A bill the Minnesota Senate passed this week prohibits the Southwest Light Rail Line in the Twin Cities from being built in the same corridor as freight trains run. Eden Prairie Democrat Steve Cwodzinski objected, telling his colleagues, “The arguments for Southwest Light Rail have been discussed and debated for over ten years now. It’s about time we just get out of the way and let that thing be built.” Mound Republican David Osmek responded,”We can debate whether light rail is good or bad, but from a safety perspective this is inherently dangerous, and… Southwest Light Rail can find a different route as far as I’m concerned.”
Cwodzinski says there have been numerous attempts to derail the project, with major federal funding at risk. “Cities like Denver and Seattle and Dallas are already passing us by, and they’ll take that billion dollars if we don’t,” he says. But Hutchinson Senator Scott Newman says, “I simply cannot imagine having a freight line in the same location as a passenger line, where one is carrying hazardous materials and explosive materials.”