Trip report, finally! Apologies for the lack of pictures, as I didn't think to bring my camera.
Despite being open for nearly a month, I hadn't ridden the Northstar Line yet - today finally gave me an excuse. I took the last train into Minneapolis from Anoka, departing such at 7:38 AM. The ticketing procedure was easy enough - one just approaches the ticket kiosks near the platform, buys a ticket (your choice of one-way or RT, with different rates for different riders), and waits for the train. The train approached us cab-first, about a minute late, but as far as I know we made up that time even with slow running through Northtown Yard and Northeast Minneapolis. North of the yard, especially between Coon Rapids-Riverdale and Fridley stations, the train seemed to be doing 79 mph.
The Bombardier bi-level coaches are quite nice. There is a retractable step to board the train, as the platform is perhaps 6 inches at most, but it appears as though that step folds out to become a wheelchair ramp. Every other set of four chairs had a table, the coaches are well lit (and quite clean as of yet), and the seats are plenty comfortable for the hour-long trip from Big Lake to Minneapolis. I didn't look for outlets as I was sans laptop, but I'm guessing they're there. Likewise with bathrooms. I do wish there was a cafe aboard or at the stations, as I could use a bagel and a cup of coffee
At Ballpark Station, the transfer from Northstar to light rail is fairly easy - move to the end of the platform, go upstairs through the enclosed station attached to Target Field, and find the LRT waiting. If one wants a bus, they'll have to walk about a block across 5th Street to the transit center.
Ridership seemed somewhat low for a Monday morning, the four-coach train was only about a third full at most. None of the parking facilities were particularly full either, despite this being the last train (of five) of the morning. One suggestion would be to add a noontime train to downtown and an 11:00 or midnight train back to the suburbs. Many other cities (as well as our own Hiawatha Line) have large numbers of riders for midday shopping and evening event-goers, but anyone taking the last train into town at 5 PM is stranded there - unless they want to immediately ride back to the northwest burbs.
I'd give Metro Transit an A for equipment, an A for timeliness, an A- for facilities as they're still very spare but sufficient, and a middling B for schedule convenience - it's fine for workers going to town and back, not nearly as good for anyone who wants a convenient way to see the big game or go to night school after work.
As an aside, while traversing Northtown Yard
GN 1914 made an appearance, in roughly the same place as that picture. Someone with a sense of history even dug up a
Rocky logo for that SD39's nose, though a few other sites have mentioned this ex-ATSF unit isn't long for BNSF service.
