Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 4, 2009
BUSES TO SUBSTITUTE FOR TRAINS
ON
PORTION OF HIAWATHA LINE AUG. 7-10
MINNEAPOLIS – (Aug. 4) – Some Hiawatha light-rail train service will be interrupted starting on Friday, Aug. 7, prompting Route 55 buses into service between downtown Minneapolis and Fort Snelling during the weekend.
Route 55 buses will substitute for trains between Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue Station and Fort Snelling Station between 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, and 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 10.
Buses will operate more frequently than trains, but bus trips will take longer than train rides. Customers should plan accordingly. Metro Transit staff will be on hand at key train stations to direct customers to replacement bus service.
In addition, Franklin Avenue Station and 46th Street Station will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7. Trains will pass through stations during this time, but customers will be unable to board or leave trains at those stations.
This service interruption will allow workers to perform maintenance on the edges of the platforms at Franklin Avenue and 46th Street stations.
Customers headed to or from Franklin Avenue Station should use Route 55 buses that will travel between Franklin Avenue and Cedar-Riverside stations. Customers headed to or from 46th Street Station should use Route 55 buses that will travel between 46th Street and 50th Street stations.
In addition to the paver maintenance project, construction crews are lengthening rail platforms at stations to accommodate three-car trains. Crews are also continuing to work at rail/roadway intersections to upgrade the signaling system.
Customers can learn of any last-minute changes to the weekend plan by calling the rail maintenance hotline at 612-373-3333, option 6.
The Hiawatha light-rail line is operated by Metro Transit, a service of the Metropolitan Council. In 2008, the Hiawatha light-rail line surpassed 10 million rides for the first time.
-30-
(Editors: For more information contact Bob Gibbons, director of customer services, at 612-349-7509 or robert.gibbons@metc.state.mn.us)
