Metro Transit Light Rail

There is no better way to travel from St Paul to Minneapolis — particularly in bad weather. I moved to downtown St Paul, near Harriet Island, more than a year ago. I work in downtown Minneapolis and wasn’t looking forward to commuter traffic. Thankfully, I discovered the Twin Cities’ light rail system. In the 12+month I’ve lived in the cities, I’ve NEVER had to drive my own car to work. The Green line is clean, convenient, safe and affordable.
The Green Line is ideal for getting to Target Field, TCF Stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, The Excel Center, The Ordway, The Fitzgerald, Nicolet Mall, U of M and Theaters along Hennepin. If you live in the city, you’ll find convenient access to Walmart, Target, Cub Foods, and Menards.
Light rail stations are convenient to bus stops for longer transit journeys — and there are bike racks in all cars so that you can bike to your final destination.

This is a delightful means of transportation to have for when I don’t feel like driving or if I know I won’t be in the condition to drive. The metro transit is convenient, and I don’t have to worry about parking this way. This gets me to my destination quickly and efficiently. I don’t have to wait very long for my train to stop where I need to get on, unless it’s late at night.
I like that it stops at some of the most important places where I like to do: Target Field, airport, Mall of America, and downtown Minneapolis. My experiences of riding the metro transit have been good. It’s been easy for me to access. It’s easy for me to get there. The people over there have been delightful and easy to work with.

I really like the light rail. I take it from Minneapolis when I visit my mom in Saint Paul after work. During rush hour it moves pretty fast and takes about 30 minutes to get from Nicollet in Minneapolis to the Hamline stop in Saint Paul.
At night after rush hour though it takes about 40 – 45, mostly because they don’t run them as often. If you’re going from union depo to Nicollet it takes an hour. It’s a long time but taking only the bus would be much longer.

Recently I rode the Metro Transit Light Rail for the very first since its beginning so many years ago. As a long time St. Paul resident I never had the need to ride the Blue Line in/​around Minneapolis-​Bloomington. However, with the Green Line now up and running in St. Paul, I FINALLY made a plan to use to get to an event in downtown St. Paul recently. Although I first drove my car to an area around University Ave. so that I could board the train, I found on-​street parking within a few blocks. The trains stop every 10 minutes. I had a ‘Go To’ card on me, one that was mailed to all St. Paul residents last year. I found it confusing to try to use the ticketing kiosk so I asked some other people who approached and they directed me to a different kiosk since I had that ‘Go To’ card. Once on the train, it was a smooth and stress-​free ride into downtown St. Paul and allowed me the time to chat freely with my friend (since neither of us had to pay attention to the road). Going home later was a breeze, too, plus we had a nice chat with another passenger who was riding farther into Minneapolis than we were. All in all, a good experience!

I haven’t had very many problems with this light rail. It’s a convenient way for me to get from place to place without driving. It’s especially convenient if I plan to consume alcohol, and I want to avoid a DWI. Their stops are short and sweat, and they get me from place to place quickly.
The only suggestion I would make is for the light rail to run more frequently after night time. Other than that, they are good at keeping up with their scheduled times.

Using the light rail is very easy and a great option for visitors. You can get to several locations of interest directly from the airport include the Mall of America, Target Field, Downtown and the currently under construction Vikings Stadium. It’s cost effective, clean, there are bike racks and it’s easy to navigate your way to your final destination using the posted signs.

I rodé for the first time yesterday on memorial day with my son and his friend. I researched online and bought a 6 hour event pass to go to the Twins game. I intended to take at mall of América but signs on old shakopee rd led me to 28^th Ave park and ride. Parking was plentiful and son and his friends found Duck tape and empty beer bottles in lot. The train came about 5 minutes later and we just asked others in Twins attire if it goes to target field. The train ride seemed to go fast and we got there in about 40 minutes. Tickets were checked when you arrived at target field. The twins won and there were huge lines after the game. Transit cops checked tickets before boarding this time. The ride back to 28^th seemed to take longer and people had to stand as it was crowded. The price for an adult was $ 3.50 and 2 kids $ 3 round trip. A great value and less headaches and stress driving and finding parking in Minneapolis. Definitely do again. Its ironic but my sister met us taking Northstar from Big Lake. She paid $ 10.50 though.

