Central Corridor light-rail vehicles to be tested between Minneapolis, St. Paul

Testing of Central Corridor/Green Line light-rail vehicles will begin on University Avenue between Stadium Village in Minneapolis and Fry Street in St. Paul during the week of Aug. 26, Metropolitan Council officials announced late last week.

Beginning late night Aug. 26 into the overnight hours, a light-rail vehicle will operate along the route. The vehicle will draw power from overhead wires for the first time in that stretch of the 11-mile line, Metropolitan Council officials said in a press release.

Sometime this week, in preparation for the live-wire tests, a rail-car mover will pull a light-rail vehicle along University between Stadium Village and Fry during daytime hours to verify clearances before the lines are energized, they said.

"With these tests, the Central Corridor LRT project continues to make excellent progress toward our goal of opening in mid-2014 before the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Target Field next July. Construction is now 95 percent complete," said Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh.

The first live-wire test of a light-rail vehicle along the corridor occurred July 25 from the West Bank through the East Bank to Stadium Village. Live-wire tests through campus resumed overnight the first full week of August and are continuing through September.

The Central Corridor light-rail line will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and University of Minnesota. Construction on the 11-mile line began in late 2010.