Page "Central Corridor (Minnesota)" Paragraph 2

Within a generation of the last streetcar lines being removed in the Twin Cities, planners began thinking of returning to rail.

In 1972, the Regional Fixed Guideway Study for the Metropolitan Transit Commission ( the forerunner of today's Metro Transit ) proposed a $ 1. 3 billion 37-or 57-mile ( sources differ ) heavy-rail rapid transit system, but the then-separate Metropolitan Council disagreed with that idea – refusing to even look at the plan – and continuing political battles meant that it was never implemented.

The Met Council had its own plans for bus rapid transit in the metropolitan region.

Another system using smaller people movers was proposed in the 1975 Small Vehicle Fixed Guideway Study and gained the most traction with the Saint Paul city council, but was eventually dropped in 1980.

In the 1980s, light rail was proposed as an alternative, and several possible corridors were identified, including the Central Corridor line which had a Draft Environmental Impact Statement ( DEIS ) drawn up in 1982.

However, it took another two decades before the Hiawatha light rail line began operation on June 26, 2004, just over 50 years since the last regular-service streetcar ran on June 19, 1954 under the old Twin City Lines.