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Hiawatha Light Rail Transit

Ridership

The Hiawatha line provided 9.1 million rides in 2006, an average of 27,000 per weekday. Ridership growth slowed in 2007, when the Humphrey Terminal Station was closed nine months for airport construction. Nonetheless, ridership on the line already has exceeded the pre-construction estimate for the year 2020. More about ridership.

Customer Satisfaction

A recent survey of Metro Transit customers leaves no doubt that were it not for buses and light rail, many more people would be driving solo on the region's roads and highways. Half of all train riders and more than one-third of all bus riders said they would've driven by themselves if transit were not available. More about the survey.

Development

The Hiawatha line has proven to be a powerful catalyst for development in a corridor that once had large tracts of vacant and underutilized land. Since 2000, nearly 7,700 new housing units have been built along the line, with another 8,100 units planned by 2010 (as of March 2007). See a February 2006 article about development along the Hiawatha line.

Get Metro Transit's Hiawatha line information

See schedules, planning and paying for your trip, and safety around the light-rail line.

What's next

The Council's long-range transportation plan calls for developing additional bus and rail "transitways" in five corridors by 2020. The plan includes construction of the region's second light rail transit line in the Central Corridor between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis, connecting there with the Hiawatha LRT line and the planned Northstar commuter rail line. See more about the planned transitways.