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1.1 PROJECT DEFINITION <br /> <br />The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), which is responsible for administering <br />the program and funds for the Northstar Corridor Rail Project, has experience with procuring the <br />necessary services and products to implement the Northstar Corridor Rail Project, and has in <br />place adequate policies, procedures, and approval authority to handle such procurements. <br /> <br />1.1,1 Introduction <br />The proposed Northstar Corridor commuter rail system includes the fol.10w, ing. major <br />components: <br /> <br /> · Eighty-two miles of commuter rail along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe <br /> Railway (BNSF) corridor between Minneapolis and the St. Cloud area; <br /> <br />· Shared BNSF trackage, track and signal upgrades, and separate commuter tracks; <br /> <br />· Rolling stock - five locomotives, six cab coaches, and twelve trailer coaches; <br /> <br />· Eleven stations with pack-and-rides; and <br /> <br />· A vehicle storage/maintenance facility and end-of-line layover facility. <br /> <br />The Northstar Corridor is a part of the BNSF transcontinental mainline railway. The freight <br />trackage is Class 4 with primarily continuously welded rail. The majority of the mainline is <br />equipped with Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) signaling, with Automatic Block Signals in an <br />intermediate section of the corridor. Commuter rail would share the existing tracks with 35 to 50 <br />freight trains a day. To support passenger rail service, the following track improvements may be <br />implemented along various sections of the corridor: <br /> <br /> · Increasing the number of existing traCks by double- or triple-tracking; <br /> <br />· Increasing track capacity passing through the Northtown Yard; <br /> <br />· Additional crossovers; <br /> <br />· Additional access roads to trackway; <br /> <br />· Sidings at selected locations; and <br /> <br />· Signal system enhancements. <br /> <br />The Northstar Corridor Rail Project will connect to an extended Hiawatha Light Rail Transit <br />(LRT) line at an intermodal station in downtown Minneapolis. The Northstar Corridor Rail <br />Project was planned by Mn/DOT in concert with the Northstar Corridor Development Authority <br />(NCDA). Mn/DOT will also design, build, operate, and maintain the commuter rail line. <br /> <br />Northsta~ Corridor Preliminary Engineering <br />Volume III- June I, 2001 <br /> <br />Procurement Plan <br /> Page 1 <br /> <br /> <br />