Im one of those weirdos that often likes public transit. It always seems like everyone else’s systems are better than the ones back home. With off peak hours to get across town for $ 1.75 is a steal. It would have been like $ 5 o get part of the distance where i reside. Ok so there are some crazy folk late at night but when i can get from the airport directly to town in under 30 mi. Without getting cab raped, im happy. 3.5 stars

When in Minnesota, this is your mode of transportation!
We stayed by the airport and found out that the light rail would be the best option for us to get to/​from the Minnesota Wild game in neighboring St. Paul. Our hotel shuttle took us to MOA, where we jumped on the blue line and rode it all the way to Target Field. We got off to explore the Twins area, look in their store and at the stadium before getting on the green to take us to the hockey game.
Its an enjoyable ride and a great way to see the city. The tickets are not going to break the bank and they will check to see if you have them.

Convenient transportation and I’m glad we have it in the Twin Cities.
The Twin Cities light rail transit is probably the only transit kiosk in the entire world that has Hmong as part of it’s language options! Excellent! It’s good to know the Twin Cities community supports it’s minority members.
My main recurring issues with the Light Rail Transit is the fact that it is very confusing identifying which Light Rail Transit line you’re on once you’re actually on the transit car. Can’t believe your UX designers/​urban planners screwed this one up so bad.
From my experience, sometimes the Light Rail Transit does not have it’s electronic signs on, so you can’t tell if it’s the green or blue line. OR even if it does have it turned on, I forget to look to see if it’s the green line or blue line because I’ve been riding the Light Rail for a long time and out of unconscious habit, assume it is the Blue line ALL the time. We only recently got the Green line operating, so it’s hard for me to pause and remember to check the electronic sign.
Yes, every five minutes or so, the tape recording on the Light Rail will announce which line you’re on, but that is a very frightening five minutes of wondering if you need to get off or not. Especially if time is of the essence and you need to get to the airport!
The Light Rail map on the Light Rail Transit is what screws me up each time. It shows ALL the Light Rail lines, blue, green and red. If you’ve lived or traveled anywhere else that has trains or subways, you’ll find that usually, if for example, you’re taking the blue line, when you hop on the blue line train, the map on the blue line train will only show the blue line map of stops and not ALL the different lines. Uploaded below are some examples of what intuitive transportation map design looks like.
It was only recently that I finally noticed that the Light Rail Transit DOES have a sign indicating its the blue line. However it’s in the color navy blue with white and lots of random notes on it. It looks so much like a random advertisement poster, I had no idea it was actually a sign indicating that you’re on the blue line.
If you’re going to indicate with a sign that it is the blue line, you need to use better blue colors that stand out, and simplify the sign. All you need is a bright royal blue background and in large white letters: BLUE LINE. Simple, yet effective.
Anyway, considering Minneapolis is hosting the Super Bowl very soon, Metro Transit better step it up and get their Light Rail lines made to be more user friendly. It’s not only ME that has had this happen, I’ve seen this happen to other passengers too, where they frantically ask if they’re on the right train.

I’m not a regular rail (work) commuter in MN, but I used to be in DC and NYC. Let’s just say I know a thing or two about sleeping on mass transit (not the best idea) and how to balance while standing on a train and reading a book when it stops unexpectedly.
The Twin Cities now have two lines. One line is from MSP airport (via Mall of America) to downtown Minneapolis. The other line is from dt Minneapolis to downtown St Paul. The lines connect in dt Minneapolis
Both are safe, clean, efficient, and come pretty close to the posted schedules. I recommend the light rail train to anyone from out of town… as long as you have the time and check the schedule first.
If you are flying into MSP, try the light rail. It’ll be WAY cheaper than a local taxi and you can see some interesting parts of the Twin Cities. And a lot of cool restaurants.
The stations are clean and well monitored by transit police. The stations are outside, which may sound nuts, but there are heaters and wind blocks at each station to shield you from the wind, and plenty of covered area to keep the rain and snow from you.
Fares are relatively cheap, and you can get a variety of passes based on time you’ll be on your trip (most are for 2+ hours and that’s enough time for me to get there and back for one price). The kiosk are at each station and they are pretty self explanatory. And they take plastic for those who travel without cash.
If you have kids, the train rides can be a sweet way to fight cabin fever. Need to get the little ones out of the house before you go all Homer Simpson? Pick a station, any station, drive there and find some free parking. Then take the rails to the MegaMall, The Cardinal (great burger), CandyLand (dt Mpls), Union Depot (dt St Paul), or hop off at any downtown stop and run those kiddos in the skyways of St Paul or Minneapolis. Then train back home with candy and memories galore!
All aboard.

