# Northstar commuter rail line *Commuter rail program linking Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis, terminated January 4, 2026* The Northstar commuter rail line (reporting mark MNRX) was a 40-mile commuter rail route in [[Minnesota]] between [[Big Lake]] and Target Field in downtown [[Minneapolis]]. It ran on track and right-of-way belonging to the BNSF Railway.[^1] Trains carried passengers from November 16, 2009, until January 4, 2026. [[Metro Transit]] had announced in August 2025 that the line would end in favor of bus service, and replacement buses started on January 5, 2026.[^1] The corridor was first designed to reach [[St. Cloud]] and Rice. To qualify for federal construction funding, it was cut back to a Big Lake terminus, and it was never extended.[^2] The line's documented results can be set beside its projections. Development was estimated at about US$265 million in 2008 dollars, less than one-third of the estimated cost of upgrading existing highways. The cost later reached $317 million.[^3] Ridership for 2010 had been projected at 897,000 and came in at 715,000. A 2009 Kimley-Horn and Associates study projected ridership of 5,590 in 2025.[^4] The project's at-issue record states that ridership in the first half of 2025 ran below 500 a day against that projection. It also states that the line's 2023 subsidy was $116.60 per passenger, against $16.07 for commuter express bus.[^5] The same record states that Sherburne County put $8.2 million into the line.[^5] It also states that studies of extending rail service to St. Cloud were commissioned in 2020, 2023 and 2024, and that the rail was cancelled before any of them produced a line.[^6] ## Who Planning began in 1997, when the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) was formed.[^1] The [[Minnesota Department of Transportation]] (MnDOT) prepared the environmental impact statements, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued the Record of Decision.[^2] Metro Transit operated the service. In 2018, Metro Transit and MnDOT agreed to a master funding agreement covering operating expenses through 2022 with the three counties the line served: Anoka, Hennepin and Sherburne.[^7] The [[Counties Transit Improvement Board]] allocated money that allowed a Fridley station, originally deferred, to open with the rest of the line.[^8] In 2021, [[Jon Koznick]], the state representative for [[Lakeville]], proposed shutting Northstar down. The Republican-controlled [[Minnesota Senate]] proposed closing it in the 2022 legislative session.[^7] The sources cited here do not identify by party the officials who approved the line's construction or its 2025 termination. ## What Northstar used an existing freight corridor. Its investment went into new stations, track upgrades, crossing safety and signals. A large share of the funds extended the METRO Blue Line to Target Field station, which was built into the Minnesota Twins' ballpark.[^3] Bus feeders, including the Northstar Link between St. Cloud and Big Lake station, brought riders to the trains.[^3] Northstar trains were on time for 96 percent of trips from opening until January 2014.[^3] ## When - 1997–2002: MnDOT ran public demonstrations of commuter rail on the corridor. These included a 300-seat train from St. Cloud to Minneapolis on January 28, 2002.[^2] - October 2000 and March 2002: MnDOT submitted the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements. The FTA issued its Record of Decision in December 2002.[^2] - 2003: Foley Boulevard station was cut from the plan while federal funding was being sought.[^9] - November 16, 2009: Passenger service opened.[^1] - 2012: Construction of the Ramsey station began on March 27 and was completed on November 8. The station opened on November 14.[^9] - 2020: Metro Transit eliminated weekend and special-event service during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^7] - August 2025: Metro Transit announced the line's termination.[^1] - January 4, 2026: The last trains ran.[^1] ## Where From Target Field, the route crossed the [[Mississippi River]] and Nicollet Island and ran north through the Northtown Classification Yards. Its first stop was at 61st Avenue in Fridley, where it entered BNSF's Staples Subdivision.[^10] Further stations stood in [[Coon Rapids]], [[Anoka]], [[Elk River]] and Big Lake.[^10] The corridor was also served by [[Interstate 94]] and U.S. Highway 10.[^1] Stations at St. Cloud East and [[Becker]] and a terminus and layover facility in Rice were postponed indefinitely. A planned station in Northeast Minneapolis at 7th Street was also deferred and later dropped.[^8] ## Why MnDOT and the NCDA judged commuter rail the best way to handle growing commuter traffic.[^3] Metro Transit's stated goal was 5,900 trips by 2030, saving commuters 900,000 hours a year compared with a dedicated bus line.[^3] The scope was shaped by federal funding rules. The project expected federal funds to cover half of construction, but estimated ridership on the full 81.8-mile, 11-station route was too low to qualify. Partners therefore defined a 40.1-mile Minimum Operable Segment ending at Big Lake, which dropped the stations in Rice, St. Cloud and Becker.[^2] Daily trains were later reduced from 18 to 12.[^2] The Foley Boulevard and Northeast Minneapolis stations were deferred as the FTA's funding formula shifted from attracting new riders to cost-effectiveness.[^8] A major obstacle to a St. Cloud extension was the nine miles of single track between Big Lake and Becker. BNSF double-tracked that section in 2015 because of its own freight traffic.[^9] ## How much - Construction cost rose from an estimated $265 million (2008 dollars) to $317 million.