Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared as an opinion column in the Duluth News Tribune on March 9, 2026

“There are those that look at things the way they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’” This quote from Irish playwright and political activist George Bernard Shaw was popularized by Robert F. Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign.

In August 2019, White Earth Nation member and Anishinaabe activist Winona LaDuke offered a suggestion in a column for Forum Communications: “How about an electric train, Duluth? You could be the leader in the next economy. Driving is highly overrated. … An electric train would be quiet, a lot quieter than what they’ve got going in Duluth for sure.”

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I would add to her wise words that, despite having higher initial infrastructure costs to build because of overhead lines and electric substations, electric locomotives usually cost 20% less than diesel locomotives, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. They offer superior performance and efficiency over diesel, featuring over 90% energy efficiency, higher acceleration and hauling power, lower operating costs (25%-35% less maintenance and costing up to 50% less to run) and zero tailpipe emissions. Electric locomotives don’t carry the weight of 3,000 to 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel. They surpass diesel locomotives while pulling urban and commuter trains, as well as pulling heavier freight trains because of their ability to be quieter with steady and high torque.

In addition, I’m sure Minnesota Power would be happy to sell electric power, created by renewable resources, to power an electric train in Duluth.

Inspired by LaDuke’s sensible words, I started researching electrically powered railways in Minnesota. A few weeks ago, I found a website describing the Arrow Line Railway marker sign on the Sunrise Loop trail in Wild River State Park, about an hour and 50 minutes south of Duluth. The marker sign tells visitors, “If the dreams of the promoters of the Arrow Line Railway had come true, trains would be crossing the St. Croix River into Wisconsin at this spot. Forty feet above your head, a steel bridge would have carried a double-tracked, electrically-powered railway on the shortest route between the Twin Cities and the Twin Ports of Duluth-Superior.”

The Historical Marker Database website further explains, “Construction by the Twin Cities & Lake Superior Railway Company took place in 1907-1909. Forty miles of roadbed were built from the edge of the Twin Cities to this spot, and thirteen miles of grade were built near the Duluth end of the line. But, no rails were ever installed and no trains ever ran.”

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Promoters proclaimed the Arrow Line Railway was designed to travel passengers and freight from the Twin Cities to the Twin Ports and return in about two hours. They made this prediction using the electric-locomotive technology and the structural engineering that was available in the early 1900s. Just imagine how much faster that travel time could be using the electric-locomotive technology and the structural engineering available in the 2020s.

George Bernard Shaw also said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

More than 100 years ago, this dream died when the line’s strongest promoter, L.N. Loomis, president of the Twin Cities & Lake Superior Railway Company, died unexpectedly. His death, however, does not mean his worthwhile dream has to be gone forever.

Throughout the U.S., state departments of transportation build and own railroad lines. Imagine if the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Transportation built this groundbreaking (in more ways than one) Arrow Line Railway. It would become one of the most useful state-supported Amtrak rail corridors.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,” Walt Disney said.

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Construction-project dreams can be abandoned and then years or decades later be brought back to life. One of many examples is New York City’s Second Avenue Subway that was first proposed in 1920. It was then partly constructed between 1972 and 1975, before being canceled because of a fiscal crisis. The first phase opened in 2017. The second phase has started planning, design, environmental studies, and utility relocation. If the electric Second Avenue Subway had 97 years between first proposals to completion of the first phase, then our electric Arrow Line Railway can also be brought back to life.

Midwesterners should stop asking why business-building go-getters of the past couldn’t complete the line. Instead, we should have the courage to ask how we present-day people can now complete it.

LaDuke and other promoters of sustainable transportation realize the dream of an electric railway between Minneapolis and Duluth. They are aware of the numerous benefits it could bring to current and future generations of citizens. Let’s help them revive the Arrow Line Railway as soon as possible.

LaDuke asked, “How about an electric train, Duluth?” Our answer should be, “Yes.”

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