Northstar Commuter Rail Transition

In recent years, the Minnesota Legislature has authorized funds to study and consider changes to the Northstar Commuter Rail operations.  Through the 2025 session, it has become evident that the Northstar Commuter Rail will likely be discontinued as efforts have changed focus on its operations to a transition plan.  Staff have been invited to partake in transition discussions with MetroTransit.  The questions asked to cities with a Northstar Rail stop in their community have been focused on two parts.  One is what does a replacement bus service look like for your community?  Two, what does the future of existing infrastructure for the rail stop look like?

At our February 25, 2025 Work Session, staff first shared current legislation to discontinue the commuter rail.  The early consensus of the city council was that Ramsey would not take a position on whether the commuter rail stays or not, but instead focus on advocating that an acceptable level of public transportation remains.  Other concerns staff have raised when considering this further is that the existing rail stop serves two purposes.  The main purpose is to be a rail stop for commuters to use the rail service.  The second is a pedestrian overpass.  When the rail stop was first constructed, a skyway was added for users to access the rail stop from the city owned parking ramp.  This was a forethought to what would eventually become a complete Mississippi Skyway Pedestrain Bridge spanning from our parking ramp across US Hwy 10/169 with a touchdown point on the south side by Riverdale Drive.  This skyway would provide a crucial pedestrian only safe connection between the Anoka County Central Regional Trail and the Mississippi River Regional Trail.

The proposed bus replacement route would be a route with stops in Ramsey, Anoka and Coon Rapids.  Service would run every 30 minutes during rush hours (6 - 8:30 a.m. and 4 - 6:30 p.m.) with routes every 60 minutes midday.  Other rail stop locations would be served by a different bus route.  With a change to bus, commuters boarding in Ramsey would see a 15-20 minute increase compared to rail to reach the same destination downtown Minneapolis.  However, the cost to ride is projected to be slightly less than the current rail trip rate.

For reference, the parking ramp was constructed with the public transportation park and ride option in mind.  The city did receive outside funding to aid in the upfront construction cost of the ramp, however, the cost to the city for improvements directly related to the rail stop was approximately $4.1 million.  The ramp has a total of 793 parking stalls with 350 for transit users, 143 for City Hall, 275 for The Residence Apartment and 25 unallocated.  The city does not receive compensation for annual maintenance and operation costs of the ramp from MetroTransit, but we do receive payment from the apartment.

Attached to the case a short presentation provided by MetroTransit.  Craig Lamothe, Northstar Transition Director, will join the meeting online for questions and to hear the council's feedback.

Links to past studies:
2023 Northstar Rail Corridor Post-Pandemic Study
2024 Northstar Extension Assessment Study
2025 Twin Cities-St. Cloud-Fargo/Moorhead Corridor Study

As MetroTransit continues their plan to transition to bus service over commuter rail options, they are asking for feedback from cities as explained above.  There are a number of contracts, agreements, easements and infrastructure ownership situations they need to work through.  When looking specifically at Ramsey, MetroTransit holds an easement on both city owned property and BNSF Railway right of way that long term consideration needs to be given to.  As noted above, two main points of consideration have been identified:

What does public transportation look like for Ramsey?
With the proposed bus route and trip options, it is reasonable to say the service is being expanded from a trip count standpoint.  Even when the Northstar Rail was operating at peak trips (pre-pandemic), the number of bus routes exceeds what has been available.  One drawback to note is the trip time does increase due to stop locations in comparison to the main travel route of US Hwy 10/169.  Does the City Council feel what is proposed is sufficient for available public transportation in Ramsey?

What does existing infrastructure look like for Ramsey?
As noted, the city envisioned a dedicated pedestrian overpass to the south side of US Hwy 10/169 that utilized existing improvements to the commuter rail stop.  Staff have worked to bring this plan to fruition with efforts to complete 90% construction plans in 2018 and to apply for grant funds to construct the remaining portion of the overpass.  In 2024, the city was awarded $3.75 million in state funds for the overpass, and currently has requests in for federal Congressionally Directed Spending opportunities with Congressman Emmer, Senator Klobuchar and Senator Smith.  If successful, it is reasonable to believe all funding would be secured to construct the overpass.  With the transition to bus service, it has been shared that existing infrastructure would likely need to be removed from BNSF right of way.  It is unknown at this time what options may be available, but as MetroTransit negotiates with BNSF, there may be an opportunity for some infrastructure to remain.  Long-term ownership and responsibility needs to be determined.  Does the City Council want staff to continue to work with MetoTransit to maximize what infrastructure remains in place from the current rail stop to be used for a future overpass to the south side of US Hwy 10/169?

Is there anything else?
The two items above are the most obvious considerations.  However, as MetroTransit continues to pursue this transition now is the time to share our desires.

N/A

Provide additional comments on the desires of Ramsey for the replacement bus service, future of the existing rail stop infrastructure and anything else.