Red Line (St. Louis MetroLink)

The Red Line is the older and longer line of the MetroLink light rail service in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It serves 28 stations in Greater St. Louis.

Red Line
Red Line train at Union Station
Overview
TypeLight rail
SystemSt. Louis MetroLink
StatusOperational
LocaleGreater St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois, U.S.
TerminiLambert Airport Terminal 1 (west)
Shiloh–Scott (east)
Stations29
Operation
OpenedJuly 31, 1993 (1993-07-31)
Operator(s)Metro
Technical
Line length38-mile (61 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC, overhead lines
Highest elevationAt-grade, elevated, and underground
Route diagram

 Lambert Airport Terminal 1
 Lambert Airport Terminal 2
 I-70
 North Hanley
 UMSL North
 UMSL South
 Rock Road
 Wellston
 Delmar Loop
Blue Line
to Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44
 Forest Park–DeBaliviere
 Central West End
 Cortex
I-64 / US 40
 Grand
Ewing Yard
I-64 / US 40
 Union Station
 Civic Center
Stadium
 8th & Pine
 Convention Center
 I-44
 Laclede's Landing
Eads Bridge
over the Mississippi River
MO
IL
 East Riverfront
 5th & Missouri
I-64
 Emerson Park
 Joyner-Kersee Center
I-64
29th Street Yard
 Washington Park
I-255 / US 50
 Fairview Heights
 Memorial Hospital
 Swansea
 Belleville
 College
 Shiloh–Scott

History

Transit planning along the Airport/Central Corridor began as early as 1971, when it was selected as the region's primary target for further study. In 1983, funding was approved to evaluate five mode alternatives, which culminated in a 1984 draft environmental impact statement. After a series of public hearings, the East–West Gateway Coordinating Council, a council composed of the region's local governments, adopted light rail as the preferred mode alternative.[1]:203

The project's capital expense budget was $287.7 million (equivalent to $538 million in 2018 dollars), which covered design and engineering, procurement, construction, and testing.[1]:201

Route
A train at Lambert Airport Terminal 1 station, then-named Lambert Airport Main
Union Station platform

The 38-mile (61 km) Red Line MetroLink alignment begins at Lambert St. Louis International Airport, making stops at the main and east terminal stations. It then proceeds through Kinloch before making a stop in North Hanley near Bel-Ridge. It makes 2 stops (UMSL North & South stations) at the University of Missouri St. Louis located in Normandy. After departing UMSL-North Station, the trains divert south onto the former Wabash/Norfolk & Western Railroad's Union Depot (U.D.) line that once brought passenger trains from Ferguson to Union Station. It further follows into 2 stops in Pagedale on St. Charles Rock Road and Wellston on Plymouth St., before crossing the St. Louis City/County boundary line at Skinker Boulevard; and making a stop at Delmar Boulevard, serving the popular Delmar Loop and located just below the original Wabash Railroad's Delmar Station building. The Red Line meets up with the Blue Line at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station. From this station to the Fairview Heights station in Illinois, it creates the Shared Alignment track with the Blue Line. It terminates in Shiloh next to the Scott Air Force Base and close to the Mid-America Airport in Mascoutah.

Stations

From Lambert Airport to Shiloh-Scott (west to east)

Station Line transfer City/town served County Opening year
Lambert Airport Terminal 1 — Edmundson St. Louis 1994
Lambert Airport Terminal 2 — Woodson Terrace 1998
North Hanley — Carsonville 1993
UMSL North — Normandy 1993
UMSL South — 1993
Rock Road — Pagedale 1993
Wellston — Wellston 1993
Delmar Loop — St. Louis Independent
city		 1993
Forest Park–DeBaliviere      1993
Central West End      1993
Cortex      2018
Grand      1993
Union Station      1993
Civic Center      1993
Stadium      1993
8th & Pine      1993
Convention Center      1993
Laclede's Landing      1993
East Riverfront      1994
5th & Missouri      East St. Louis St. Clair 1993
Emerson Park      2001
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center      2001
Washington Park      2001
Fairview Heights      Fairview Heights 2001
Memorial Hospital — Belleville 2001
Swansea — Swansea 2001
Belleville — Belleville 2001
College — 2001
Shiloh–Scott — Shiloh 2003

Future extensions

Some of these extensions will make the Red Line one of the longest light rail lines in the United States.

St. Clair County Extension

St. Clair County Extension Phase 3 - Shiloh-Scott to MidAmerica Airport: the St. Clair County Extension Phase III will extend 5.3-mile (8.5 km) to MidAmerica Airport. Although design work for the extension has been completed, funding for construction hasn't been secured. It was originally part of the St. Clair County Extension Phase II project that extended to Shiloh-Scott, but was separated into its own project by the Federal Transit Administration due to projections of low ridership. If this extension had been built, it would have been 43.3-mile (69.7 km) on this route alone.

Madison County Corridors

Madison County Corridors - East St. Louis to Alton/Edwardsville: A study in 2005 was performed to investigate the potential costs, ridership, and impacts of extending Metrolink into Madison County, Illinois. According to the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, there are two recommended alignments for Madison County. Both of the alignments will start from the 5th & Missouri station out of East St Louis in St. Clair County to Granite City, Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Edwardsville, East Alton, Wood River, and Alton in Madison County, Illinois 21–23-mile (34–37 km) away. The alignments will junction off in Madison, Illinois into two alignments. In order to plan out the two alignments, Metro will have to collaborate with Madison County Transit.

St. Charles Corridor

St. Charles Corridor - Lambert Airport to St. Charles County: Possible plans to expand MetroLink 16–20-mile (26–32 km) from Lambert Airport northwestward to St. Charles County were abandoned after St. Charles County voters rejected a sales tax in 1996 to fund an extension; subsequently, all MetroBus service was ended. If the extension was funded, the route would have used the Old St. Charles Bridge (now demolished) as a crossing over the Missouri River to the City of St. Charles, St. Peters, and O'Fallon. In the near future, it may be considered a potential alignment to study.

See also

References
  1. Campion, Douglas R.; Wischmeyer, Jr., Oliver W. (1988). Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Technology Sharing in Bringing LRT to St. Louis (PDF) (Report) (221 ed.). Transportation Research Board. Retrieved October 14, 2019.

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