The Monticello Subdivision or Monticello Sub is a
railway branch line that runs from the
Wayzata Subdivision in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
to
Monticello, Minnesota
Monticello ( ) is a city next to the Mississippi River in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,455 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The city' ...
. Formerly operated by the
Great Northern Railway and then
Burlington Northern
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996.
Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...
, it is now operated by
BNSF Railway. It largely runs parallel to Broadway and
Hennepin County Road 81 from Minneapolis to
Rogers, and then
Interstate 94 from Rogers to Monticello.
Rails formerly continued on from today's Monticello Subdivision farther to the northwest along today's I-94 corridor all the way to
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...
. It had been used for passenger service, such as with the ''
Alexandrian'' (named for
Alexandria, Minnesota
Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. First settled in 1858, it was named after brothers Alexander and William Kinkead from Maryland. The form of the name alludes to Alexandria, Egypt, a center ...
).
This is a low-volume line, only seeing about two trains a week. Most rail activity on the line takes place south of
Albertville
Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France.
It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
. Farther north, the main purpose of the line used to be to serve the
Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. The part of the line through Monticello sees maintenance around every 10 or more years, to keep the line open just in case they need to run loads to the Nuclear plant. There hasn’t been a run to the Nuclear plant in quite a few years now, but back in what I think was in the years of 2017-2020 the part through Monticello got maintenance on the tracks with weeds cut down and trees over the tracks taken off the tracks. Now the track through Monticello is listed as exempt, and the line between Monticello and Albertville is used to store empty grain hoppers and container cars.
Union Pacific Railroad has trackage rights on the line from its southern end at Lyndale Junction to MW Junction, which connects to UP's
Golden Valley Industrial Lead.
The
Bottineau Boulevard Transitway, in early planning stages as a
light rail line, proposes using part of the Monticello Subdivision corridor to run passenger trains. Railway operator
BNSF
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
has consistently opposed any passenger rail along this corridor.
References
External links
BNSF Subdivisions
BNSF Railway lines
Rail infrastructure in Minnesota
{{Minnesota-transport-stub