Green Line at Target Field

Although I did manage to ride the Green Line on its opening day, 14 June '14, I did not take any DA-worthy pictures that day.  This here shows one of the new Siemens LRVs ordered for the Green Line service (but used extensively on the Blue Line before startup) making its final stop at the brand new Target Field multimodal transit station next to the new stadium where the Minnesota Twins play.  By the time this picture was taken, the Green Line had been in service for nearly a month, and it's receiving rave reviews.  Beyond this canopy, the tracks slope and curve down steeply into a new maintenance facility.  Below the sidewalk is a BNSF mainline and a pair of pass sidings flanking an island platform for boarding and disembarking Northstar commuters. 

The Twin Cities might have been comparatively late to the rail transit renaissance, but they're making up for lost time.  It won't be long before ground breaking takes place on phase three of the light rail network: the western extension that will connect downtown Minneapolis to St. Louis Park and Eden Prairie.  Phase 4 has moved into the engineering stage, which will extend the blue line through North Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center.  Phase 5 is in the very earliest stages of development and would see the green line extended east from downtown St. Paul across the St. Croix river, giving Wisconsinites a public transit escape from their sputtering economy.