Metro (Minnesota)

Metro
A Minneapolis-bound train (left) passes a Saint Paul-bound train (right) on the Green Line near East Bank station.
A Minneapolis-bound train (left) passes a Saint Paul-bound train (right) on the Green Line near East Bank station.
Overview
OwnerMetropolitan Council
LocaleMinneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area
Transit typeLight rail (LRT)
Bus rapid transit (BRT)
Number of lines2 LRT lines
5 BRT lines
Line number  Blue Line 
 Green Line 
 Orange Line 
 Red Line 
 A Line 
 C Line 
 D Line 
Number of stations121
Daily ridership44,800 (light rail, weekdays, Q2 2024)[1]
Annual ridership14,755,900 (light rail, 2023)[2]
Websitemetrotransit.org/metro
Operation
Began operationJune 26, 2004; 20 years ago
Operator(s)Metro Transit
Number of vehiclesBombardier Flexity Swift
Siemens S70
Siemens S700
Gillig Low Floor
New Flyer XD60
New Flyer XE60
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
System map
Map
A geographic map of the Metro network. The official system map can be viewed on the Metro Transit website.
System diagram
Southwest LRT
Southwest
Parking
Eden Prairie Town Center
Golden Triangle
Parking
City West
Parking
Opus
Parking
Shady Oak Road
Parking
Downtown Hopkins
Blake Road
Louisiana Boulevard
Parking
Wooddale Avenue
Beltline Boulevard
Parking
Brooklyn Center C LineD Line
West Lake Street
Xerxes & 56th Avenue
West 21st Street
Brooklyn & 51st Avenue
Bryn Mawr
Penn & 43rd Avenue
44th Avenue & Penn
Penn & Dowling
44th Avenue & Girard
Penn & 36th Avenue
Fremont & 42nd Avenue
Penn & Lowry
Fremont & Dowling
Penn & 29th Avenue
Fremont & 35th Avenue
Penn & West Broadway
Penn & Golden Valley
Fremont-Emerson & Lowry
Penn & Plymouth
Fremont-Emerson & 26th Street
Olson & Penn
Fremont-Emerson & West Broadway
Olson & Humboldt
Fremont-Emerson & Plymouth
Olson & Bryant
Olson & 7th Street
7th Street & Bryant
Basset Creek Valley
Bottineau LRT
Royalston Avenue/Farmers Market
7th Street & Olson-5th Street
Blue LineGreen Line
7th Street/Ramp A Transit Center
Northstar Line
Target Field
7th-8th Street & Hennepin
Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue
7th-8th Street & Nicollet
Nicollet Mall
Marq-2nd & 7th Street
Marq-2nd & 5th Street
7th-8th Street & 3rd/4th Avenue
Government Plaza
7th-8th Street & Park C Line
U.S. Bank Stadium
Marq-2nd & 11th Street
Marq-2nd & 3rd Street Orange Line
I-35W & Lake Street
West Bank
I-35W & 46th Street
East Bank
Cedar-Riverside
Stadium Village
Franklin Avenue
Prospect Park
Lake Street/Midtown
Westgate
38th Street
Raymond Avenue
46th Street
Fairview Avenue
Chicago & 14th Street
46th Street & Minnehaha
Chicago & Franklin
46th Street & 46th Avenue
Chicago & 24th Street
Ford & Woodlawn
Chicago & 26th Street
Ford & Finn
Chicago-Lake Transit Center
Ford & Kenneth
Chicago & 34th Street
Ford & Fairview
Chicago & 38th Street
Snelling & Highland
Chicago & 42nd Street
Snelling & Randolph
Chicago & 46th Street
Snelling & St. Clair
Chicago & 48th Street
Snelling & Grand
Chicago & 52nd Street
Snelling & Dayton
Chicago & 56th Street
Snelling & University
Portland & 60th Street
Snelling Avenue
Portland & 66th Street
Snelling & Minnehaha
Portland & 70th Street
Snelling & Hewitt
Portland & 73rd Street
Snelling & Como
Portland & 77th Street
Snelling & Hoyt-Nebraska
American & Chicago
Snelling & Larpenteur
American & Bloomington
Snelling & County Road B
American & Thunderbird
Rosedale
50th Street/Minnehaha Park
Hamline Avenue
VA Medical Center
Lexington Parkway
Fort Snelling
Parking
Victoria Street
I-35W & 66th Street
Dale Street
Terminal 1-Lindbergh
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
Western Avenue
Knox & 76th Street
Parking
Capitol/Rice Street
Terminal 2-Humphrey
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
Robert Street
American Boulevard
10th Street
Bloomington Central
Central
28th Avenue
Parking
Empire Builder
Saint Paul Union Depot Green Line
Knox & American Boulevard
Mall of America Blue LineRed LineD Line
I-35W & 98th Street
Parking
Parking
Cedar Grove
140th Street
Burnsville Heart of the City
147th Street
I-35W & Burnsville Pkwy
Parking
Apple Valley
Orange Line
Red Line

