The Metro Blue Line is a 12-mile (19.3 km) light rail line in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is part of the Metro network. It travels from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the southern suburb of Bloomington. Formerly the Hiawatha Line prior to May 2013, the line was originally named after the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha passenger train and Hiawatha Avenue, reusing infrastructure from the former and running parallel to the latter for a portion of the route. The line opened June 26, 2004, and was the first light rail service in Minnesota. An extension, Bottineau LRT, is planned to open in 2028.
The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the US state of Minnesota. Northstar runs 40 miles (64 km) from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis at Target Field using existing track and right-of-way owned by the BNSF Railway. Passenger service began on November 16, 2009. The rail line serves part of the Northstar Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Planning for the line began in 1997 when the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) was formed. The corridor is also served by Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 10. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 142,200, or about 400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Metro Transit is the primary public transportation operator in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest operator in the state. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 44,977,200, or about 144,300 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The Metro Green Line is an 11-mile (18 km) light rail line that connects the central business districts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota as well as the University of Minnesota. An extension is under construction that will extend the line to the southwest connecting St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The line follows the path of former Metro Transit bus route 16 along University Avenue and Washington Avenue. It is the second light-rail line in the region, after the Blue Line, which opened in 2004 and connects Minneapolis with the southern suburb of Bloomington.
Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.
The Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue station is a light rail station on the Blue Line and Green Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was the original northern terminus of the Blue Line until the new Target Field station opened on November 14, 2009 to provide access to the new Northstar Commuter Rail line.
Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota consists of a complex network of roadways, railways, waterways and airports. The transportation system is generally overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level agency of the state government. Additionally, regional governments such as the Metropolitan Council have authority over regional planning for the transportation system and local governments such as cities and counties oversee the local transportation network.
The Metro Purple Line, formerly known as the Rush Line Corridor, is a proposed bus rapid transit service that would run from Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul to the northeastern suburbs of Saint Paul. Along the corridor's 21 proposed stations there are 106,000 jobs within a 10-minute walk. The project is currently in an environmental analysis phase with further development, engineering, and construction expected to take at least six more years. Service would run 7-days a week with 10-minute headways in peak periods and 15-minute service at most other times. The corridor was named the Rush Line because it was originally planned to end in Rush City, Minnesota. After using the color purple since 2017, the route was officially named the Purple Line and became part of the Metro network on July 14, 2021.
Target Field station is a multimodal commuter train and light rail station in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Located in the North Loop area of Downtown Minneapolis, the station is named for Target Field, the Minnesota Twins baseball stadium. METRO Blue Line light rail service started on November 14, 2009; Northstar Line commuter rail service started November 16, 2009; METRO Green Line light rail service started on June 14, 2014.
There are several passenger rail projects being discussed in Minnesota. There is one existing commuter rail service in the state, the Northstar Line, and two existing long-distance intercity rail services, the Empire Builder and the Borealis. Future projects include a mixture of short-distance commuter rail and medium-distance regional rail lines which would run from the Twin Cities outward to neighboring states and perhaps Canada.
In addition to the proposed transit projects in the Twin Cities region, there have been some transit corridors that are no longer proposed.
The Northern Lights Express (NLX) project is a planned higher-speed rail service that would run 155 miles (249 km) between Minneapolis and Duluth primarily in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A portion of the proposed line would run through neighboring Wisconsin to serve Duluth's "Twin Port" of Superior. Plans are to upgrade an existing BNSF Railway freight line to allow trains to travel at up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h). The train service would provide an alternative to travel along Interstate 35 corridor between Duluth and the Twin Cities.
Fridley station is a commuter rail station in Fridley, Minnesota, located at Main Street NE and 61st Avenue NE. It is served by the Northstar Commuter Rail line. The station features bicycle lockers and two park and ride lots with a total capacity of 611 spaces. The commute time to downtown Minneapolis from this station is about 20 minutes. The station has a single platform on one main track, which is accessible on either side of the tracks through a tunnel.
Coon Rapids–Riverdale station is a commuter rail station in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, located at 3050 Northdale Boulevard NW, south of the Riverdale shopping centers. It is served by the Northstar Commuter Rail line. The station features bicycle lockers and a park and ride lot with capacity for 466 vehicles. The commute time to downtown Minneapolis from this station is about 28 minutes. The fare to downtown Minneapolis from this station is $3.25 at all times; the fare to and from any other station is $3.25 on weekdays and $2.75 on weekends and holidays.
Big Lake station is a Northstar Line commuter rail station in Big Lake, Minnesota, located at 19691 County Road 43, in the southeast corner of Big Lake near U.S. Highway 10. The station features bicycle lockers and a park and ride lot with capacity for 518 vehicles. Commute time to downtown Minneapolis from this station is about 51 minutes.
The opening of the Metro Blue Line in 2004 marked the beginning of Metro Transit's expansion into rail transit, 50 years after the last Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcars were taken out of service. Several new rail transit projects are either under construction or in planning stages and more are expected to be explored in the near future. Metro Transit will likely be acquiring a significant amount of rolling stock as these new projects move forward.
Coon Rapids–Foley Boulevard is a planned infill station on the Northstar commuter rail line in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, United States, at the site of a current Metro Transit park and ride facility. The station was originally included in Northstar plans, but it was cut in order to meet the Federal Transit Administration's cost-effectiveness index (CEI).
The St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, branded as Metro Bus, is the primary provider of mass transportation in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Service is provided daily using a fleet of 37 full-sized buses. The agency was formed in 1969 after the private St. Cloud Bus Lines began to cut routes and increase fares, leading the Minnesota State Legislature to establish a Transit Authority to make up for perceived inadequate service.
Metro is a transit network in Minnesota serving the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It also provides service to some suburban areas. As of 2022, the system consists of two light rail lines and five bus rapid transit (BRT) lines all of which are operated by the local public transit company: Metro Transit. The five lines connect Downtown Minneapolis and St Paul with Bloomington, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Roseville, Richfield, Burnsville and Brooklyn Center.
