Minnesota rail authority issues RFP for St. Paul rail yards project

The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the East Metro rail yards project in St. Paul, Minn.

The RFP seeks qualified firms to complete engineering, modeling, financial planning and environmental analysis of the project, according to a Ramsey County press release.

The project will build on the 2012 East Metro Rail Capacity and Engineering Improvements Study, which identified and prioritized improvements to rail network bottlenecks between Union Depot in St. Paul and Hastings, Minn. The area accommodates 5 percent of the nation's freight-rail volume, according to railroad authority officials.

The project will be part of an effort to address current and future rail capacity constraints that affect long-term plans for freight growth and future rail connections to Union Depot, they said.