The light rail between Minneapolis and St. Paul will open June 14, nearly six months earlier than required, the Star Tribune reported.
There are 18 new stations, including stops on West Bank, East Bank, and Stadium Village. Trains are slated to run every ten minutes and total travel time between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul is expected to be 39 minutes, according to an online fact sheet. Construction on the $957 million project was 98 percent done last November. By the end of 2013, 39 of the 59 light rail cars had been delivered. The Metropolitan Council anticipates more than 40,000 boardings per weekday by 2030. Each vehicle can hold 200 people.
“The opening of the Green Line opens a new chapter in the storied history of the Twin Cities,” Matt Kramer, president of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce said in a press release. “Connecting the two downtowns, through the heart of the urban core, this line will spur economic development and provide dependable, consistent transit options in the years to come.”