Who is the DD tonight you ask? Well it’s Mr. greenline of course! I feel like a lot of people use it to go to work but that isn’t really the case for me. I love using it to go out! Their are tons of great spots up and down from Minnie to St. Paul You like breweries with chill little tap rooms? Hit up Greatwaters, Tin Wiskers, Burning Brothers, Urban Growler, Bang, Dayblock, or Fulton! Tons of great venue spots like the newly remodeled Turf Club. I don’t even need to get into all the great restaurants down the Green. You want to go to literally any sports game in the Twin Cities?! Hop on the Green and save yourself a headache and some cash from traffic and parking.
The green line has been doing awesome since its addition to the public transit of the twin cities. It is so convenient to use and is very affordable. Now the only question is how can we as citizens spend money on our next transit project.
Oh the Blue is cool too I guess. If you like the mall of America or happen to be flying.

When in Minnesota…
Go Minnesota Go! Thank goodness for the Light Rail — where else can you get to your hotel from the airport for less than $ 2. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis (
) which is at the bottom of Nicolett Mall near the Convention Center. When I say it was simple to figure out transportation, I mean, yes it was a bit of a walk at the airport and I froze my okole (that’s butt in Hawaiian) off waiting for the Blue Line, but it was pretty straight forward. Find the light rail station — buy a ticket — jump on the light rail — get off at Nicolett — ride the free bus down to 13^th. I mean, come on!
We also used the newer Green Line for transportation to St. Paul to catch the opening game for the Minnesota Wild. Too easy! It wasn’t crowded — I guess I was expecting a crowd like the one we experienced in Osaka watching the Hanshin Tigers. That my friends was cray cray, but organized cray cray. The Green Line which just recently opened was really nice. Super smooth ride and well-​patrolled by the local police (at least the evening we were on it).
I hope our politicians and the people in Hawaii come and visit Minnesota just to see the value of the amazing light rail system. There’s a lot of hulabaloo happening in Hawaii about the rail system being built which is just silly to me. The convenience, price, and efficiency is unmatched. Way to go, Minnesota!

What a great way to get into the city from the airport!
It’s important to pay close attention to the signs directing you to the light rail station because it gets confusing with a lot of twists and turns in tunnels. Once you’re there, though, the process couldn’t be easier.
Buy a ticket at the machine, head down the escalator, wait a few minutes, hop on the train, wait a few stops, hop off. Easy as that.
There were a few characters on the train whom we all met because of a delay, but we never felt unsafe.
The delay was due to the President’s visit to Minneapolis. The Secret Service stopped us because his motorcade drove right by us – most exciting!

This review is based off of a bad experience on the Green Line and the subsequent piss-​poor customer service response. The gist of it is that through totally normal use, the bike rack damaged my husband’s bike wheel and customer service didn’t even care enough to apologize.
I usually find the light rail to be a clean, pleasant experience, though I’m not required to take it much considering where I go around the cities. However, this changed when my husband and I did our first combination bike/​light rail trip. Considering the bike culture here, I was under the impression that Metro Transit was accommodating of bikers. Now I’m not so sure.
The Green Line was very crowded as we struggled to lift our bikes onto the vertical racks where your bottom wheel is held in place in this groove and your top wheel is in the air, held in place with a wall hook. While inconvenient, we understand that this awkward lift is necessary to conserve space for standing folk, but at least assumed our bikes would be safe on the rack. It was too crowded for us to be right next to our bikes, and due to the motion of the train, the handle bars and front wheels were constantly whipping around, bothering people nearby, but at least not falling.
Well, due to this whipping around, the rack bent the spoke of my husband’s front wheel and knocked it out of true. He’ll have to pay to get it fixed. He contacted customer service not with the intention of any compensation, but rather to make them aware of this very basic issue they should care about, since transportation is their game. The Metro Transit representative, Eugene, was completely terse and uncaring. His exact email response:
«Metro Transit has worked very hard, with the vendor support to find a bike rack that would accommodate most bikes. The bike rack area was test fit to accommodate standard sized street bikes and mountain bikes. If you feel that there is some way that we can accommodate your needs, please work with us to help bring this issue to a resolution.»
Uh, how about you accommodate our needs by testing a bike rack that doesn’t damage a completely standard-​sized street bike? How about you at least apologize for the bad experience we had on your train?
Tip: If you have to use the bike rack, do everything you can to hold it and prevent the front wheel from moving. And don’t ask Eugene for help. Eugene doesn’t care.

