A mechanical problem near the end of the morning commute Wednesday forced a light rail train on the Blue Line heading into Minneapolis to stop and have one of its cars removed from service at the Franklin Avenue station.

The train was halted for about 20 minutes as passengers on the last car were directed to the remaining two cars. The train resumed its trip into downtown Minneapolis but at a pace that was slower than usual.

In a dose of good fortune on a wintry day when travel conditions left many buses running late, the train had a Metro Transit mechanic on board and the employee was able to get the car off the tracks, said transit spokesman Howie Padilla.

On its Twitter account Wednesday morning, Metro Transit gave updates on weather-related delays in bus service and noted that light rail was running on time.

Star Tribune staff writer Tim Harlow contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482