Traveling by Train in and Around Anoka County

Northstar Train

The Twin Cities region has a growing network of light rail, commuter rail, and intercity passenger train services.

Currently, there are four train lines that serve the region:

  • Northstar Commuter Rail between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis, the only service with stops in Anoka County.
  • METRO Blue Line light rail between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America via Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
  • METRO Green Line light rail between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul.
  • Amtrak Empire Builder intercity service from St. Paul to Seattle, WA/Portland, OR and St. Paul to Chicago, IL.

Northstar Commuter Rail

Button depicting a Northstar commuter rail train.

METRO Green Line Light Rail

Button depicting METRO Green Line light rail train.

METRO Blue Line Light Rail

Button depicting METRO Blue Line light rail train.

Amtrak Empire Builder

Button depicting an Amtrak train at Union Depot in Saint Paul

Train-Related Links

METRO System: Some METRO lines use trains, others use buses. METRO lines are named by color (blue, red, green) rather than numbers.

Guaranteed Ride Home: Guaranteed Ride Home is Metro Transit's free program that gets you home from work or school if you have a family emergency or have to work late unexpectedly. To be eligible for this program, you must ride the train, bus, carpool, vanpool, bicycle or walk to work or school at least three times per week.