Metro Transit will run Northstar trains for Twins, Vikings games this year

Metro Transit will run Northstar trains to take baseball fans to Twins games at Target Field during the 2024 season, and football fans to Vikings home games this fall, the agency announced Friday.

Trains will run on April 4 for the Twins’ home opener against the Cleveland Guardians. Service also will be offered throughout the season for all games on Saturdays and Sundays and when the team plays day games on weekdays. Service also will be available for games scheduled for Memorial Day and Independence Day.

There will be no service for weekday games that are played at night, the agency said.

In total, Northstar trains will operate for 38 regular season games. Metro Transit also will run trains for all home playoff games if the Twins make the postseason.

“We heard people want to have this service,” said agency spokesman Drew Kerr. Last year, Metro Transit ran trains only for the Twins’ playoff games, and “trains were full, more than on our regular weekday trips,” Kerr said.

Last year, Northstar trains ran for four playoff games and ridership averaged 692 passengers per game. The most was 818 on Oct. 10, Kerr said

Total ridership for Northstar for all of last year was 97,000, up 26% from the year before, according to Metro Transit.

Northstar is the commuter rail line that runs from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis, with stops in Elk River, Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Metro Transit ran Northstar trains for most of the Twins’ 81 home games. But when daily ridership dropped dramatically with the onset of the pandemic, the agency eliminated weekend trips and suspended trains for Vikings and Twins games.

The trains returned last year as ridership slowly rebounded, and the agency had money to run them as a 0.75% metrowide transportation sales tax kicked in last October.

The schedule for this fall’s Vikings’ games at US Bank Stadium has not been released.