Glad for Mass Transit on Snow Days!

It is on days like this that I am so thankful that I can ride the train to work.  This morning it was foggy and wet.  Tonight it was snowy and slippery.  For those of you who know me well, know that 15 years ago, I was in a bad car accident on a snowy day.  I was pregnant with my second son and had my oldest son, who was 2 years old, and my mom in the car with me.  I have been terrified to drive in the snow ever since.  When I took the job at HealthPartners, I gave careful consideration on how I would get there when it was snowing.  I like the option of being able to drive or ride the train.

When I ride the train to work, it's actually two different train lines that I have to take.  The first one is the Northstar Rail.  This rail line starts in Big Lake and ends in downtown Minneapolis at Target Field.  It has stops in Big Lake, Ramsey, Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley.  I park at the Fridley Station;

walk through the tunnel;

and then choose the elevator or the stairs to get to the railway platform.

Once on the platform, I pay for my ride using the kiosk.  It costs me $6 for a round trip ticket from Fridley to downtown Minneapolis.  My transfer from the Northstar Rail to the Light Rail (which goes all the way to the Mall of America) is free.

My employer subsidizes mass transit passes so if I ever choose to use the train as my main source of transportation, I would get a pass card that I could swipe at the pass stands that are at each train stop (both Northstar and Light Rail).

The Northstar Rail is a very comfortable train.  It has multiple levels and extremely comfortable seating.

It has very clean bathrooms and is brightly light and clean in the seating area.  It's also very comfortable temperature-wise.  Not too hot and not too cold.

It's only a 10 minute ride from Fridley to Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.  This is the end of the line for the Northstar Rail.

This is where I get on the Light Rail train.

This train stops at many places in downtown Minneapolis and then as it moves south, it makes many stops on its way to the Mall of America.  Lots of commuters take the Light Rail to the airport as it stops at both terminals.  One of its last stops happens to be right outside of the building I work in.

This kind of commuting makes getting to my desk

pretty stress-free!

"In the same way we have a long term plan for building roads, we have to have a long term plan to build transit."  -Kathleen Wynne