Metro Transit assures Farm Aid 40 concertgoers late trains will be available to take them home

Minneapolis public transportation officials plan to increase staffing and extend services Saturday to shuttle large crowds attending the 40th annual Farm Aid concert at the University of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium.

Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr said train service will be expanded, buses will be available after midnight and additional staff will be on hand to help concertgoers navigate.

It’s unclear how many buses and trains will operate during Farm Aid. Kerr said they add services based on how many staff are available, but “the expectation is that if you get there on transit, you’re going to get home on transit.”

“We’re not going to be able to say exactly what that looks like in every situation, but the commitment that we have is that for those who are coming out of the concert, getting in line, wanting to get on a train, there’s going to be a train available to them,” Kerr said, adding that officials will have “a couple of extra trains” running close to midnight in case Farm Aid goes later than expected.

“We have largely been using two-car trains, and for this concert, as we do with lots of large events, we’ll be using three-car trains to provide extra room knowing there might be larger than usual crowds coming and going that day ... If you’re wanting to get the train home: As soon as the show is over, get to the station as soon as you can to get in line.”

Farm Aid launched in 1985 when Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the festival to raise money for family farms and spread awareness about their struggles. The event has raised more than $85 million since. Officials released set times for the 40th festival on Friday, adding Bob Dylan to the lineup and projecting that Willie Nelson and Family’s show would end at 11:42 p.m.

It will be another busy weekend around the Twin Cities. The Twins play their last regular-season games at home and the Minnesota Lynx play game 1 of the WNBA semifinals at home on Sunday.

Transit officials drew criticism for early planning two years ago during a pair of Taylor Swift concerts that each brought around 60,000 fans to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Late trains eventually were added to make sure those leaving late at night would get home. Low staffing at the time made it difficult to prepare for the large late crowds, but Kerr said officials are ready for Farm Aid and that attendees can plan ahead, too.