Green Line and A Line: Riding Transit Across the River City
The Green Line light rail and the A Line rapid bus cross Saint Paul at Snelling and University, connecting downtown, the Capitol, the Midway and Highland Park.
Saint Paul is a river city with a rail spine, and two Metro Transit services show it best. The METRO Green Line links downtown Saint Paul with downtown Minneapolis along University Avenue, while the A Line runs rapid bus service from Rosedale through Saint Paul's Snelling Avenue corridor to the Mall of America, tying neighborhoods, colleges and shopping districts into one frequent route.
The Green Line's Saint Paul stops read like a directory of the city: Union Depot and Central Station downtown, the Capitol area, Frogtown and the Midway along University, and on toward the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis. For riders, its gift is legibility. Trains run on a simple, frequent pattern for much of the day, and the line puts the State Capitol, Allianz Field and countless University Avenue businesses within a short walk of a platform.
The A Line works differently. As an arterial bus rapid transit line, it uses limited stops, traffic-signal priority, pre-boarding fare payment and distinctive stations to move quickly along Snelling and Ford Parkway, connecting with the Green Line at Snelling Avenue Station and with the Blue Line at its southern end. Together the two lines form the cross that much of Saint Paul transit travel is built on.
November is when transit earns its keep. A train or rapid bus removes the worst variables of early winter driving, parking on a slushy evening and warming a car at midnight. New riders should check schedules and fares on Metro Transit's site, allow a few extra minutes in bad weather, and note that proof-of-payment systems require a valid fare when asked. Ride the Green Line end to end once this winter and Saint Paul stops looking like a collection of neighborhoods and starts looking like a connected city.
