The Red Rock Corridor is a proposed 30-mile transit-way connecting the Twin Cities’ southeastern suburbs to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Currently the transit-way will originate in Hastings and stop in Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood before connecting to the St. Paul Union Depot. Riders can access many destinations from the Depot using other transit service like express buses, local buses, and the METRO Green Line. Future plans may extend the corridor into Goodhue County with potential station stops at the Prairie Island Indian Community and the City of Red Wing.
The Rochester - Twin Cities Rail Corridor, or Zip Rail, is a proposed high-speed rail service along an approximately 100-mile corridor located between Rochester and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area. The corridor includes Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, Rice, Dakota, Ramsey and Hennepin counties, and as currently planned would connect Rochester with existing and/or proposed transportation facilities in Minneapolis/St. Paul. MnDOT has now suspended its work on this project and permits have been issued for a new rail study by a private sector group.
Southeastern Minnesota's Mississippi River valley is envisioned as a transportation corridor redefined by high-speed rail trains. The Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, and Goodhue County in partnership with Minnesota’s High Speed Rail Commission have designated this Mississippi route as the preferred line for any high-speed rail connection to Milwaukee and Chicago. Trains would leave from Union Depot in St. Paul and importantly stop at towns along the river corridor.
