MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit will pull the plug on its Northstar commuter rail service in January due to a lethal combination of low ridership and rising costs.
More frequent bus service will replace the trains beginning Jan. 5, 2026, Metro Transit officials said during a Metropolitan Council meeting yesterday. The last weekday Northstar trip will run on Jan. 2. The Northstar’s last hurrah will be Jan. 3 or 4 after the final Minnesota Vikings home game of the regular season.
The Northstar line currently offers commuter rail service between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis, stopping at stations in Elk River, Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids, and Fridley.
Like other transit systems, Northstar ridership plunged in the wake of Covid-19 and never recovered.
Before the pandemic of 2020, Northstar carried a maximum average of 2,660 commuters per day. By 2024, ridership had declined to an average of 430 weekday rides. Pre-pandemic projections were for a ridership of 5,590 per day this year.
Officials said it cost more to provide 40 weekday trips this year than it did to provide 72 weekly trips in 2021. Each round-trip Northstar rider cost taxpayers about $233, Metro Transit officials said.
In 2023, the subsidy per Northstar ride was $116.60 compared to $16.07 for commuter bus service.
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