Gateway to the Future

St. Louis Metrolink is celebrating its 13th year with the opening of a new link, the Cross County extension, which will travel from downtown St. Louis through the Clayton, Missouri business center and ending in Shrewsbury, Missouri. It is expected to add 18,000 daily boardings. Metrolink has been among the most cost-effective lines of its type in part because it uses pre-existing rail rights of way for much of its track. Depending on the season, daily ridership can be as high as 58,000. Setbacks on the new extension included major miscalculations in original designs and resistance from neighborhoods that wanted new lines to be placed below ground. The budget went up to $682 million, forcing the authority to seek additional funding from local sources. Additional federal money is intended to build another extension that would add eight stations on an 8.5 mile alignment. Future challenges include the need for more local participation in operating costs in order to continue to provide the level of service that riders have come to expect. A map is included showing the current and future lines.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586268
• Authors:
  • Luczak, Marybeth
• Publication Date: 2006-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Maps; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 26-27
• Serial:
  • Railway Age
  • Volume: 207
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation
  • ISSN: 0033-8826
  • Serial URL: http://www.railwayage.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cost effectiveness; Government funding; Passenger trains; Rail transit; Railroad commuter service
• Identifier Terms: MetroLink (Saint Louis, Missouri)
• Geographic Terms: Illinois; Missouri
• Subject Areas: Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01020977
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 3 2006 7:35AM