The light rail system here is very nice (from my visitor’s perspective), though it is limited and has some bizarre quirks. The good: trains run regularly even in the middle of the day, the route runs from the airport to downtown, the mall, and the sports arenas of choice. It does not go to the University of Minnesota, but apparently a new line opening this year to St Paul will. The trains were clean for public transit and very nice. The fare was under $ 2 (for non rush hour anyway).
The ticketing was confusing. You have to buy tickets at a machine before boarding, but there’s no gates; you just walk on. Signs promise a hefty fine for doing so without a ticket, but no one checked while I was there. It seems like you’re sort of on the honor system. Moreover, the ticket is not per ride, but instead is time stamped. From time of purchase, you get 2.5 hours to go wherever on the system you want. I mention this because I thought to buy two tickets at once (for a round trip), but that was the wrong approach. Whoops. Don’t make the same mistake.
Also, what kind of machine gives dollar coins as change but does not accept them as tender?
The elements were not bad while I was there, but I could imagine the aboveground stops (with some limited shelters and user-​operated heat lamps, to be fair) being miserable in winter, and I wonder how light rail does in heavy snow. As with any light rail, there’s also the annoyance of waiting for stoplights. Still, for what it is, the system seems respectable.

I’m a huge fan of the Light Rail. It’s not as shiny and new as it once was, but it’s still a heck of a lot nicer than the buses, and it’s especially useful for someone coming from out of town who wants to get from MSP airport to Downtown Minneapolis or to other buses.
The only downside is that we don’t have a huge rail system yet, but it’s expanding. I see they plan to install one that will run right near my father’s house and I’m pretty excited for that. I’m also hoping they do it in a way that it won’t piss off the neighbors, because many of them have signs out in protest or at least asking for Transit to build it in a tunnel to preserve the area.
Tickets aren’t sold on the train, so make sure you buy your pass before you board. There are kiosks at each station and you can use them on buses as well.

Clean. Modern. Comfortable. Quiet.
Great signage inside the cars that show the stops.
Good quality audio so you can clarly hear every word of the announcements.
Took the train from the airport to Target Field to see the Twins. Nice street-​level trip into downtown cost a super reasonable $ 2.25. Bought my ticket from a machine and just walked onto the train — no turnstile, no checkpoint, no nothing– just walk on.
Great transit system

With a boyfriend who works in transit, I often feel obligated to take advantage of the many benefits of public transit. Noticing that both Terminals of the Minneapolis/​St. Paul International Airport are located on Metro Transit’s «Blue Line» (aka the Hiawatha Line), I thought it pertinent to check it out on my most recent trip to downtown Minneapolis. Well marked within the airport, I hustled my way over to the station for my first of many encounters with this rail.
Each of the 19 stations located along its route has touch-​screen machines to obtain your pass to ride. $ 2.25 during rush hours (6a-​9a and 3p-6:30p) and $ 1.75 at all other times. There are no fare boxes on the trains but if caught without a proof of purchase by police, you are subject to a $ 180 fine! If you are a frequent rider, there is a system of «Go-​To» passes with card readers located near each ticket machine for faster access. The entire system makes transferring between bus lines and trains very easy. Once paid for, a ticket is good for 2 ½ hours of unlimited transfers. Transfers between the two airport Terminals are free and operates 24 hours a day. Trains begin service in the 3AM hour at varying stations and extend as late as 1AM in certain areas.
The Blue Line travels from Target Field (where the Twins play!), through downtown, past the Metrodome, VA Medical Center, airport, and extends to the suburbs of Bloomington at the Mall of America. It is approximately a 40 minute ride from one end to the other. The train cars are very clean, quiet, and comfortable. There is accessible seating as well as bike racks and adequate space to sit and stand.
I used the Light Rail on several occasions during my visit to this city. It was extremely easy, cheap, and convenient. I would certainly recommend using this form of transit when in the area.
It certainly made coming home to this dreadful: (
)

Clean, cheap and easy are two of my favorite things (insert my standard prostitute joke here) and the Light Rail fulfills all requirements.
I am staunchly anti-​taxi and always try to take public transit from airports to downtowns (see my reviews of Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montréal, Chicago, London, etc. for further proof) and this has got to be one of the best. It’s cheap…$ 1.75 for a one-​way trip. The trains are clean and actually have space for luggage, which some transports to/​from airports do not (I’m looking at you Q33 bus to LaGuardia).
And it’s easy to use… seriously, a Phillies fan could probably figure this thing out it’s that idiot proof. You buy your ticket and/​or scan your «go card» on the platform and then just hop on the train. It goes in a straight line so you really can’t get lost. Even on a Sunday it ran every 10 minutes and it took me 23 minutes to get from the Nicollet Mall stop to the airport. That’s quick, especially since it only took me five minutes to walk from my hotel. From hotel to airport in under 30 minutes for $ 1.75. Yes, please!
If the light rail went somewhere other than back and forth from Target Field to Mall of America, it would receive the coveted fifth star.