Saturday, May 31, 2014

METRO Transit Green Line Starts This Month!

Source

Can you believe the METRO Green Line opens this month?! Everyone at Pioneer Endicott has been patiently awaiting its arrival right outside of our door! It's been over 60 years since a railway has connected the two downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and June 14th marks the end of that hiatus. After 3 years of construction, the largest public works project in state history is ready to roll. Here's what you need to know about the Green Line:

History:

  • The streetcar was the dominant mode of Twin Cities transportation until the mid 1920's.
  • At the peak of operations for the Twin City Lines (Twin City Rapid Transit), there were 524 miles of track, running from Stillwater in the east to Excelsior in the west.
  • in 1920, annual ridership was at about 238 million. By 1954, ridership had dipped to 85 million.
  • On June 19th, 1954, the very last streetcars ran in Minneapolis.
  • Beginning in 1981, plans for a new system are discussed. See the full timeline beginning in 1981.
Source
Stats
  • The new, 11-mile light rail corridor will take 48 minutes to run between Target Field Station and Union Depot
  • There are 23 station stops on the Green Line.
  • Trains will run every 10 minutes throughout the day, every 10 - 15 minutes in the evenings, and hourly in the early morning.
  • There are 47 new light rail transit vehicles, each with 66 seats and comfortable standing room for an additional 70 people.
  • The current ridership projection is 41,000 average weekday boardings in 2030.
Source

Costs
  • The total project budget for the Green Line was set at $957 million, funded by federal, state, and local sources.
  • Each Green Line vehicle is estimated at $3.3 million.
  • Fares will match existing fares on the METRO Blue Line, Red Line, and local bus routes.
  • Adults will pay $1.75 during off-peak hours, and $2.25 during weekday rush hours (6:00am - 9:00am & 3:00pm - 6:30pm).

Green Line Opening Day - Full Schedule
  • On June 14th, at 9:00am, a ceremony will be held at Union Depot with a ribbon cutting at 10:00am
  • Two 3-car trains will start their first run to Target Field Station. A live video feed of the ceremony will be shown at the Target Station in Minneapolis.
  • Trains will be staged all along the line, one at each of the community celebrations.
  • June 14th & 15th you can ride any METRO Transit service for free.

Resources

No comments:

Post a Comment