Next stop: Target Field (by train)

Brian Peterson, Star Tribune

Members of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority and Met Council were among those who rode the line Wednesday from Big Lake to Target Field Station.

A test run of the Northstar commuter rail line gives a taste of the thrill of taking a train to the new Twins stadium next spring.

By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune

Last update: October 22, 2009 - 8:07 AM

About 60 travelers from the worlds of baseball, transit and local government arrived at Target Field by rail on Wednesday, to enter the lit-up ballpark in the same style that fans will be able to experience from Opening Day 2010 onward.

The journey started at the Northstar commuter rail's outermost station in Big Lake and ended less than an hour later, just yards from Target Field's left-field entrance. It felt like a celebration of the blossoming relationship between baseball and transit: Both the commuter line and the existing Hiawatha light-rail line will be able to take passengers to the new Twins home, in addition to handling the regular workaday travel that brings people downtown.

Participants included Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell, Twins President Dave St. Peter, members of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, and design, construction and rail teams. The group rode a chartered bus from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake to pick up one of the blue-and-gold Northstar rail trains to make the trip.

The tour was just one leg of a series of "non-revenue" test runs the trains are making every day between now and when the commuter rail lines open for business on Nov. 16.

On Wednesday, the train moved through a misty rain from cornfields, through town, exurb, suburb and city. Along the way, passengers talked about the many steps that allowed for an expansion of the ballpark site and for the commuter rail and light rail platforms to be integrated into the architecture of Target Field.

"It was more like an immense industrial ballet," said Chuck Ballentine, deputy coordinator of Hennepin County's ballpark project office.

Bruce Miller, a principal with the architecture firm Populous, said in his company's 26-year history he'd never seen a project with so many partners.

The group applauded as the train pulled into the downtown station. Outfitted with hard hats and vests, the passengers moved along a short concourse and fanned out into the ballpark. They gazed across the deep green field of grass that was drinking in the afternoon rain, to a foggy downtown skyline, as the train behind them prepared for another run. Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409

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