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Last week, the Minneapolis/Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance reviewed plans to complete environmental documentation and began preparation of a service development plan, survey and other work for the proposed Northern Lights Express (NLX) high-speed rail service.

The alliance’s actions followed the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) July approval of a preferred route for the NLX, which would use existing BNSF Railway Co. track from Minneapolis to Duluth in the Highway 65 and Interstate 35 corridor, NLX officials said in a prepared statement.

 “The [FRA’s] approval of this preferred route for this project is another step toward improving travel for Minnesotans and laying the groundwork to address our state’s transportation needs in the future,” said U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

A $5 million federal grant awarded in May and a $3 million appropriation from the state of Minnesota will enable officials to begin preliminary engineering in spring 2012, officials said. The project is estimated to cost $650 million to $750 million.