The Monticello Subdivision or Monticello Sub is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

branch line that runs from the

Wayzata Subdivision The Wayzata Subdivision or Wayzata Sub is a railway line that runs about from Willmar to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Currently operated by BNSF Railway, this was part of the Great Northern Railway's transcontinental line from Minneapolis to Seatt ...

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 ...

Monticello, Minnesota Monticello ( ) is a city next to the Mississippi River in Wright County, Minnesota, Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,455 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census ...

. 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 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 ...

. It largely runs parallel to Broadway and Hennepin County Road 81 from Minneapolis to

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

, and then

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

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 Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant is a nuclear power plant located in Monticello, Minnesota, along the Mississippi River. The site, which began operating in 1971, has a single nuclear reactor (boiling water reactor) of the General Electri ...

. 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 The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

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 Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of the city is parks or nature reserves. ...

. The

Bottineau Boulevard Transitway The Bottineau LRT ( Metro Blue Line Extension) is a proposed light rail line extension in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul Metro area, projected to run northwest from Target Field station in downtown Minneapolis along County Road 81 to Brooklyn ...

, 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