Amtrak publicly declared interest this week in developing a passenger rail line between the Twin Cities and the north shore.  

During a news conference in Duluth on Monday, a vice president with Amtrak said the company planned to work with local officials and deliver the service.  The project, dubbed Northern Lights Express, would run four round trips per day on the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks.  

The up to $600 million line would be funded about 80 percent by federal grants and the remainder by state and local dollars.