Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2009
COMMUNITIES CELEBRATE ARRIVAL OF NORTHSTAR LINE; DAILY COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE BEGINS MONDAY
MINNEAPOLIS – (Nov. 14) – Citizens gathered at six locations today to celebrate the arrival of Northstar commuter rail service and to get an advance taste of what train travel will be like when Northstar begins daily operations on Monday.
Public events were held at Northstar’s six stations – Big Lake, Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids-Riverdale, Fridley and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The celebrations, organized by the local communities, featured speeches, entertainment, displays and information on how-to-ride public transportation.
As many as 700 people from each of the five suburban stations then boarded trains headed nonstop to Target Field Station to sample Northstar service in advance of Monday’s launch of regular operations.
At Target Field Station, guests viewed the easy connection to the Hiawatha light-rail line, which has been extended four blocks to serve Northstar, as well as nearby connections to regional bus service and the Minneapolis skyway system. The Target Field Station event included Northstar train tours and focused on the importance of rail service to the Twin Cities through the years.
“It was a pleasure to welcome the general public on-board Northstar trains for the first time today,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “We have been testing trains intensively every day for the last month. We are eager to start running trains full of daily commuters.”
In his remarks at Target Field Station, Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell said: “We’re thrilled that the Northstar Line is now reality in the Met Council’s vision for public transportation in the region. That vision includes more rail services, bus rapid transit and even more robust local and express bus operations. Northstar is an important element in the Council’s plan for a network of bus and rail transitways to serve heavily traveled corridors. By 2014, we will have completed six transitways totaling 115 miles in length, as we build a transit system for today – and for tomorrow.”
Also at the Target Field Station event, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who chairs the Counties Transit Improvement Board, spoke of his vision of creating near the ballpark the Minneapolis Transportation Interchange. The facility “will solidify Minneapolis as a hub for smart transportation options that will move people and businesses more efficiently with more light rail, commuter rail and intercity rail services.”
Speaking at Big Lake, Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart, who chairs the Northstar Corridor Development Authority, credited the persistence of a grassroots community effort with transitioning Northstar from a dream to reality. “We recognize and thank the thousands of people, more than 30 government entities and state and federal policymakers that worked hard over the past 12 years so that we could be here today to say: All aboard Northstar.”
Beginning Monday, Northstar will offer five morning trips from Big Lake, Minn., to downtown Minneapolis and five return trips in the afternoon along a 40-mile corridor adjacent to congested highways 10 and 47. One reverse commute roundtrip also will be offered on weekdays, and three weekend roundtrips are planned on Saturdays and Sundays.
Each train trip will consist of a locomotive and four passenger cars, with each car seating about 140 customers. Passenger cars have three seating levels, work tables, electrical outlets and an on-board restroom. Each car can accommodate two bicycles and is fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
Each suburban station has adjacent park-and-ride facilities, and platforms are equipped with cameras, emergency telephones, enclosed shelters, heating and other amenities. Connecting bus service will be available at four suburban stations, including Northstar Link coach buses, which will provide service to commuters between St. Cloud and the Northstar train station at Big Lake.
Fares for Northstar commuter rail service range from $3.25 to $7 each way depending on the distance traveled. Fares are lower on weekends. Customers using Metro Transit Go-To Cards get a 10 percent bonus with their purchases. (For example, $11 if fare value for $10.) Northstar Link commuter coach service, operated by St. Cloud Metro Bus, will offer an introductory fare of $1.
The $317 million Northstar project was designed and constructed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It is owned by the Met Council and managed by Metro Transit, an operating division of the Council.
Customers boarded Metro Transit buses and trains nearly 82 million times in 2008, the highest annual ridership in 27 years.
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(Editors: For more information contact Bob Gibbons, director of customer services, at 612-349-7509 or robert.gibbons@metc.state.mn.us)
