14 May 2009
CPR Neutral on Rochester, Minn., Bypass Proposal
Rochester Minnesota USA - Canadian Pacific Railway
is holding at stop-arm's length Rochester's Southern Rail Corridor proposal, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin.
CPR is spending $15 million this summer to upgrade its track that passes through the heart of Rochester.
"We wouldn't be putting investments in our track if this were not intended to be our main line," said CPR spokesman Mark
Seland. "CPR doesn't need a bypass and will not contribute to the cost of building one. As our needs are met by the existing
railroad, the proposed bypass would only suit the needs of other parties.
"Having said that, we won't oppose, but will not support, a bypass being built," Seland said. "If a bypass were built,
if CPR's operating dollars were not increased, we would, for the convenience and comfort of Mayo Clinic, not be opposed to operating
over it. But recall the current route will still have to remain to service existing customers within Rochester. There are five
customers there now."
Mayo Clinic tapped CPR several months ago for feedback on an engineering study concerning the Southern Rail Corridor and informed the
Calgary, Alberta-based company, in a phone call last week that it was meeting with federal and state officials to advance
the plans. Other than that, the railroad is not a partner, Seland said.
"We have no detailed background and don't know their future plans," he said. "We provided feedback to them on the
G-F report. That's the extent of our involvement with that."
Mayo spokesman Chris Gade said that the bypass route would aid CPR if the railroad builds a federally-approved extension
into the Wyoming coalfields. Projected traffic levels would exceed the carrying capacity of the line through Rochester, Gade said.
That conclusion was not provided by CPR but calculated by a hired engineering firm "based on the data that they (CPR) helped
supply," Gade said.
Seland dismissed all of that discussion as "absolutely speculation."
No decisions have been made on the Powder River Basin extension, Seland said. "With today's economic environment, that
underscores that even more."
Canadian Pacific does not share a corridor anywhere with high-speed rail, as is envisioned in the Southern Rail Corridor
proposal.
It does share several corridors with regular passenger rail, including an Amtrak route over its Delaware and Hudson route between
Montreal and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the Empire Builder line between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and
Chicago.
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