10/26/04
Hiawatha ridership says people ready to take trains
The surprising ridership on the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit system is good news for backers of commuter rail and motorists who want a cost-effective way of getting back and forth to work.
During the first two months, the number of riders on the light rail train in south Minneapolis was 100 percent higher than the numbers projected.
While two months is too little time to come to any conclusions, the high ridership refutes those critics who claim enough people wouldn’t ride the rails.
This higher-than-expected ridership is encouraging to those who believe commuter rail, which operates on existing tracks, is one way to get people off the congested highways, other than building more roads and bridges.
Different county rail authorities are looking at using high-speed, high-tech trains to run on existing rail lines. The most prominent is the Burlington Northern Line from Big Lake to Minneapolis, known as Northstar Corridor Commuter Rail. Others are the Red Rock Line from Hastings to St. Paul along the Highway 61 corridor, and the Rush Line from St. Paul to Hinckley, both of which are in the early-study phase.
Northstar, which has the backing of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, is in the final design phase. Negotiations continue with the Burlington Northern Railroad Company. If the Minnesota Legislature approves $37.5 million next year and $50.8 million in 2006, riders could board the high-speed trains in 2008.
Total cost is $265 million, with the federal government funding one half, the state and county and metropolitan council funding the balance. The state funding is critical because the federal government funds only will match the state’s share.
The federal government recently awarded the Minnesota Department of Transportation $9,900,131 to start the final design work on the Northstar commuter rail system.
While light rail is different from commuter rail because its trains run all day long and on weekends, some lessons can be learned from the unexpectedly high ridership. First it should be stated that the projections were high so the line could successfully compete for federal funds with other projects in the country.
One surprise has been the traffic on the nights and weekends when riders are using the Hiawatha Line to go to sporting events to dine in downtown restaurants and to shop downtown.
Many older and disabled people are getting on the light rail line. “We are seeing many wheelchairs,” said Robert Gibbons, director of customer service for the Metro Transit Hiawatha light rail service.
While the novelty of riding light rail has not worn off, officials are cautiously optimistic that people in South Minneapolis are using the system to go to places and events along it, such as restaurants along Hiawatha Avenue.
When the Hiawatha Line is open to the airports and the Mall of America, the ridership will grow even more. Already, some people are taking the light rail to Fort Snelling and boarding special buses to the airport.
Students attending the University of Minnesota take the light rail to the Metrodome where they board buses for a short ride to the campus.
Residents from suburban communities are taking buses to the Park and Ride lot at Fort Snelling, and boarding the light rail to their jobs.
There are those hold-outs who contend that the only way to cut congestion is to build more and wider roads and have busways, which are all part of a future transportation system.
It’s becoming clearer that either light rail or commuter rail are options for any transportation system, because people either will leave their cars at home or at park-and-ride lots and take the trains. --
Don Heinzman
HometownSource.com
ECM Publishers, Inc.
4095 Coon Rapids Blvd.
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
