New Ramsey Station is Open

Man Speaks Out Claims to be Abused

Metro Transit Police Tasered Man

Baby Born on SEPTA Train

Baby Born On SEPTA’s Broad Street Line

And the Winner Is

The winning video from the Pick the Winner of The Metro Transit Video Contest is Everywhere. Andrew Beckman of Brooklyn Park received the most votes cast by the public in the 2012 Metro Transit Video Contest.

Here it is:

Southwest Light Rail Transit line Comes up Short

Southwest Corriodor has come up short on the money needed to continue.

St. Paul gets $25 million grant for Saints ballpark

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -

The St. Paul Saints were the big winners of Thursday's capital grants announced by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. The city of St. Paul was awarded $25 million of the $27 million it requested for a new Saints ballpark.

Nearly 100 applications were submitted, but only 11 were awarded a piece of the $47.5 million bonding money pool. Gov. Dayton had the final say in which projects would receive the legislature-approved funding.

MINNESOTA BONDING MONEY BREAKDOWN

• $2 million is better than nothing for the Southwest Light Rail Transit line. The Metropolitan Council applied for $14 million.
• Duluth was awarded $8.5 million for downtown development.
• A wellness center in Wadena received $4.2 million.
• Rochester, St. Cloud and Mankato were all shut out of the grant sweepstakes, but Dayton said projects in those cities will be at the top of his bonding proposal for 2013.
• Major repairs and reconstruction of Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis also failed to receive any funding.

Getting ahead of anticipated criticism, Dayton said there was definitely no deal to set aside grant money for a Saints stadium in exchange for St. Paul lawmakers' votes on a new Vikings stadium.

Police Working To Make Lake Street Station Safer

All eyes on Lake St. station crime a StarTribune Story

Green Connect to Blue Line This Weekend

Copper Theft Causes Damage to Light Rail Construction Sites

Copper Theft Causes $20K in Damage to Light Rail Construction Sites A thief stole $2,000 worth of copper wire from two St. Paul light rail construction sites and caused about $20,000 in damage.
Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Spokeswoman Laura Baennan confirmed the theft Monday, July 16.

The wire was taken Thursday night or Friday morning at construction sites near University and Western Avenues as well as Cedar and Tenth Streets.

The damage will cost the contractor about $20,000 to repair.

Twin Cities to Host Rail conference

Rail~Volution will has selected the Twin Cities to host site for the group's national conference in fall 2014.

The Met Council and co-host Counties Transportation Improvement Board and Minnesota Department of Transportation submitted an application last March to host the event.

The conference "Building Livable Communities" is expected to draw 1,200 transit and land use professionals from across the country.

Metro Council to vote on dropping cost to ride Northstar Line

Northstar Disaster Drill

Thefts Reported at Noble Park and Ride

Central Corridor LRT Construction Half Done

Central Corridor LRT construction reaches halfway mark on schedule

ST. PAUL - May 14, 2012 - Construction of the Central Corridor LRT Project is 50 percent complete and on track to be 75 percent done by year's end.

"The contractors really hit the ground running in March. We now have work occurring in all areas of the nearly 10-mile long project, employing more than 3,000 workers to date,'' Met Council Chair Sue Haigh said.

Praise also goes to the Midway Chamber of Commerce for encouraging patronage of corridor businesses, to banks and other businesses that use their signs to promote University Avenue businesses, and to the city of St. Paul and U7 for administering the forgivable loan fund, Haigh said. Through 2011, 98 business assistance grants had been approved, totaling $1.34 million.

"And then there are the patient businesses that work with the project office to maintain access and share information with their tenants and the citizens who serve on the construction communication committees," she said

As a result of this cooperation, the project is on schedule to substantially complete utility relocations, roadway removal and replacement, track installation and the structural elements of all 18 stations by the end of this year, said Mark Fuhrmann, program director for New Starts rail projects.

"Overall, the project remains on schedule to open in 2014 and within budget," Fuhrmann said.

Installation of the electrical, signaling and communications systems as well as testing the operation of trains will occur in 2013 and 2014 before revenue service begins in 2014. When exactly service will begin depends on how the testing goes.

Since heavy construction in late summer 2010, crews have:

Relocated about eight miles of public utilities so they won't be under the tracks and any work on them in the future won't disrupt rail service.

• Removed and replaced five miles of roadway, sidewalks, curbs and gutters from building front to building front.
• Installed 3.5 miles of the 10 miles of double track.
• Begun work at 15 of the 18 station locations.
• Completed nearly two-thirds of the work on the Washington Avenue Bridge. Traffic is expected to resume this summer on the outside lanes of each side of the bridge in their final single-lane each way configuration. Double tracks will be installed in the inside lane of the bridge.
• Completed 35 percent of the work on the operation and maintenance facility in Lowertown St. Paul.
• Completed construction of the Interstate 35W flyover in Minneapolis where Central Corridor tracks will join Hiawatha LRT tracks. (Passengers will be able to continue their trip into downtown Minneapolis on the same train from the Metrodome to Target Field Station.)
• Demolished the former Bremer Bank and completed the skyway connection over Fifth Street in St. Paul.
• Completed two of the foundations for the 14 traction power substations that will convert electricity into a form that can be used to power the trains.
• Assembled the shell of the first new light rail vehicle, which is expected to arrive this fall in Minnesota.

Thieves Steal Phones

Help is on the way:

Southwest Corridor Not in Bonding Bill

Southwest Corridor not on bonding bill passed by Minnesota House today. This is a blow to the Southwest Corridor.

 Minnesota House passes bonding bill
"As before, the bill tilts heavily toward bricks-and-mortar projects like flood mitigation and bridge repairs, and leaves out most local projects like convention centers, the Southwest rail corridor, a face-lift for Nicollet Mall or a new ballpark for the St. Paul Saints.
“Let’s not tell Minnesotans that we’re preparing for the future, because we are not,” said Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis, lamenting some of the items that were left out of the bonding bill – including funds to fight invasive Asian carp in the rivers and funds for the Southwest light rail corridor.
The bill does contain a $55 million pot of money that can be used for capital project grants – grants that communities might be able to apply for to build, say, a minor league ballpark or a civic center. Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, offered an amendment that would have locked up that $55 million for road construction projects instead, but was voted down."


UPDATE:
Supporters say Southwest Corridor LRT could lose federal funds

Saints Ballpark, Southwest LRT Not in MN Bonding Bill
"On Monday night, the Minnesota House and Senate passed slightly different versions of a $496 million bonding bill—but neither version includes money for a new Saints ballpark or the Southwest Corridor Light Rail line.
Still, that isn’t a sure sign that both projects are dead."

Man Steals Copper from LRT Station On Green Line

Police Catch Light Rail Copper Thief at Bus Stop: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Northstar Shutdown Due to Derailment

Metro Transit Fare Hike & Cuts in Service?

Met Council, feds make Central Corridor funding deal official