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On June 18, the Southern Rail Corridor Project Advisory Committee plans to hold its first public meeting to review the Southern Rail Corridor feasibility study and alternatives analysis.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority are leading a collaborative effort to advance the project and publicly disseminate information on the study. Proposed by the railroad authority, the Southern Rail Corridor is a freight-rail planning project aimed at evaluating the need to mitigate or relocate an existing Canadian Pacific/Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern line in Rochester, Minn., to accommodate a potential increase in train traffic and address safety concerns associated with the current rail route through downtown.

On Dec. 16, 2009, Congress directed funds from the Rail Line Relocation and Improvement Program for the Southern Rail Corridor project. The feasibility and alternative analysis study is intended to examine rail traffic impacts in and around Rochester, and the characteristics of route alternatives through the completion of an initial environmental analysis of the alternatives, according to MnDOT. The Federal Railroad Administration has designated MnDOT as the project lead.