Minni Southwest Corridor TC&W Trench/bikeway

[railtrail]

What is the history of this cut/trench and why was it built? Did passenger trains ever use it?

[NP Eddie]

Rail Trail:

That area is known locally at "The Depression".. The MILW had street running for many years across that part of south Minneapolis. Fellow railroader (GN-BN-BNSF) Ed Johnson is from south Minneapolis. He said that the City of Minneapolis forced the MILW to lower their tracks circa 1912-1916 to avoid blocking many streets. The MILW passenger trains west of Minneapolis used that line, the last being the Minneapolis-Aberdeen, SD local that was taken off about 1969 or so. I don't know when the tracks were removed, but the TCW now uses the former MSTL tracks to BNSF Cedar Lake Jct. on the Minneapolis to Willmar line. That line has an ATCS monitor available. The TCW uses BNSF trackage to access points east to St. Paul.

Ed Burns

Retired NP-BN-BNSF from Minneapolis

[railtrail]

Most city's Elevated there freight tracks...this trench makes it perfect for a subway and air rights to build over it. Rode the NJ Riverline from Camden to Trenton..Light Rail RDC and freight can play nice

[Boyd]

Is this the route considered for the SW light rail line? I've driven over it a few times but not often since I live in the east suburbs.

[petitnj]

It was one of the examined light rail routes. It is a much longer route from Lake Calhoun to downtown. The plans showed the 29th Avenue depression to be about 3 miles longer than directly along the proposed route thru Cedar Lake. The depression now is a bike path. In addition if the SW light rail used 29th Avenue all three lines (the two existing and the new SW) would travel over the same line thru downtown Minneapolis. The route is already very busy at rush hour and it would be tough to add too many more trains. 

The chosen SW line comes into downtown from the west along a wide rail/road access that will mean those trains leave downtown the opposite direction.

Admittedly, the 29th Avenue depression construction would be very simple and perhaps at some time a line connecting the SW line with the Blue line to Hooters could be constructed as a shortcut.