Northstar delayed by Train derailment

Train derailment impacts morning Northstar service

FRIDLEY, Minn. -- A train derailment Thursday morning at the Burlington Northern rail yard in Fridley significantly impacted ridership on the Northstar Commuter Rail line.
The incident happened near 44th and East River Road just around 4 a.m. about one half mile north of the Fridley station.
Metro Transit Spokesman Bob Gibbons says Metro Transit employees informed customers at the Big Lake and Elk River NORTHSTAR stations about the derailment, and of plans to put them on busses in Coon Rapids to complete the link to downtown Minneapolis. Many of those customers returned to their cars and drove to work instead.
He estimates morning ridership on the NORTHSTAR line was less than half it's average of one thousand daily round trips.
Gibbons also said he expected the derailment to be cleaned up and the track problem corrected by 10 a.m. Thursday. Friday's service should be back to normal.
There is no word yet on what caused the derailment





I drove the bus bridge from Coon Rapids Station to Downtown Minneapolis this morning.