The number of rides taken on the Northstar Rail was more than 33,000 in November. The ridership number includes the first 15 days of service, which included Thanksgiving weekend and a special Vikings event train. The daily ridership in November averaged 2,207, compared to a 2010 daily average goal of about 2,460.

Northstar offers five morning rush hour trips to Minneapolis and five trips home in the afternoon, as well as one reverse commute trip. Three roundtrips are also available on Saturdays and Sunday.