Blue Line (St. Louis MetroLink)
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The Blue Line is the newer and shorter line of the MetroLink light rail service in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, United States. It serves 25
stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
across three counties and two states in
Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...
.


History

Much of the southern half of the Blue Line follows a former
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a Class III switching and terminal railroad that handles traffic in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. It is co-owned by five of the six Class I railroads that reach the city. Present ope ...
(TRRA)/ Rock Island railroad right of way that ran from BNSF's junction with the Cuba and River subdivisions (known as Southeastern Junction) to what is now
Interstate 170 Interstate 170 (I-170), also known as the Inner Belt Expressway, is an north–south Interstate Highway in Greater St. Louis, Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area ...
Business Center in St. John, Missouri. The current stretch of line from the Clayton to Forest Park-DeBaliviere stations was known as the Forsyth branch until Rock Island abandoned it in 1931. The TRRA used the trackage from Clayton to St. John until the section from Big Bend to Olive Boulevard was severed to the lack of customers. This was historically known as the TRRA Central Belt. The rest of the track was removed in 2002 prior to construction of the Blue Line. All that remains of the original Central Belt is the portion north from Rock Island Junction, near Overland, Missouri (where the Central Belt crossed the junction between TRRA's West Belt and the
Central Midland Railway The Central Midland Railway , a division of Progressive Rail Incorporated of Lakeville, Minnesota, was a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Missouri, operating under lease of the former St. Louis Subdivision of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pac ...
), to just a fifth of a mile past Page Avenue where some industries still use TRRA trackage.


Arts in Transit

In 2002, Metro's Arts in Transit program commissioned a group of artists to join architects and engineers during the design phase of the Cross County Expansion. This practice of artist participation during the early stages of system design was established during the design and construction of the initial MetroLink alignment that opened in 1993. The work of these artists involved exploration of landscape alternatives, designing the paving patterns for concrete adjacent to stations, and creating the “flow”-patterned retaining walls running along the tracks in the below-grade stretches of the alignment. In 2006, the Arts in Transit program commissioned a work made for at-grade stretches of the alignment. An overlay of lacy aluminum silhouettes, titled ''A Walk in the Park'', embellishes the concrete privacy fence, called the Catlin Wall, which runs parallel to the tracks between the Skinker and Forest Park-DeBaliviere stations. Created by Andy Cross, Carl Harris, and Ty de LaVenta, the work is a series of cut metal panels depicting trees, vines, leaves, and trellises.


2022 Flooding

On July 26, 2022, the Forest Park-DeBaliviere and
Delmar Loop The Delmar Loop, often referred to by St. Louis residents simply as The Loop, is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant district in University City, Missouri and the adjoining western edge of St. Louis near Washington University in St. Louis an ...
stations were flooded in a catastrophic flash flooding event that shut the system down for close to 72 hours. Damage to the stations, rolling stock, ballast, signaling infrastructure, fiber optics, etc. is estimated to be $40 million. On September 5, 2022, Metro announced new schedules to accommodate repairs being made to the system. It is estimated repairs could take six months or longer. Currently, the Blue Line is operating only between the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44 and Forest Park-DeBaliviere stations while repairs are made to the system. In November 2022, Metro announced the restoration of Blue Line service to its Fairview Heights terminal while repairs to the flood damaged system continue.


Route

The 24-mile (39 km) Blue Line alignment starts in Shrewsbury, Missouri ( Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44) just west of the River des Peres. It crosses over Interstate 44 and continues north to the next two stations located in Maplewood, Missouri ( Sunnen and Maplewood/Manchester). The line then continues north to the Brentwood I-64 station, located in Brentwood, Missouri just south of Interstate 64. It then proceeds north in a tunnel underneath Interstate 64, continuing to the Richmond Heights station serving the popular Saint Louis Galleria shopping mall. The line then proceeds through a sharp turn east to the Clayton station in the median of Forest Park Parkway in
Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...
where it serves the Central Business District of St. Louis County. It heads further east to the
Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...
station where it then enters a tunnel traveling to the University City-Big Bend subway station. After crossing the St. Louis City/County boundary, the Blue Line makes its last stop at the Skinker subway station serving nearby Washington University. At the following station, Forest Park-DeBaliviere, the Blue Line meets the Red Line. From this station the two services share a track alignment with each other until the Blue Line terminates at the Fairview Heights station in Illinois.


