kompakt
Innovator Joined: 17 Jun 2004 Posts: 1475 Location: Eden Prairie, MN	Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 10:30 pm    Post subject: new light rail in metro area of MN open   for those of you people who live in MN like me, you've probably heard about this. for those of you that dont, heres the article. Quote: Jack Putnam, his two daughters and their friend drove in from Hastings late Sunday morning, parked free near Fort Snelling and hopped on the new Hiawatha Light Rail Line for the 13-minute ride to the Metrodome for the Twins-Milwaukee Brewers game. "Oh yeah, we'd do it again," said Putnam, riding the rail back to Fort Snelling and citing free parking, no traffic congestion and a smooth ride. "And it's even going to be better when LRT connects all the way to the Mall of America." That's because Putnam's wife, who dropped her husband and the girls at the LRT station, won't have to drive to the Mall of America. She'll be able to ride the LRT there, too, beginning in December. Metro Transit, the operator of the LRT and the bus system, estimated Sunday night that 36,000 people rode the line between 4 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday. A practice run. David Brewster Metro Transit pegged ridership for Saturday -- the first day of the light-rail era -- at 52,000, from the 11 a.m. inaugural train until 1 a.m. Sunday. Light rail service was suspended at 9 p.m. Sunday night so train cars could be cleaned and prepared for operations beginning at 4 a.m. today. Metro Transit began rail service Sunday morning with six two-car trains and added a seventh two-car train at about 2 p.m. Ridership on Sunday morning was bolstered by customers who attended the Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade on Hennepin Avenue or the Twins game in the afternoon. When rail service resumes today, crews will continue to build the remainder of the line -- south from Fort Snelling to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Bloomington and the Mall of America. Those extra 4 miles and five stations will open in December and extend the line to 12 miles and 17 stations. Putnam wasn't the only passenger among the 90,000 who took advantage of free rides this inaugural weekend who said they'll return and pay as much as $1.75 to ride the LRT. That's the sound of ka-ching to Metro Transit officials who expect LRT ridership to grow to 9,500 each weekday by the end of 2004 and 19,300 in 2005. Commuter buses have started ferrying passengers from the Fort Snelling station to the airport and the Mall of America until those rail segments are completed. Regional transit officials have integrated 16 suburban and city bus routes to link with the 14-train LRT, which will run as often as every seven minutes during weekday rush hours. The air-conditioned cars are expected to lure thousands of suburban commuters from their vehicles, particularly as stations are completed at the Mall of America and the airport. And some current bus riders are expected to switch to LRT. The $715 million Hiawatha light-rail line, financed mostly by the federal government, has been being built by the Minnesota Department Transportation since 2001.
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