Good morning, Minnesota. Welcome to the big leagues of transportation.
Today, Monday, November 16, 2009, begins the era of commuter rail in Minnesota, as the Northstar Line started service this morning between Big Lake and Downtown Minneapolis.
The line has been thirteen years in the making, with the political nay-sayers and the NIMBY's howling every single step of the way. Now, it's the people's turn to choose how they get to work.
I have railed in this blog previously as to how inadequate the bus plan (which should feed the trains, instead of the other way around, as the plan is now) is for these trains. No one source can be used for all the schedules; since no one jurisdiction operates everything regarding the train and it's so-called 'friendly' connections.
Hopefully, the service will need to be expanded...and soon. There are gaping holes in the schedule (weekdays mid-day, weekend mornings come to mind) and there's that 60-day notice to the BNSF Railway (the track's owners) about train service to special events (Twins' games at Target Field, events at the Metrodome, just to use two examples) to deal with. Hopefully, the powers-that-be administrating this service will realize that the direction is for expansion, not for sitting on the status quo.
Because, the status quo is what Minnesotans have had for all too long. And the status quo really sucks.
Today, Monday, November 16, 2009, begins the era of commuter rail in Minnesota, as the Northstar Line started service this morning between Big Lake and Downtown Minneapolis.
The line has been thirteen years in the making, with the political nay-sayers and the NIMBY's howling every single step of the way. Now, it's the people's turn to choose how they get to work.
I have railed in this blog previously as to how inadequate the bus plan (which should feed the trains, instead of the other way around, as the plan is now) is for these trains. No one source can be used for all the schedules; since no one jurisdiction operates everything regarding the train and it's so-called 'friendly' connections.
Hopefully, the service will need to be expanded...and soon. There are gaping holes in the schedule (weekdays mid-day, weekend mornings come to mind) and there's that 60-day notice to the BNSF Railway (the track's owners) about train service to special events (Twins' games at Target Field, events at the Metrodome, just to use two examples) to deal with. Hopefully, the powers-that-be administrating this service will realize that the direction is for expansion, not for sitting on the status quo.
Because, the status quo is what Minnesotans have had for all too long. And the status quo really sucks.
(Photo: Northstar commuter train at storage yard, Big Lake. © Metro Transit 2009. Used with permission.)
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