Stepping off a plane after a vacation in Jamaica last month, Ryan Sinn figured he would do something different and take the train home. The machine at MSP sold him tickets for the Hiawatha light rail and the Northstar train, so Sinn, a 30-year technology consultant who lives in Spring Lake Park, carried his bags onto the light rail, expecting a smooth transfer.
When he arrived at Target Field, Sinn found the gate to the Northstar station locked. The last train had rolled away an hour and a half earlier. He and his girlfriend repaired to a bar until a friend could come pick them up.
When notified last week about Sinn's situation, Metro Transit offered a refund and an apology. Customer services director Bob Gibbons said only a half-dozen people have had a similar mishap since Northstar debuted. Gibbons pointed out that Northstar schedules are available at the traveler's info station in the Lindbergh Terminal.
Still, Gibbons said the agency will explore whether the ticket-vending machines can be programmed to stop selling tickets for nonexistent trains.
That sounds like a good idea to Sinn. "It would just be nice if they turn it off or something, so you aren't buying tickets for places you can't go."
