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St. Louis Metrolink

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St. Louis Metrolink <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:St Louis Metro Logo.gif</td></tr>
Locale St. Louis metropolitan area
Transit type Light rail<tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">Began operation</th><td>July 1993</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">System length</th><td>46 mi (74 km)</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of lines</th><td>2</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of stations</th><td>37</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">Daily ridership</th><td>46,417 (FY 2005)</td></tr><tr><th style="white-space: nowrap;">Track gauge</th><td>1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)</td></tr>
Operator Bi-State Development Agency dba Metro

MetroLink is a light rail transit system in the St. Louis metropolitan area of Missouri and Illinois. The system currently consists of two lines connecting Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport and Shrewsbury, MO with Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, IL through downtown St. Louis. The system features 37 stations and carries an average of 46,417 people each weekday (FY 2005).

A second line, the "Cross-County Extension," opened to the public August 26, 2006. This 8-mile-long, 9-station line connects Washington University, Clayton, the popular St. Louis Galleria shopping center and Shrewsbury to the system.[1]

Further extensions are under study, but no alignments have yet been chosen, engineered or funded. A 5.3 mile eastward extension of the existing line to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, a civilian airport sharing runways with Scott AFB, has been proposed; however, there are no current plans to fund or build it.

MetroLink is operated by the Bi-State Development Agency, which since 2003 is doing business as Metro.

Contents

[edit] History

A MetroLink Train at the Central West End Station
Image:MetroLink Civic Center Station St Louis MO.jpg
Image:Storm2076uc3.jpg

Construction on the initial MetroLink alignment from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to the 5th & Missouri station in East St. Louis began in 1990. The portion between North Hanley and 5th & Missouri stations opened in July 1993, and the line was extended westward to Lambert Airport Main station in 1994. At that time another station, East Riverfront, was opened in East St. Louis. Four years later, in 1998, the Lambert Airport East station was added. The capital cost to build the initial phase of MetroLink was $464 million. Of that amount, $348 million was supplied by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

MetroLink exceeded pre-opening ridership estimates, but the system has expanded slowly. Construction on proposed extensions has been delayed by the increasing scarcity of FTA funds. As time has passed, an ever-greater share of the costs has been borne by state and local governments. The most recent work has been entirely funded by local dollars.

Construction on the St. Clair County MetroLink extension from the 5th & Missouri station to the College station in Belleville began in 1998 and opened in May 2001. The extension added eight new stations and seven park-ride lots. The total project cost was $339.2 million, with the FTA and St. Clair County Transit District sharing the burden at 72% ($243.9 million) and 28% ($95.2 million), respectively. Local funding was provided by the St. Clair County Transit District as a result of a 1/2 cent sales tax passed in November 1993.

In May 2003, a 3.5-mile extension from Southwestern Illinois College to Shiloh-Scott station opened. This $75 million project was funded by a $60 million grant from the Illinois FIRST (Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit) Program and $15 million from the St. Clair County Transit District.

The current Cross-County Extension project is being funded by a $430 million Metro bond issue. Metro cited repeated delays and cost overruns as its reasons for firing its general contractor in Summer 2004. The contractor, itself a coalition of four general contractors, in turn cited excessive change orders by Metro as the cause of the problems. Since firing the general contractor, Metro has functioned as its own general contractor on the project. The rail portion of the extension opened to the public August 26, 2006, although some ancillary work—most notably, the construction of a parking garage at the Brentwood I-64 station—will not be complete until mid-2007.

[edit] List of stations

[edit] Lambert Airport branch

Map of St. Louis' MetroLink light rail system

Lambert Airport Main to Shiloh-Scott

[edit] Shrewsbury branch

Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44 to Emerson Park

[edit] Further Plans

  • St. Clair County Extension Phase III: Shiloh-Scott to Mid-America Airport
  • Cross County Phase II: Shrewsbury to Butler Hill
  • Daniel Boone: Clayton to Westport
  • North City: Downtown to Natural Brige & Goodfellow to St. Louis Community College-Florissant
  • South City: Downtown to Carondolet Park to Butler Hill

[edit] External links

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