light rail
under construction
bus rapid transit
downtown fare zones
free airport zone
Parking
park and ride
all stations
accessible

Metro (styled as METRO) is a transit network in Minnesota serving the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It also provides service to some suburban areas. As of 2022, the system consists of two light rail lines (Blue and Green Lines) and five bus rapid transit (BRT) lines (Orange Line, Red Line, A, C, and D Lines) all of which are operated by the local public transit company: Metro Transit. The five lines connect Downtown Minneapolis and St Paul with Bloomington, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Roseville, Richfield, Burnsville and Brooklyn Center.

Prior to August 17, 2019, service along the entire length of the Green Line operated 24/7, the only one of 22 light rail systems in the United States to do so, but a common practice on some heavy rail lines such as the New York City Subway and PATH. The service gap from 2AM to 4AM was replaced by bus service.[3][4][5][6] The current schedule on the Blue Line sees the first departure at 3:19AM and the last arrival at 12:50AM.[7] On the Green Line, the first departure is at 4:29AM and the last arrival is at 12:10AM.[8] Metro Transit also provides a shuttle service between the stations serving the Lindbergh and Humphrey terminals of MSP Airport during the overnight service gap on the Blue Line.[9]

In the 1970s, roughly contemporaneous with the construction of Washington D.C.'s Metro system and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit, the newly formed Metropolitan Council contemplated the creation of a similar mass transit for the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, but the idea was eventually abandoned due to opposition from the Minnesota Legislature.[10] For the next few decades, there were repeated proposals to build light rail along several corridors, particularly the University Avenue corridor between downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul (the present Green Line), but the idea of light rail only gained steam in the late 1990s.

In 1999, the Minnesota Legislature approved funding for the first line (the present Blue Line) along Hiawatha Avenue (initially named the Hiawatha Line[11]) in south Minneapolis, which opened in 2004. In 2011, in anticipation of the opening of the Red Line and Green Line, and in order to help passengers better identify with each of the routes, Metro Transit announced that the system would be rebranded and each line assigned a unique color. The first phase of the Red Line opened in mid-2013, and the first phase of the Green Line (also known as the Central Corridor) in mid-2014. Expansion is planned to upgrade existing transit corridors and to construct new transitways.

  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Combs, Marianne (May 17, 2019). "Green Line pulls back some overnight service". MPR News. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Routes will change Aug. 17". www.metrotransit.org. 2020. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  5. ^ Moore, Janet (August 19, 2019). "'Transit is not a shelter': Green Line curtails all-night service". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "Online Schedules – METRO Green Line". Metro Transit. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "Metro Transit – Online Schedules – METRO Blue Line". www.metrotransit.org.
  8. ^ "Metro Transit – Online Schedules – METRO Green Line". www.metrotransit.org.
  9. ^ "Airport - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "Special Review Hiawatha Avenue Light Rail Transit Line". OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR STATE OF MINNESOTA. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  11. ^ "News Updates & Events – Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org.