1. Introduction
The Twin Cities region faces many challenges in the 21
st
Century, one of the most important
being the upgrading of transportation connections at a local, regional, and national level. To meet
this challenge, the metropolitan area will need to
Expand the existing airport system to support the rapidly growing population and
industrial base of the region and their associated passenger and cargo markets
Provide intercity rail service to support interurban mobility and connections between its
own towns and cities and at the regional level of the Midwest.
To address these needs, the City of Rochester – together with the Minnesota Department of
Transportation – has set out to assess the potential of Highway 52 corridor as a multimodal
corridor and a key connector for the 21
st
Century. Achieving this would facilitate both the
development of Rochester International Airport as a potential reliever airport for the Twin Cities
region and provide (as outlined in the Tri-State Study) the first leg of the proposed Twin Cities-
Rochester/LaCrosse connection as was recommended in the second phase of the MWRRI
development program.
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This connection will make Rochester integral to the 3,000-mile MWRRI
system and provide access to Rochester, not just from Twin Cities, but also from all the cities
and towns of the nine-state MWRRI region.
The purpose of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the potential for developing the Highway 52
corridor as a high-speed rail connection between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and
Rochester International Airport. The scope of the study is to assess the potential for rail service
by evaluating, for different scenarios, the following:
Technology/Equipment Assessment
Corridor Assessment/Operations
Impacts Assessment