The end of the line could be near for Northstar Commuter Rail.

Metro Transit’s commuter rail service has operated between Big Lake and Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis since 2009, but state and local leaders are now considering alternatives.

In light of a report released Monday by the Minnesota Department of Transportation illustrating the line’s continued post-pandemic woes, MnDOT and Metropolitan Council leaders say they’re looking into replacing the rail line with bus service, citing the need for “cost-effective transit service.”

“As the world and consumer demand changes, we must be willing to be flexible and innovative to offer better service while saving dollars,” MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger and Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle said in a joint statement. “We have jointly started the process to explore transitioning to bus service in this corridor.”

In 2019, the Northstar Line carried 767,768 passengers and operated seven days a week. After COVID-19 hit, Metro Transit cut back Northstar’s daily round trips and eliminated weekend service. Annual ridership plummeted to 50,433 in 2021. As Northstar gradually added trips, that number had nearly doubled to 97,265 by 2023, still a far cry from its former peak.

On the same day MnDOT released its report, state lawmakers on the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee considered a bill that would request federal approval to shut down the Northstar Line.

“It’s time to mothball this boondoggle,” said Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, who authored the bill. “The Northstar is not feasible or viable. It is a loser of a line that needs to terminate. Taxpayers are tired of increasing taxes and shouldn’t have to keep paying for this loser.”

Koznick says the line has never met projected ridership since it began in 2009. In 2019, the taxpayer subsidy for each ride was $19.39 per passenger. By April 2020, early in the pandemic, ridership plummeted 97% and the subsidy per passenger skyrocketed to $445.45 per ride. Ridership has never recovered, and the current subsidy per passenger ride is $115.

Supporters of Northstar say the line would be more viable if it extended from Big Lake to the bigger population center of St. Cloud, as was planned when it was conceived. But opponents remain skeptical.

“There’s no customer base for this, nor will there ever be,” said former Met Council member Meeks.

Although the bill passed on a voice vote, a few DFL members on the committee cautioned they might be moving too fast.

“I’m not ready to give up on rail,” said Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, “And that’s what I worry we are doing if we move quickly with things like this bill.”

Rep. Lucy Rehm, DFL-Chanhassen, agreed.

“We need more transportation options, not fewer. So I am concerned about making any quick movement here,” Rehm said.

The bill next goes to the House floor where it will need at least one Democrat to join 67 Republicans in approving the bill. It also would require approval in the DFL-controlled Senate.