Northstar
Northstar waiting at Target Field station. Photo by Randy Stern

The train is almost here!

This Saturday kicks off a celebration unseen in the Twin Cities since the opening of the Hiawatha light rail line. The opening of the Northstar commuter rail line will now connect downtown Minneapolis with commuters from Anoka County and beyond. The terminus of the line will be the town of Big Lake, however the lien is slated to expand out to St. Cloud in a few years.

Why the hubbub about commuter rail in the Twin Cities? First of all, no one would ever think that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area would ever need a comprehensive public transit network to ferry commuters and others around. The Hiawatha light rail proved the naysayers wrong. The light rail running from the Mall of America in Bloomington through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been a huge success. Think of the number of shoppers, tourists, business travelers, Twins and Vikings fans that would have to drive or take a bus to get to whether they need to. The light rail line practically leaped the Twin Cities into the 21st Century.

Because of the success of the light rail, there are some expansion projects that are wrapping up by the end of this year. This will include two new stations and the expansion of all platforms to fit three-car trains.

Will the Northstar line do the same for commuters to the north and west? From what I’ve seen, this should be a good start if the entire region wants to invest in commuter rail to connect commuters from the exurbs. Northstar will help create new opportunities for Twins, Vikings and Timberwolves fans from Anoka County to get to the game easier.

Perhaps the key to Northstar’s success will be the new station underneath Minneapolis’s new ballpark, Target Field. In addition to the commuter rail line, Target Field will become the new north terminus of the Hiawatha light rail line, as the tracks were extended beyond the Warehouse District up into the North Loop neighborhood. Connections between the Hiawatha and Northstar lines will be accomplished through a small corner of the ballpark with a station entrance accommodating escalators and ticket machines. Unlike several major transit systems in North America, there are no secure faregate systems on the rail lines, but Metro Transit does employ its own police force to check tickets onboard the light rail. I also expect on-board conductors checking tickets on the Northstar trains as well.

Tomorrow (Saturday, November 14), there will be celebrations at all of the stations along the Northstar line in Big Lake, Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Fridley and downtown Minneapolis. Free rides are being offered at most of these stations. Revenue service will begin on Monday morning, November 16. Along with a close friend of mine and his family, I will check out a roundtrip on the Northstar a week from this Saturday. After that, I will write about my impressions on the new commuter rail line.

If this line becomes a huge hit, the Metropolitan Council is also looking to add commuter rail opportunities on various corridors throughout the Twin Cities Metropolitan area and beyond. However, this will be contingent on the progress of the Central Corridor light rail project. Construction has begun on the new line that will connect both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. So far, there have been several issues in regards to the routing of the line and the construction project itself. It appears that the MetCouncil may be holding off any St. Paul-based commuter rail projects until the line is fully complete. One would hope otherwise if the Northstar line becomes as successful as the Hiawatha light rail line and the funds become readily available for these lines to start up sooner than anticipated.

Until then, we will witness how the Northstar will lead the Twin Cities further along into a carbon-lite environment with rails leading the way once again.