Green line light rail construction is nearly complete

St. Paul, Minn.

January 19, 2014 2:09 PM

First light rail vehicle on the Green Line — The first light rail vehicle is pulled along the the Green Line (Central Corridor LRT) to verify clearance on April 28, 2013. A railcar mover that resembles a semitrailer cab is towing the the light rail vehicle at walking speed on the tracks from Minneapolis to the new operations and maintenance facility in St. Paul.
(Courtesy of Central Corridor LRT project)

Drivers and pedestrians can expect to see more light rail trains between downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul's Union Station in about a month.

Construction of the Green Line -- also known as Central Corridor -- is 98 percent complete, with only finishing touches and minor concrete repairs remaining, said Metro Transit spokeswoman Laura Baenen.

The agency will announce a launch date for the line on Wednesday.

Final testing will begin in late February. Crews will check the electrical and signaling systems, and operators will learn how to drive the trains, she said.

"People keep asking me: 'How frequent will these tests be? How often can I expect a train?' And really, we tell people anytime is train time from now on. Expect a train at any time," said Baenen.

Metro Transit is adding 177 new jobs at its St. Paul maintenance and operations facility. Nearly half of those positions are train operators.

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