MN: Met Council votes to end Northstar commuter rail in January

The last Northstar train will leave the station in January, after the Metropolitan Council voted Wednesday night to suspend the beleaguered commuter rail line.

The Met Council has cited low ridership and a contract that prevents adding service to meet changing post-COVID rider needs as reasons to suspend the service. The last Northstar train will run the first weekend in January, following the final regular season Vikings game. Buses will then replace the train along parts of the route.

“This was a challenging decision,” said Deb Barber, the chair of the Met Council’s transportation committee. “But we also know that we have to take the time to look at the service we provide to see that they’re efficient and effective.”

Northstar, which Metro Transit has run from Target Field in Minneapolis to Big Lake in Sherburne County since 2009, has faced challenges from the jump.

It was originally planned to move riders between the Central Minnesota population center of St. Cloud and Minneapolis. With a $320 million pricetag, it only got about halfway there before it ran out of money. Its northern terminus became Big Lake, a city about one-fifth St. Cloud’s size.

In 2019, Northstar had 2,660 riders on the average weekday, according to the Met Council. After a decade in service, it was less than halfway to the ridership projections it was expected to reach between Minneapolis and Big Lake by 2025.

Then came the pandemic, which shifted commuting patterns dramatically. Metro Transit cut Northstar service, reducing weekday trips and eliminating weekends, except to events such as Twins and Vikings games.

In June, the line averaged 428 weekday riders.

The Met Council and Minnesota Department of Transportation (MDOT) jointly announced in February they were considering replacing Northstar with bus service.

At recent meetings, Met Council staff and members said the train line could not add service to meet the needs of today’s riders. Contracts with BNSF Railway, which owns the tracks, prohibited Northstar trips at certain times. Met Council members said riders want more flexible schedules, particularly more frequent all-day service, as well as more trips on nights and weekends.

“While more employers are asking employees to return to the office, work schedules across the day and the days of the week remain flexible,” Barber said.

The Northstar’s operating budget was $18.6 million in 2025. The Met Council estimates the bus service will cost $3.5 million in 2026.

The last Northstar train will run Jan. 3 or 4, after the final Vikings regular season home game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Met Council will begin running two bus lines to replace service along parts of Northstar’s route Monday, Jan. 5.

Route 888 will serve Northstar stops in Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Minneapolis and will run up to every 30 minutes. It will also have three trips each way on Saturdays and Sundays.

Route 827 will replace Route 852 between Fridley and downtown Minneapolis. It will run hourly on weekdays and every 30 minutes on Saturday.

The bus connecting St. Cloud and Big Lake, outside the Met Council’s jurisdiction, will end service in January, Barber said. She said MnDOT is working with Sherburne County to develop future bus service.

The Met Council’s plans to “preserve key assets” for future rail between cities and local use are in development, it said in a statement.

Northstar rider Michelle Trevisan opposed the suspension. She said she moved to Ramsey, Minn., from Iowa in 2022 in large part because she could take the train to work.

“I was so thankful because I didn’t relish the thought of driving downtown every day,” she said.

Trevisan said that with service cuts, she doesn’t believe Northstar was given a chance to recover. She also said she doesn’t think the Met Council did enough to get feedback before the vote.

“They have not been transparent at all with the public,” she said. “I have come across so many people that didn’t even know that the train was potentially going to be taken away.”

Dave Butts, the vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, has vocally opposed ending Northstar. His union represents 26 Northstar workers, including maintenance, electronic shop, stockrooms and clerical workers.

“They’ve never given Northstar a chance,” he said, criticizing the service cuts and that the train was never extended to St. Cloud. “The reality of it is, it’s a train to nowhere.”

Cities along the rail line are scrambling to minimize harm from Northstar’s suspension.

Anoka paid nearly $2 million to build a $10 million parking ramp for rail commuters. The station area includes two towers connecting a pedestrian overpass above the tracks. City officials have discussed trying to preserve the rail platforms and other infrastructure.

“It can be useful for something in the future as we look at other trains and transit options,” Mayor Erik Skogquist told the Star Tribune. “Throwing away something not even 20 years old seems like a real waste of government resources.”

Anoka is asking other cities along the line if they’d like to consider seeking a legal injunction to pause the shutdown. Skogquist said he worries cities haven’t had enough time to work through every property agreement.

“There’s general consternation that this is moving so quickly, and it seems to be going through the motions instead of them getting real feedback,” he said.

Sarah Ritter of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.