One Line, Two Very Different Stops: Comparing MetroLink at Grand and the Central West End

{Grand is one of MetroLink's busiest stations in spite of its isolated location}

The original MetroLink line that opened in 1993 between North Hanley and 5th & Missouri is often praised as one of the most creative uses of existing right-of-way and financing for a light-rail line in the United States. MetroLink planners acquired a significant amount of abandoned railroad r.o.w. and even traded bridges with the TRRA. On the financing side of things, planners managed to fund the line without a single dollar of local funding: planners used the assessed value of the r.o.w. and property that they had acquired as the 25% local match for the $384 million project. It was such a brilliant move that it's no longer allowed.

Given the large amount of reutilized railroad r.o.w., it is amazing just how many activity centers MetroLink manages to hit. The light-rail line passes through the heart of downtown in a tunnel—all three major sports stadia—as well as linking to other destinations and centers such as UMSL, BJC Hospital, and The Loop. That said, the MetroLink alignment misses a few other connections.