Shared Alignment

From the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station, the Blue and Red lines share the same set of tracks for the next 16 stations. Continuing east, the Central West End and Cortex stations serve the popular Central West End neighborhood, Washington University Medical Center and Cortex Innovation Community. The
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station transfers with the busy #70 MetroBus line and serves
Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
and its
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
. Next, the Union Station, Civic Center,
Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
, 8th & Pine,
Convention Center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
and
Laclede's Landing Laclede's Landing (), colloquially "the Landing", is a small urban historic district in St. Louis, Missouri. It marks the northern part of the original settlement founded by the Frenchman Pierre Laclède, whose landing on the riverside the placenam ...
stations serve downtown St. Louis and its many popular attractions. Crossing the historic Eads Bridge into Illinois, the line serves the East Riverfront, 5th & Missouri,
Emerson Park Emerson Park is a suburban neighbourhood near Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. Predominantly affluent and residential, it is located approximately north-east of Charing Cross. It is part of the Hornchurch post town an ...
,
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center (also known as JJK Center) is a St. Louis MetroLink station. It is adjacent to the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center and Jones Park in East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located just west of Metro's 29th Street Yard and ...
, and Washington Park stations in East St. Louis, Illinois. At the next station, Fairview Heights, the Blue Line terminates and the shared alignment ends.


Stations

''From Shrewsbury−Lansdowne I-44 to Fairview Heights (west to east)''


Previous Extension Proposals

These extensions were proposed when Metro released its Moving Transit Forward plan in 2010. Most are now defunct as regional leadership has said their current focus is on the City and North County corridors and not previous expansion proposals.


Cross County Corridors

Daniel Boone - Clayton to Maryland Heights/Westport & Chesterfield * A study performed in 2000 recommended a new MetroLink line from
Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...
to
Westport Plaza Westport Plaza is a , commercial development, resort, and entertainment center located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Westport was built by a prominent St. Louis developer, Thomas J. White, and opened in 1973. Westport since has grown to over of ...
in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The 8 to 10-mile (13-16 km) line would have run north from the Clayton station along the disused
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a Class III switching and terminal railroad that handles traffic in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. It is co-owned by five of the six Class I railroads that reach the city. Present ope ...
"Central Belt" right-of-way paralleling Interstate 170, then turn west to follow existing
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
trackage operated by
Central Midland Railway The Central Midland Railway , a division of Progressive Rail Incorporated of Lakeville, Minnesota, was a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Missouri, operating under lease of the former St. Louis Subdivision of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pac ...
to Page Avenue where the line would have then followed Page to
Westport Plaza Westport Plaza is a , commercial development, resort, and entertainment center located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Westport was built by a prominent St. Louis developer, Thomas J. White, and opened in 1973. Westport since has grown to over of ...
. This proposed alignment would have added up to six stations between Clayton and Maryland Heights in the Interstate 170 and Page corridors serving
Ladue Ladue is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,989. Ladue has the highest median household income of any city in Missouri with a population over 1,000. Ge ...
, Olivette, and Overland. * A extension to
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
would have been a potential Phase II of the Daniel Boone Corridor. The alignment would have headed west from Westport Plaza and crossed over Interstate 270 in Maryland Heights. It would have then run along the Page Avenue Extension ( Highway 364) until it turned towards Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. It then would have headed westward to
Spirit of St. Louis Airport Spirit of St. Louis Airport is a public airport located 17 miles (27 km) west of the central business district of St. Louis, in St. Louis County, Missouri, in the city of Chesterfield, United States. It is owned by St. Louis County and na ...
in the Chesterfield Valley. This alignment has not been given serious consideration because of its perceived low ridership potential. MetroNorth - Clayton to Florissant * This extension would have extended the current Blue Line from Clayton towards North County and into Florissant, Missouri. Like the Daniel Boone line, some of it will follow along the old Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis "Central Belt" right-of-way paralleling I-170. MetroSouth - Shrewsbury to Butler Hill * This extension would have extended the current Blue Line from its terminus in Shrewsbury, Missouri further into South County beyond Interstates 270/255 to Butler Hill Road. An environmental impact study was completed in 2004; however, selection of an LPA was deferred due to the lack of local funding sources as well as other factors.


See also

* List of St. Louis MetroLink stations * Red Line (St. Louis MetroLink)


References

{{St. Louis MetroLink Metro Transit (St. Louis) MetroLink (St. Louis) Light rail in Missouri Light rail in Illinois Proposed railway lines in Missouri