Central Corridor trains to run 24/7 on trial basis

The Green Line between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis begins service June 14. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

The Green Line is going to be up all night, every night -- at least on a trial basis.

Metro Transit decided to keep the Green Line trains of the new Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line running around the clock after several Minneapolis City Council members expressed concerns about accommodating late-night workers and club-goers.

That's according to an April 15 letter to council members Jacob Frey, Cam Gordon and Kevin Reich from Metro Transit general manager Brian Lamb.

So after running every 10 to 15 minutes during most of the day, service will be scaled back to roughly hourly during the early mornings, Lamb said.

"We might call it a draft schedule -- it's our intended schedule for the overnight trains," said John Siqveland, a spokesman for Metro Transit. "As we get underway, we will continue to assess the maintenance needs."

Siqveland said the schedule has been an "active conversation within Metro Transit for sometime."

Council members reacted enthusiastically to the news.

"24-Hour Light Rail Service!" Frey wrote Monday on his Facebook page. "Remember that letter we sent requesting Central Corridor light-rail service (late-night)? It looks like we may get it!"

The first Green Line trains will roll June 14. In addition to the more frequent daytime departures, the new schedule adds weekday overnight departures from Target Field to St. Paul at 12:10 a.m., 12:30 a.m., 1:16 a.m, 2:16 a.m., 3:16 a.m. and 4:10 a.m.

Trains will leave St. Paul's Union Depot in Lowertown about the same time.

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Departure times are adjusted slightly on weekends.

Lamb said the schedule may have to be modified. He said that once service begins, crews may find they need more time to perform track and systems maintenance, but that will have to be assessed as operations ramp up.

In January, Metro Transit said the $957 million light-rail line from from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis will run from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, with departures every 10 minutes at peak periods and every 10 to 15 minutes in the evenings.

The original schedule raised questions about the benefit of a downtown train that ceased operation before the bars and clubs close. The schedule also irked the artist community, which noted that the popular dusk-to-dawn Northern Spark festival -- which will also be June 14 -- will be barely halfway done by 1 a.m.

At the time, transit advocates pointed passengers to the Route 16 bus, which also travels down University Avenue from Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul, with departures every 15 to 20 minutes, and then hourly from 12:20 a.m. to about 5 a.m.

The expansion of Green Line service has some passengers wondering if the Blue Line -- which connects downtown Minneapolis to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington -- could be adjusted as well.

The last Blue Line trip from Target Field departs shortly after 1 a.m. weekdays, with additional trains early Saturday and Sunday morning.