Northstar drawing SRO crowds for Twins games

As the Twins play to near-sellout crowds at Target Field, the Northstar trains taking fans to and from games are doing a standing-room-only business of their own.

Trains scheduled specifically for Twins games have become so popular that a sixth passenger car has been added to each one -- even though platforms can readily accommodate only five.

A train added specifically for the game against Boston on Thursday, April 15, attracted so many Northstar riders -- 2,118 -- that two buses had to be sent to the Fridley station for fans who couldn't get on the train, said Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons.

Many Twins fans from western Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota are driving to Big Lake and then using the Northstar family rate to take the 41-mile ride to Target Field and avoiding downtown parking fees and hassles, said Chuck Heintz, a Big Lake City Council member who referred to surveys of license plates taken in Northstar lots.

In addition, some fans from northeast Minneapolis appear to be driving to Fridley and taking Northstar trains downtown, Gibbons said. On most business days, 125 cars park in the Fridley Northstar lot. But during a recent weekend game, that number was 254, Gibbons said.

"We want people to get acquainted with Northstar," Gibbons said of the six-month-old commuter line that runs between Big Lake and Target Field, with stops in Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley. "And the excellent ridership we're getting for Twins games is helping us do that."

Running on time

But even the anticipated purchase of a sixth Northstar locomotive and the scheduling of four "how to ride the train" classes this month are not likely to match the impact the Twins and Target Field have made.

During the initial week-day Red Sox series, Northstar trains added specifically for the Boston games drew 632 riders for the opener, then 1,727 for the second game, packing the cars. The sardine-like 2,118 riders showed up for the train to the series finale. Even with standing room, Northstar cars average a capacity of 411 riders -- and that prompted the call for buses.

Northstar officials quickly realized they needed to alter plans as drastically as a hitter facing a Francisco Liriano changeup. They added a sixth car to each train -- leaving the locomotive, the first door of the first car and the second door of the sixth car off the platform. Those two doors are then locked, but riders in the first and last cars still can leave through the remaining door in each.

Slightly short

Business, overall, is good, if not great. During this year's first quarter -- January through March -- Northstar served 137,849 rides, Gibbons said. That's 4,000 rides short of projections, meaning Northstar reached 97 percent of its expectations. Officials were pleased, Gibbons said.

But with Target Field, some of that focus has shifted to taking 'em out to the ball game. One enticement has been the round-trip family rates. For $8, two adults and three children ages 6 to 17 can ride round trip from Fridley to Target Field and back. The round-trip family rates, which vary by station, are offered after 9 a.m. every day, not just Twins game days.

This season, Northstar is specifically serving only 53 Twins games -- through a combination of regularly scheduled trains plus 30 special-event trains, which is all that Northstar's contract with Burlington Northern allows. (Northstar will serve today's game through regularly scheduled trains. Two eastbound trains originating in Big Lake this morning, at 9:33 a.m. and 11:53 a.m., will get to Minneapolis before the 1:10 p.m. starting time. A west-bound train, the last of the day, is scheduled to leave the Target Field station at 4:55 p.m. -- whether the game is over or not.)

The economy will dictate if and when Northstar schedules more trains, adds stations in Ramsey and in Coon Rapids at Foley Blvd. and begins a Phase II that will extend the line to St. Cloud or Rice.

"The nice thing about Target Field is that nobody built the rail to the stadium. The rail was already there. And the stadium just happened to be next to the rail."

For further information on Northstar, go to www.northstartrain.org, www.metrotransit.org or call 612-373-3333.