# Northstar *Former commuter rail line in Minnesota, 2009–2026* Northstar was a commuter rail line in [[Minnesota]]. It carried passengers about 40 miles between [[Big Lake]] and Target Field in downtown [[Minneapolis]], over track and right-of-way belonging to BNSF Railway.[^1] Trains began carrying passengers on November 16, 2009. In August 2025, [[Metro Transit]] announced that buses would replace the line. The last trains ran on January 4, 2026, and replacement buses began service the following day.[^1] A [[Star Tribune]] report on the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)|Metropolitan Council]] vote to end the line gives January 5, 2026 as the final day of service. This article uses the January 4 date given in the Wikipedia account for the last trains.[^2] The line was planned and financed against ridership projections. A 2009 study by Kimley-Horn and Associates projected ridership of 5,590 in 2025 and 6,200 in 2030.[^3] Recorded ridership was 2,814 daily in early 2019 and 2,660 on an average weekday that year. Annual ridership was 152,600 in 2020 and 50,433 in 2021, and it had not returned to its pre-pandemic level when the line closed.[^3] Development of the corridor was estimated at about US$265 million in 2008 dollars, and the cost later rose to $317 million.[^4] A Minnesota House transportation chair described the end of Northstar as "a win for taxpayers." The project's at-issue record places that statement beside the fact that commuters in Wright County had no vote on the body that ended the line.[^5] ## Who Planning began in 1997, when the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) was created.[^1] The [[Minnesota Department of Transportation]] (MnDOT) prepared the draft and final environmental impact statements and ran public demonstration trains on the corridor from 1997 to 2002. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) closed the federal review with a Record of Decision.[^6] In 2018, Metro Transit, MnDOT and the three counties the line served (Anoka, Hennepin and Sherburne) signed a master funding agreement.[^7] Two later legislative proposals sought to close the line. In 2021, [[Jon Koznick]], the state representative for [[Lakeville]], proposed shutting it down. In the 2022 session, the [[Minnesota Senate]], then under Republican control, proposed closure.[^7] The Metropolitan Council voted to end the service.[^2] The sources cited here give the Senate majority's party for 2022. They do not give Koznick's party, the House transportation chair's name or party, or the membership of the Council at the time of its vote. The [[Counties Transit Improvement Board]] provided the money that restored the Fridley station before opening.[^8] ## What Northstar opened with five MPI MP36PH-3C locomotives and seventeen Bombardier BiLevel coaches. Each coach seated roughly 140 passengers and could carry 355 with standees.[^9] A typical weekday required five trains, each made up of one locomotive and three or four coaches. Weekend service used a single train making three round trips a day.[^9] On a normal schedule, six trains ran in each of the morning and evening peaks, with reduced service on weekends and holidays. Feeder buses, including the Northstar Link between [[St. Cloud]] and Big Lake station, connected riders to the trains.[^4] ## When - 1997: NCDA formed; MnDOT demonstration runs began and continued through 2002.[^1][^6] - October 2000 and March 2002: MnDOT submitted the draft and final environmental impact statements.[^6] - January 28, 2002: a 300-seat demonstration train ran from St. Cloud to Minneapolis.[^6] - December 2002: the FTA issued its Record of Decision.[^6] - 2003: the Foley Boulevard station was removed from the plan while federal funding was being sought.[^10] - November 16, 2009: passenger service began.[^1] - March 27, 2012: construction of a Ramsey station began. It was completed on November 8 and opened on November 14, 2012.[^10] - 2015: BNSF double-tracked the Big Lake–[[Becker]] segment to handle freight traffic.[^10] - 2018: the master funding agreement was signed, covering operations through 2022.[^7] - 2020: weekend and special-event service ended.[^7] - August 2025: Metro Transit announced the termination.[^1] - January 4–5, 2026: the last trains ran and bus replacement began.[^1] The Star Tribune gives January 5, 2026 as the final day of service.[^2] ## Where From Target Field Station, the route ran east across the [[Mississippi River]] on the Minneapolis BNSF Rail Bridge and over Nicollet Island. It then turned northwest onto former Great Northern and Northern Pacific trackage that now forms BNSF's Northern Transcon.[^11] North of the Northtown Classification Yards, the first stop was at 61st Avenue in Fridley. The line continued past the Foley Boulevard park-and-ride to Coon Creek Junction. Stations followed at [[Coon Rapids]] (behind the Riverdale shopping center), [[Anoka]], [[Elk River]] and Big Lake.[^11] A Ramsey station was added in 2012.[^10] [[Interstate 94]] and U.S. Highway 10 also serve the corridor.[^1] Big Lake, the terminus, is in Sherburne County, one of the three funding counties.[^7] Chapter 473 of Minnesota Statutes governs the Metropolitan Council and the metropolitan area.[^12] The project's dossier notes that Wright and Sherburne counties lie outside the Council's seven-county area under that chapter. The same notes record reports that the Council therefore lacks authority to run replacement bus service in those counties. The dossier grades that reporting as unverified.[^12][^2] ## Why As first designed, the line would have run 81.8 miles to Rice, northwest of St. Cloud, and served 11 stations.[^6] The partners expected federal money to cover half the construction cost. Projected ridership on the full route fell short of the federal funding threshold, so they adopted a Minimum Operable Segment ending at Big Lake, about half the original length.[^6] The FTA's cost-effectiveness index later led to the deferral of the Foley Boulevard station. The planners judged that riders switching from existing buses would not save enough time to justify the stop.[^10] The deferral of Northeast Minneapolis followed a change in the FTA funding formula from attracting new riders to cost-effectiveness.[^8] The cited record documents the pandemic-era collapse in ridership and the funding dispute between Anoka County and Metro Transit.[^7] It does not establish the Metropolitan Council's reasons for its vote.