Light rail connects workers to jobs, shoppers to stores and the suburbs to the city,” said Administrator Dorn. “Today’s investment puts Minneapolis on track to ride the rapidly expanding economy into the future.”

The new first phase of the light rail line provides a direct connection between downtown Minnesota’s employment district and historic and recreation centers in St. Paul. The Hiawatha line project continues on time and on budget, a remarkable achievement given the complexity of constructing a new rail project in an urban area, Dorn noted.

The Bush Administration grant will help fund continued construction of the remaining Hiawatha Light Rail transit system, a 12-mile rail line that will operate from the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburbs of Bloomington, Minnesota in December 2004. The completed line will consist of 17 station stops including the Metrodome, Minneapolis International Airport and the Mall of America. With a fleet of 24 light rail vehicles, the line is expected to carry 24, 000 riders per day by the year 2020.

Dorn said the Bush Administration's investment in transit would help the Twin Cities gain an economic edge. “The Hiawatha line is a well-planned and common sense public transit solution for increased mobility, congestion relief and economic development in the region.”

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