ST. PAUL – Aug. 31, 2012 – Crews have completed placement of the Central Corridor light rail line’s first Traction-Power Substation just south of the Raymond Avenue Station. Fourteen substations, located about one mile apart will convert alternating electrical current to direct current, which will power the light rail vehicles using a system of overhead catenary wires. Over the next year, the 13 other substations will get installed at a rate of one a month.
“We’ve made tremendous progress this spring and summer,” reports Rich Rovang, Project Director. As of the end of July, the Central Corridor project reached 68 percent completion. “At this pace, we should reach our goal to be 75 percent done by the year’s end.”
About the project
The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and the University of Minnesota. Construction began in late 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, and service will begin in 2014. The line will connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the Northstar commuter rail line at Target Field Station. The Metropolitan Council is the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, provides advice and oversight. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board, state of Minnesota, Ramsey and Hennepin counties’ regional railroad authorities, city of St. Paul, Metropolitan Council and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative.
Media Contact
Laura Baenen
Communications Manager
Central Corridor LRT Project
651-602-1797 (office)
612-269-4365 (cell)
[email protected]