Light rail re-route proposal unsafe, freight hauler says

Strongly-worded statements from a railroad and a coalition of metro counties are creating new challenges for the proposed Southwest light rail line.

Twin Cities & Western railroad company has rejected a proposal to re-route its trains through St. Louis Park.

It a statement Thursday, the railroad called the re-route plan unsafe, inefficient and "detrimental" to its operations.

The railroad currently runs freight trains through the scenic Kenilworth corridor of Minneapolis along part of the light rail route, which will connect downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie.

Minneapolis has been pushing to move the freight trains, but St. Louis Park has said it doesn't want them either.

The Counties Transit Improvement Board has now given the cities until the end of June to settle their differences and sign off on the project. If the cities fail to meet that deadline, the five counties on the board have threatened to revoke the more than $400 million they've pledged to the project.

The Metropolitan Council is scheduled to vote on the issue in April.

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