The end of the line for Northstar rail service will be Jan. 5, 2026
A Metropolitan Council Committee of the Whole heard an update Wednesday, Aug. 6, regarding the plans to cease service of the Northstar Commuter Rail Line.
They were told the last train will bring Vikings fans home on Jan. 3 or 4, 2026, depending on when the game against the Green Bay Packers is played. The last commuter train service will be provided on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.
Craig Lamothe, director of the Northstar transition for Metro Transit, and Adam Harrington, director of service development for Metro Transit, presented plans for a transition to a bus service that will bring people to and from Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Fridley and downtown Minneapolis.
Charlie Zelle,chair of the Metropolitan Council, said it was a sad day, as Northstar was a brilliant and aspirational idea.
“It is a shame that we feel like at this point we have to have a transition,” Zelle said. “This is not a moment of celebration, it is a moment of reflection and to (exercise) our duties as fiduciary policymakers to be prudent and thoughtful about the public good, public resources and what can we do that might actually serve Minnesotans better. That’s a tall order to say better, but we’re interested in hearing this.”
Lamothe and Harrington laid out the reasons for the transition, what the bus service will look like, what other activities will be involved in the transition and what future actions will be necessary of the council.
There was not a public hearing on the matter at the Committee of the Whole meeting, and there was no discussion of what will happen with the loan given to the state by the federal government.
The next steps in the process will be meetings with the Transportation Committee on Aug. 11 and then on Aug. 27, with the Metropolitan Council being asked to approve the suspension of Northstar Commuter Rail service and amend Enhanced Bus Replacement Service in the Network Now framework. Other actions may be necessary in the winter of 2025, according to the presentation materials.
Unmet expectations
Several reasons were given for the decision to end rail service, starting with the fact that Northstar had only 430 average weekday riders in 2024, down from a peak of 2,660 pre-pandemic — less than half the projected 2025 goal.
Additionally, the cost of providing the 40 weekly trips is more than it cost to provide 72 weekly trips in 2019 (the maximum number of trips allowed under the contract with BNSF).
Rising operating costs have been projected at $18.6 million in 2025, and additional insurance premiums are expected in 2026 if the train continues to run.
The high subsidy per ride was stated as another major factor.
“It’s so different here than all of our other services, it’s an outlier here in the region as well as nationally,” Lamothe said.
Each ride on Northstar cost $116.60 in taxpayer subsidy in 2023 — much higher than the $16.07 for typical commuter bus service, officials stated.
Of the 29 commuter rail lines throughout the country, Lamothe said only one other has a higher subsidy.
“All of the others are significantly less,” Lamothe said.
Constraints placed on the line by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which prevented midday or evening service, are blamed for some of that. So were changing needs of riders.
“A lot of effort was put into the Network Now Framework by the agency over the last couple years,” Lamothe said. “What it comes down to with Northstar is providing more options for riders through enhanced bus service that offers far more trips for more parts of the day.”
“What we’re hearing from our customers is how people travel when and where has changed post-pandemic. What we’re hearing from our customers is things we can’t provide through the train service due to the contract we have with BNSF.”
Network Now
“What we hear from our customers is they want more frequent service to downtown and they want all-day service,” Harrington said, noting greater flexibility that office jobs have and the need to be able to come and go more freely. “People also want midday service.”
Enhanced replacement bus service will replace Northstar Rail with two new bus routes — reaching as far north as Anoka and Ramsey, for connections to Minneapolis.
The more northerly one is Route 888, serving Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Minneapolis. It would be operated by coach buses every 30 minutes during rush hours, with hourly service in both directions between downtown and Ramsey into the afternoon, and include a trip departing after 6 p.m.
The service also includes three trips in each direction on weekends, not too different from 2019 service. The times are shifted later, however.
“We think the coach bus also provides a very nice ride,” Harrington said. “Most of the alignment has bus only shoulder lanes (once construction is done).”
Route 827 (replacing Route 852) will serve Fridley to Minneapolis with frequent weekday service (30–60 minutes) from early morning to evening, and hourly Saturday service.
Harrington offered some stats to compare the bus and rail line.
The bus service will offer 379 total weekly trips, versus the current 40 weekly rail trips.
“This speaks to our ability to provide this service that we’re really constrained to do in the Northstar corridor under our agreement with BNSF. They have a lot of traffic they have to manage on this Class 1 Railroad,” he said.
For those who board the train in Elk River and Big Lake and may be wondering about bus service there, Harrington said the reason the Met Council is not including those communities is a lack of authority.
He said the Met Council only has authority to operate regular bus service within the seven-county metro area. When it came to Northstar, he said, the Minnesota Department of Transportation delegated authority to the Met Council to provide Northstar rail service — but that doesn’t apply to bus service.
Sherburne County Administrator Bruce Messelt, who attended the Aug. 6 meeting, said Elk River and Big Lake should be receiving more consideration, as they provide between one-quarter to one-third of the ridership for Northstar.
The county’s view is that the agreements associated with Northstar provide the most natural successor for bus service post-Northstar.
“What we’re trying to say is why don’t you get an agreement with MnDOT,” Messelt said. “There are a lot of riders you could be cutting out from potentially using buses.”
