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The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Federal Railroad Administration announced this week that the Mississippi River Route will be the preferred high-speed rail alignment from Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn., to downtown Chicago. The high-speed rail line also will serve as a link along an existing Amtrak route connecting riders from Minnesota to Milwaukee and Chicago, officials said.

The decision puts Minnesota “one step closer to $2.3 billion in economic benefits to the state’s agricultural and industrial industries, as well as new opportunities for business and residential development throughout the corridor,” said Jerry Miller, mayor of Winona, Minn., and chairman of the Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission.

“High-speed rail through places like Winona, Red Wing and St. Paul will improve freight rail capacity, which will help Minnesota farmers and manufacturers get their products to market,” Miller said. “It will also serve as an efficient link for Minnesota residents to connect to Chicago, Milwaukee and all points in-between.”

Now that the route has been selected, MnDOT can begin the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission officials said in a prepared statement. In addition, MnDOT will begin working on a service development plan for the corridor. The plan is expected to be completed by spring 2013. And once the environmental work is complete, MnDOT will seek funding for preliminary engineering work.

Meanwhile, MnDOT will host two public information meetings and one webinar in December to solicit comments on the recently completed Draft Alternatives Selection Report for the proposed Twin Cities to Milwaukee section of the HSR corridor to Chicago.