Amtrak, Texas rail line to lease unused Northstar train engines and passenger cars

The Northstar rail line has locomotives and passenger cars that are not being used, and the Met Council on Wednesday signed off on a plan to lease them to Amtrak and a commuter rail service in Texas.

In passing the measure, one locomotive, three coach cars and one cab car will be headed to Dallas and used on the Trinity Railway Express once a lease agreement is worked out.

The request from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) comes as the transit agency seeks additional equipment ahead of the 2026 World Cup soccer tournament.

DART would use idle Northstar trains while it rehabs its own equipment this year and augment its fleet on the Trinity Express, a commuter rail line, during next year’s event, when it will need additional capacity to transport fans to the soccer matches, said Bruce Cardon, deputy chief officer of maintenance at Metro Transit.

It is a good fit for DART as “they are the same vehicles we use,” Cardon said.

Amtrak approached the Met Council as it looks for equipment to use on the Hiawatha Line, which runs between Chicago and Milwaukee. Amtrak found corrosion on several rail cars used on that line in March and pulled them from the line.

A routine inspection found similar problems with several passenger cars used on the Borealis line, which runs between St. Paul and Chicago and is operated in concert with departments of transportation in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Amtrak would lease one locomotive, two coach cars and one cab car. The passenger cars would work on the Hiawatha line because the short-haul run does not require a dining car, Cardon said.

“Amtrak is working with Metro Transit in Minnesota to augment our fleet. Should the lease be approved, the disposition of the Northstar rail equipment will be discussed with our state partners,” the railroad said in a statement.

The Northstar would still have two full sets of locomotives and passenger cars to run three-car trains and spare cars on reserve, said Met Council Transportation Chair Deb Barber.

Service on the Northstar, which runs from Big Lake to Target Field, will keep its current level of service on the line while the excess equipment is on loan.

The current weekday schedule features three in-bound and one outbound runs in the morning and three outbound and one in-bound run in the afternoons.

Northstar trains also operate on weekends for special events such as Twins and Vikings games.

Northstar ridership averaged more than 700,000 annually from 2010 through 2019, then dipped dramatically with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Since then, ridership has recovered to only 127,369 last year.

Metro Transit didn’t need as many trains with the steep ridership drop and mothballed engines and passenger cars. Leasing them “is an opportunity to get this equipment in use,” Cardon said.

DART could lease additional equipment if it becomes available, Cardon said. And that might happen.

Efforts to end the Northstar entirely have surfaced at the Legislature after a February MnDOT report found scrapping the rail service and replacing it with buses would save $10 million a year. A bill to end the line remains in committee.

In February, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council said in a joint announcement that the rail line could be replaced by bus service. Metro Transit this week closed a survey in which the agency sought feedback from current Northstar Commuter Rail riders and potential transit users on the idea.

Terms of the lease agreements have not been established. But Cardon said DART would use the equipment through August 2026 and Amtrak through sometime in the first quarter of next year.

The Federal Transit Administration also has to approve any lease agreements.