[^3] - Koznick's 2021 shutdown proposal would have required repayment of $85 million in federal construction funds. The Senate's 2022 proposal included asking the federal government to waive repayment.[^7] - A $113.4 million project to add a third main line and a Foley Boulevard station was planned, with a $99 million grant request filed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[^9] - A $10.1 million contingency fund in the original budget supplied $2.85 million to buy a sixth locomotive. The locomotive had been leased from the Utah Transit Authority.[^11] - Anoka County stopped paying its share in the second half of 2020. By 2022 it owed Metro Transit $7.9 million for operating expenses from 2020 to 2022.[^7] After the 2021 bill was cut from nearly $6 million to $1.95 million using BNSF and federal COVID relief funds, the county paid for 2020 and 2021. For 2022, it treated a $1.95 million payment as its "full and final payment for 2022", while Metro Transit requested $4.6 million.[^7] - According to the at-issue record, Sherburne County contributed $8.2 million. The 2023 subsidy was $116.60 per passenger, against $16.07 for commuter express bus.[^5] ## How many - In its first 15 days, ridership averaged 2,207 per day (33,112 in total), against a goal of 2,460.[^4] - Daily ridership was 2,814 in early 2019, the same level as in 2017. In 2019 the line averaged 2,660 weekday rides and 705 weekend rides, and event service made up 31–37 percent of annual boardings.[^4] That year Northstar provided 81,561 rides to 64 Twins games.[^7] - Ridership fell to 152,600 in 2020 and 50,433 in 2021, and it never returned to pre-pandemic levels.[^4] Weekly trips dropped from 72 to 20, and August 2020 ridership was 95 percent below pre-pandemic levels.[^7] - At opening, the fleet comprised five MPI MP36PH-3C locomotives and seventeen Bombardier BiLevel coaches.[^11] After the shutdown, Trinity Railway Express in Dallas leased two Northstar locomotives and eight coaches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[^11] - According to the at-issue record, the Northstar Link bus carried roughly twenty-five riders in each direction.[^6] ## In the at-issue record Two entries in the project's at-issue record concern the line, and both are anchored to the White House order *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse*. The first entry pairs Sherburne County's $8.2 million contribution with the 2023 per-passenger subsidy. It also sets first-half 2025 ridership below 500 a day beside the original 2025 projection of 5,590.[^5] The second entry pairs three extension studies, from 2020, 2023 and 2024, with the cancellation of rail service before any extension was built.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741, retrieved 2026-10-28), lead section — route, BNSF track, service dates, 1997 formation of the NCDA, August 2025 termination announcement, last trains and replacement buses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Background" — 81.8-mile design, environmental impact statements and Record of Decision dates, federal funding shortfall, Minimum Operable Segment, cut from 18 to 12 trains, 1997–2002 demonstrations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Construction and operation" — $265 million estimate and $317 million cost, stated rationale, Metro Transit 2030 goal, feeder buses, on-time record. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Ridership" — early ridership against goal, 2010 projection and actual, 2009 Kimley-Horn projection, 2019–2021 figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^5]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *entry AI-Sherburne-077* (Sherburne Energy Brief, dated 2026-01-04; sources listed as en.wikipedia.org and metrocouncil.org) — states the Sherburne County $8.2 million contribution, the 2023 subsidy of $116.60 per passenger against $16.07 for commuter express bus, and first-half 2025 ridership below 500 a day against the 5,590 projection. The linked URL is the entry's anchor, The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025), and does not itself contain these figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^6]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *entry AI-Sherburne-078* (Sherburne Energy Brief, 2024; sources listed as dot.state.mn.us and metrocouncil.org) — states that the Northstar Link carried roughly twenty-five riders each direction and that extension studies were commissioned in 2020, 2023 and 2024. The linked URL is the entry's anchor, The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025), and does not itself contain these facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Pandemic and termination" — 2020 service cuts, Koznick and Senate closure proposals, $85 million federal funds, 2018 funding agreement, Anoka County payments, 2019 Twins ridership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Stations" — postponed and deferred stations, FTA formula shift, Counties Transit Improvement Board funding of Fridley station. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Upgrades and planned extension to St. Cloud" — Foley Boulevard cut in 2003, Ramsey station dates, $113.4 million third-main project, $99 million ARRA request, 2015 double-tracking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Route" — alignment and station locations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Northstar Commuter Rail* (revision 1382190741), "Rolling stock" — opening fleet, sixth locomotive and contingency fund, Trinity Railway Express lease. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar_Commuter_Rail