Partners

  • Central Minnesota Transportation Alliance
  • St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce
  • St. Cloud Downtown Council
  • Waite Park Chamber of Commerce
  • Sauk Rapids Chamber of Commerce
  • Sartell Chamber of Commerce
  • CentraCare Health System
  • Saint Cloud State University
  • St. Cloud APO
  • St. Cloud Area Economic Partnership
  • St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Granite Equity Partners
  • City of Saint Cloud
  • City of Sartell

NORTHSTAR COMMUTER RAIL GUIDING PRINCIPLES

CMTA supports the completion of the original intent of Northstar running from St. Cloud to Minneapolis and believes this is an important project to the future growth of Central Minnesota. With the delay of "Phase II", CMTA supports expansion of existing service to increase convenience and expand ridership.

We further agree the principles of our support of this important economic development project are:

  • Connecting Minnesota's regional centers, initially St. Cloud, to the Twin Cities' commerce hub and eventually to each other, to maximize the state's competitiveness in the global economy.
  • Serving the needs of business and commercial travelers, as well as leisure travelers.
    • Setting and adapting schedules based not only on current demand, but also on potential demand and economic objectives on both ends of the line.
    • Relieving commuter stress from highways to accommodate commercial needs of businesses.
  • Designing a system that is highly expandable and able to support more trains, more stops and faster technologies in the long-term.
    • Creating mobility between all transportation sub-systems, including rail, bus, car, air, bike, scooter, and walking.
  • Setting prices to be affordable and to optimize use, recognizing the long-term and intrinsic economic return that results from this public good investment.