St. Louis Commuter Rail
| St. Louis Commuter Rail | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| Status | Currently in the planning stage |
| Locale | Greater St. Louis |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | Bi-State Development Agency |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 80 miles (Projected) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The St. Louis Commuter Rail is a series of proposed commuter rail lines being developed by Metro's Moving Transit Forward Plan.
Early proposal
According to Metro, there are only about 80 miles of corridors being considered. Commuter rail lines were in Metro's plans in 1994 when voters approved a one-fourth cent transit sales tax, but official dropped them later because the cost was not worth the benefit and the fare would be expensive.
Latest proposal
The 2010 Moving Transit Forward long-range plan proposes corridors running from the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center near downtown St. Louis. The options (which are dependent on the successful completion of planned Amtrak high-speed rail routes) could run to Alton, Illinois, and Eureka or Pacific, Missouri. The use of existing high-speed rail infrastructure would mean costs could be limited to building stations, purchasing trains and operating the service.[1]
Proposed corridors
- Pacific Corridor
- This corridor could run from the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center[2] in downtown St. Louis Southwest through St. Louis County along existing Union Pacific track through Maplewood, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Valley Park, Eureka or Pacific, Missouri along the Franklin County line.[3]
- Bismarck Corridor
- This corridor could run from the Gateway Multimodal transportation Center through Maplewood, Broadway, Jefferson Barracks, Oakville, Arnold, Kimmswick, Imperial, Festus, Hematite, De Soto, Blackwell, Mineral Point, Irondale, and Bismarck
- Alton Corridor
- This corridor could also run from the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center[2] through East St. Louis, Madison, Granite City, Wood River to Alton.[4]
References
- ↑ Metro (2010). "Moving Transit Forward St. Louis Regional Long-Range Transit Plan" (pdf). metrostlouis.org. p. 56. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
Two routes have been identified, one between Downtown St. Louis and Alton, IL, and the other from Downtown St. Louis to Eureka or Pacific, MO. Though these projects are included as plan options, they are not included in the capital investment strategy. They depend entirely upon the success of Federal and State initiatives to build intercity, high-speed rail connections between Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City.
- 1 2 http://stlouis.missouri.org/5yearstrategy/1999/ch2_infr.html
- ↑ http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/02/15/st-louis-metro-promotes-transit-investment-plan-but-will-need-sales-tax-support-to-see-it-through/
- ↑ http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2009/12/expanded-metro-options-affect-st-louis-county-sales-tax-campaign/
External links
- Moving Transit Forward Website
- Moving Transit Forward Draft
- St. Louis Commuter Rail Options
- Historic images, St. Louis Today
