Metro Transit to add Northstar service on weekdays and for Vikings games

The Northstar commuter rail will run more often starting next month, when Metro Transit plans to add two additional weekday trips in each direction and bring back special trains for Vikings games.

When expanded service begins Oct. 2, Northstar trains will make three trips each weekday morning from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis. In the afternoon, three trips will depart Target Field Station and run to Big Lake. Currently there are just two trains in each direction on weekdays.

In an additional offering, one reverse commute trip will be added to the schedule each weekday. A northbound train will depart downtown Minneapolis at 6:40 a.m. A southbound train will depart Big Lake at 4:45 p.m.

Metro Transit will bring back trains for Vikings games as well, starting with the Oct. 8 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Ridership is increasing on all modes, including Northstar, and we are eager to continue this trend by expanding service as resources allow," General Manager Lesley Kandaras said. "We are particularly excited to expand our Northstar service and to showcase the convenience and comfort commuter rail provides."

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro Transit ran four weekday trains in each direction on weekdays and two on weekends, and operated special trains for Vikings and Twins games.

With the onset of the pandemic, ridership dropped dramatically. Metro Transit cut weekday trips to two each way and eliminated weekend trips and trains for Vikings and Twins games.

From 2011 through 2019, Northstar carried between 2,200 and 3,300 weekday riders during the morning and evening peak commute hours of service. Ridership fell to just over 60 weekday riders in April 2020, according to the Metropolitan Council, which provides the service.

More than 50,000 Northstar rides have been taken through the end of July, up 20% compared to the same period in 2022, according to Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr. In July, average weekday ridership on Northstar was 330.

Current and prospective riders have told Metro Transit they would be more likely to ride or would ride more often if additional trips were provided, Kerr said.

The agency attempted to restore service as the pandemic eased, but could not reach an agreement with Anoka County for its share of operating expenses for the line, which includes four stops in the north-metro county.

Anoka County officials contended that with fewer trains running they should not have to pay as much as Metro Transit was billing. For the past two years, Anoka County and Metro Transit remained at odds over funding. Metro Transit even sent a letter to the county stating that without full payment, the agency would not be able to increase service to four weekday trips in each direction each day or bring back special-event trains.

That all changes Oct. 1, when a new .75% metro-wide transportation sales tax the state Legislature approved this spring kicks in, according to Kerr. Some of that money will be used to fund the additional Northstar trips.

The metro-area sales tax allows Metro Transit to budget with greater certainty than in the past, Kerr said.

"This certainty supports our commitment to expanding bus and rail service as resources allow," he said.