[^2] ## How Because most of the route already existed, construction money went to new stations, track upgrades, crossing safety and signals. A large share also paid for extending the METRO Blue Line to the Target Field terminal, which was integrated with the Minnesota Twins' new ballpark.[^4] Anoka County stopped paying its share in the second half of 2020 and sought a reduced payment because ridership had fallen.[^7] The county's 2021 bill fell from nearly $6 million to $1.95 million after BNSF payments and federal COVID relief funds were applied. For 2022, the county treated a $1.95 million payment as its "full and final payment for 2022," while Metro Transit sought $4.6 million.[^7] ## How much - Construction was estimated at about US$265 million in 2008 dollars, later $317 million.[^4] - Closing the line in 2021 would have triggered repayment of $85 million in federal construction funds. The 2022 Senate proposal asked the federal government to waive that repayment.[^7] - By 2022, Anoka County owed Metro Transit $7.9 million for operating costs from 2020 to 2022.[^7] - A planned $113.4 million project would have added a third main line and a Foley Boulevard station. A $99 million grant request was filed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[^10] - A $10.1 million contingency fund supplied $2.85 million to buy a sixth locomotive. The locomotive had been leased from the Utah Transit Authority, and Metro Transit decided by June 2010 to buy it because of high leasing costs.[^9] ## How many - Ridership in the first 15 days averaged 2,207 a day (33,112 total), against a goal of 2,460. By the end of January 2010, ridership was 3% above goal.[^3] - Ridership in 2010 was projected at 897,000; the actual figure was 715,000.[^3] - In 2019, the line averaged 2,660 weekday and 705 weekend rides, and event service accounted for 31–37% of annual boardings.[^3] - In 2019, the line carried 81,561 riders to 64 Twins games. No Twins service ran in 2022 because of the funding dispute.[^7] - During the pandemic, weekly trips were cut from 72 to 20, and ridership in August 2020 was 95% below pre-pandemic levels.[^7] - Daily trains were reduced from 18 to 12 in the scope reductions.[^6] - In July 2009, the Northtown–Coon Creek segment carried 63 trains a day.[^10] - After the shutdown, Trinity Railway Express in Dallas leased two Northstar locomotives and eight coaches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[^9] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue entry AI-Humphrey-096, drawn from the Wright County claims exposure matrix of September 2, 2026, quotes a Minnesota House transportation chair calling the end of Northstar "a win for taxpayers." The entry pairs the statement with the observation that Wright County's commuters were those taxpayers and had no vote on the body that ended the line. It adds that they likewise have no vote on any body that may or may not replace it.[^5] The statutory boundary of the Metropolitan Council's area is set out in Minnesota Statutes chapter 473.[^12] The entry anchors the pairing to a March 2025 presidential action. In the entry's reading, that action's premise concerns decisions made for a population that cannot vote on them.[^13] The cited record does not name the chair or date the statement.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), lead section — route length and endpoints, BNSF track, NCDA formation in 1997, opening date, August 2025 termination announcement, last trains January 4, 2026, buses from January 5, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^2]: Star Tribune, *Met Council votes to end Northstar commuter rail in January* (date not given in the source record) — Metropolitan Council vote to end the line; final service January 5, 2026. https://www.startribune.com/met-council-votes-end-northstar-rail/601456929 [^3]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Ridership" section — opening, 2010, 2019, 2020 and 2021 ridership; 2009 Kimley-Horn projections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^4]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Construction and operation" section — $265 million estimate and $317 million cost, uses of funds, peak schedule, Northstar Link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^5]: Minnesota House of Representatives, member news item (house.mn.gov, profile 15436, item 51115) — source the project's at-issue entry AI-Humphrey-096 cites for the "win for taxpayers" statement. https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/news/15436/51115 [^6]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Background" section — 81.8-mile design, environmental impact statement and Record of Decision dates, Minimum Operable Segment, 18-to-12 train reduction, demonstrations 1997–2002. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^7]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Pandemic and termination" section — 2020 service cuts, 2021 and 2022 closure proposals, $85 million federal funds, 2018 master funding agreement, Anoka County payments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^8]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Stations" section — deferred and cancelled stations, FTA formula shift, Counties Transit Improvement Board funding of Fridley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^9]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Rolling stock" section — opening fleet, capacity, sixth locomotive purchase, Trinity Railway Express lease. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^10]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Upgrades and planned extension to St. Cloud" section — 63 trains a day in 2009, $113.4 million project, $99 million ARRA request, Foley cut in 2003, Ramsey station dates, 2015 double-tracking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^11]: Wikipedia, *Northstar Commuter Rail*, revision 1382190741 (retrieved 2026-10-28), "Route" section — alignment and station locations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^12]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes, chapter 473* (current text) — statute governing the Metropolitan Council and the metropolitan area; cited in the project's dossier notes for the seven-county boundary. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473 [^13]: The White House, *Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities* (March 2025) — presidential action cited as the anchor of at-issue entry AI-Humphrey-096. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/