Until 8 p.m. includes Twin Cities area

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Here's a shot of a tow truck stopped at the 10th street station in downtown St. Paul this morning as crews pulled a new Green Line light rail car along the westbound side of the new tracks running from St. Paul to Minneapolis. The first test run happened Sunday, and project officials said it went as planned. Work on the line is about 92 percent finished, although it has yet to be electrified to power the trains.

The test is a so-called "clearance test," to make sure the cars run close enough -- but not too close -- to station platforms. Crews are also looking for other obstacles that might damage trains or be damaged by passing rail cars.

Thinks were looking good on the 10th Street platform this morning, although the rain tripped up the generator used to power the train and it had to stop for about an hour for to recharge the car's batteries before finishing the trip.

Project spokeswoman Laura Baenen said a planned second trip with another car -- from the Hiawatha Light Rail line -- has been cancelled, after Metro Transit officials decided further testing with that equipment wasn't needed.

Minnesota News

The Cities Blog

Tim Nelson

Author

Here’s a shot of a tow truck stopped at the 10th street station in downtown St. Paul this morning as crews pulled a new Green Line light rail car along the westbound side of the new tracks running from St. Paul to Minneapolis. The first test run happened Sunday, and project officials said it went as…

Green Line light rail car making its first round trip this morning

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox