Minnesota

State Details

See Wikipedia; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.

Maps

Minnesota is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume Dakotas and Minnesota.

Rail Operators

The only Amtrak service in Minnesota is a long-distance train: the Empire Builder (Chicago - Seattle / Portland).

Metro Transit

Metro Transit operates public transport services in the Minneapolis-St. Paul ("Twin Cities") area, including two light rail lines, and a single "commuter rail" line branded as Northstar. The Metro Transit website provides information for all modes:

• maps and timetables: Schedules & Maps page - click on the buttons for individual routes; scroll down the page for full system maps
• journey planner: on the website front page
• service disruptions: Alerts page

Real-time information for Metro Transit services is available at Pantograph.

Northstar

• Infrastructure: see national details.
• Service information: see the Metro Transit website

Note: most of the Northstar route is also used by Amtrak's Empire Builder; only the first few miles out of the Target Field terminus are unique to Northstar.

Tourist Lines

• Minnesota Streetcar Museum operate the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, a heritage streetcar line in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which follows original streetcar right-of-way between Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska.
• Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad Starts in West Duluth near the Lake Superior Zoo and runs south following the shoreline of the St. Louis River estuary, Spirit Lake and Mud Lake for about 6 miles (9.7km). Train route shown here
• Minnesota Transportation Museum The museum operates the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway. Pumpkin Express excursions go 5 miles (8km) north from Osceola, Wisconsin to Dresser, Wisconsin. All other excursions go south for 10 miles (16.1km), entering Minnesota to end at Marine.
• North Shore Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota along 28 miles (45 km) of the Lakefront Line, once part of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad. The Two Harbors Turn excursions run the full length of the line.

Metro and light rail systems

Minneapolis / St. Paul

Metro Light Rail is operated by Metro Transit - see above for all service information details. Note that only the Blue and Green Lines are light rail; other routes identified by colours or letter codes are operated with buses.

Infrastructure

• Gauge: standard
• Electrification: 750V DC overhead
• Rule of the road: right

See also UrbanRail.

Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services

See USA - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services - Minnesota.