Big Lake (Metro Transit station)

Big Lake

The single platform at Big Lake station.
Location 19691 County Road 43
Big Lake, MN 55309
Coordinates 45°19′47.4″N 93°43′48.1″W / 45.329833°N 93.730028°WCoordinates: 45°19′47.4″N 93°43′48.1″W / 45.329833°N 93.730028°W
Line(s)
Platforms Single side platform
Tracks 2 (only one usable)
Connections 887 (Northstar Link), 887F (Fridays only)
Construction
Parking 518 spaces
Bicycle facilities 6 lockers[1]
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened November 16, 2009
Services
Preceding station   Metro Transit   Following station
TerminusNorthstar Line
Route 888
toward Target Field

Big Lake Station is a Northstar Line commuter rail station in Big Lake, Minnesota, located at 19691 County Road 43, in the southeast corner of Big Lake near U.S. Highway 10. The station features bicycle lockers and a park and ride lot with capacity for 518 vehicles. Commute time to downtown Minneapolis from this station is about 51 minutes.[2] The fare to downtown Minneapolis from this station is $6.00 on weekdays and $5.25 on weekends and holidays; the fare to and from any other station is $3.00 on weekdays and $2.50 on weekends and holidays.[3][4]

This station is the northbound terminus until funding for an extension to St. Cloud is secured. In the meantime, a commuter bus branded the Northstar Link (route 887) connects Big Lake with St. Cloud, stopping at the Metro Bus downtown transit center, St. Cloud State University, a commuter parking lot at Lincoln Avenue and U.S. Highway 10 and the Coffee Cup Cafe in Becker. The bus fare is $3.25 one-way if commuting toward Minneapolis during the weekday mornings or toward St. Cloud in the weekday afternoons, or $1.75 if riding the "reverse" commute on the weekdays or if riding on weekends or holidays.[5] The bus is currently operated by St. Cloud Metro Bus, rather than Metro Transit, so Metro Transit passes like the Go-To card cannot be used.[5]

The maintenance facility for the Northstar trains was built just to the south. This station also marks the southern end of a nine-mile stretch where the BNSF mainline is just single-tracked rather than double-tracked. A second track will need to be added up to Becker to increase capacity if commuter rail is to be expanded to St. Cloud.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Metro Transit - Bike Lockers
  2. ↑ http://www.metrotransit.org/big-lake-station.aspx
  3. ↑ http://www.metrotransit.org/fares.aspx#Northstarfares
  4. ↑ http://metrotransit.org/TransitArticles/Story.aspx?pageid=18&mid=393&articleid=994
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.catchthelink.com
  6. ↑ "Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan: Freight and Passenger Rail System Planning (Draft Technical Memorandum 4)" (PDF). Cambridge Systematics. August 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2010.

External links