http://wcco.com/local/northstar.line.start.2.1154380.html
I’ll take a ride on it and see how it is, even though it’d do me no good in terms of commuting. I’m think of parking my car in Anoka and then taking the train to Twins games at the new Target Field next year, but that may be more trouble than it’s worth.
It’ll be interesting to see it, I’ve been seeing the cars in Pig’s Eye Yard on their way to being delivered. I know taking the light rail to Twins game is a good deal, I haven’t driven downtown for a game since it opened.
Trains have been doing test runs the last few days for schedule keeping. The livery is very classy and photogenic. The fare is $7.00 one way Big lake to Downtown Minneapolis; a 50 minute train ride. LONG LONG LONG overdue. The Republicans fought this tooth and nail.Maybe someday they will get up to St Cloud. There is talk that they may have another commuter route on BNSF’s Willmar line in the near future.
Going home on the bus yesterday afternoon I did happen to catch one of the Northstar Trains at the Twins Stadium stop. Very nice looking equipment. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if they get something of a “spoke and hub” system going somewhere down the road.
I overheard a conversation in a gourmet coffee house a while back between some people who seemed to be organizing/managing some kind of push to open a second Northstar-like commuter train. This was to rebuild the former NP trackage between North Branch and Hugo, MN (rail-banked by the state), and run commuter trains into St. Paul. As best I could understand (yes I couldn’t help eavesdropping), they were discussing using CP’s ex-SOO main from White Bear Lake to Cardigan Jct., then south into St. Paul.
There used to be an interchange track at Bald Eagle where the NP and SOO crossed that they’d have to rebuild. This route would be over (from North Branch or points north) the St. Croix Valley RR, then Minnesota Commercial, then CP. The first is a shortline, the second is an industrial transfer line and the CP trackage in question doesn’t see a whole lot of traffic (CN uses this for two freights a day and CP has some local industries to serve).
Interesting. The two routes I would guess on as far as future commuter service would be the UP’s ex-“Omaha Route” mainline to possibly Mankato and on the CPRS River Subdivision mainline to perhaps Red Wing.