The Green Line, a new Light Rail line opening June 14, will provide more transportation opportunities to students and changes to St. Thomas’ shuttle pickup and drop-off location.

St. Thomas Neighborhood Liaison John Hershey said preparation for the Green Line’s opening has been noticeable.

“You’re already seeing cars on it. They’re starting to practice-run train drivers, and train automobile drivers to see them and cope with them,” Hershey said. “They’re beginning to set their times and routes.”

Two buses popular with St. Thomas students—the 63, which travels to downtown St. Paul, and the 87—which travels to the University of Minnesota and Rosedale Mall—will also see some changes. Both buses will offer connections to the Green Line.

Hershey said the 63 will also no longer make stops in front of the Anderson Student Center on Summit Avenue. A new stop is going to be built for the 63 on Cretin Avenue.

Hershey and Public Safety have been working with Metro Transit on these changes for about a year. The university will also make changes to the bus stop in front of the arches.

“We’re going to try to clear that intersection for the crosswalk,” Hershey said. “We’ve got buses stopping there, and sometimes sight lines aren’t so good, so we’re going to try to move the shuttle to the current bus stop in front of the student center.”

William Carter, Public Safety special projects manager, said St. Thomas students will have access to the Green Line from three separate bus lines which currently run on Grand, Selby and Cleveland Avenues.

Each of these buses, including the 63 and the 87, will increase in frequency and the routes will be slightly altered.

Freshman and commuter student Priya Gherau has ridden the Light Rail many times, and said she thinks the new one will benefit students.

“I think having a light rail on campus or near campus would be awesome,” Gherau said. “It would be really convenient for commuters and people on campus because I heard the buses can get a little crowded sometimes.”

Freshman Cassi Noel hopes that the new Light Rail line will be easier to ride than the current one.

“We definitely had an issue with locating the light rail station,” Noel said. “Perhaps it was our error, but that was the main struggle for us.”

Junior Kelsie Sargent said she thinks the Green Line will make navigating around the Twin Cities easier.

“I think it will help make off-campus places more accessible and branch St. Thomas out into the larger community,” Sargent said.

Carter said students will be able to easily travel from campus to the University of Minnesota, downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. He also said taking the Green Line will also allow students connections to other bus stations that can take them to places beyond Minnesota, such as Chicago.

“Considering the added convenience factor combined with the efficiency, access and cost, I’m very excited about this,” Carter said.

Jamie Bernard can be reached at bern2479@stthomas.edu.