When I think of a transit line that is referred to as the red line I think of major subway systems such as in Los Angeles or in Washington DC where the red line is a major trunk line, or one of the several light rail systems that have red lines. But in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region the Red Line is actually a bus line that runs from the Mall of America terminus of the Blue light rail line to the side of major road transit center in Apple Valley in the deep suburbs of Minneapolis – St. Paul.
The Red Line began service June 22, 2013 with 15 minute service that was designed to provide close to across the platform connections from the Blue line, however bus service has now been cut back to every 20 minutes. There are currently 5 stations on the route with two infill stations planned and a proposed extension to the city of Lakeview that will add 5 more stations and increase the route mileage from 11 to 16 miles. The service is part of the Metro network that serves the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul region. It is operated by Minnesota Valley Transit Authority which operates transit service in Dakota County that most of the route traverses through.
