Green Line (St. Louis MetroLink)

The Green Line is a planned expansion of the MetroLink light rail system in St. Louis, Missouri. The north–south line would be at-grade with street running sections that use a dedicated lane. It would be the third line in the MetroLink system.

History

The need for a north/south MetroLink line was first identified during the East-West Gateway Council of Governments three corridor study in the year 2000. Officials identified a northern locally perfered alternative (LPA) that would have connected downtown St. Louis to St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley that would have cost $485.5 million. Additionally, a southern LPA was recommended to connect downtown St. Louis with Cross County Segment 2 via Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and a new busway between Chouteau and Loughborough avenues. Despite recommending alternatives, local officials never moved these routes beyond the study phase. However, these suggestions would become the basis for future north/south transit planning in the St. Louis region.

In 2008, staff at East-West Gateway recommended three new LPAs for a north/south MetroLink line. The northern LPA would have run from 14th Street to a park-and-ride lot at Goodfellow Boulevard near Interstate 70. The central LPA would have connected the northern and southern sections with a couplet on 9th and 10th streets in downtown St. Louis. The southern LPA would have run from 14th Street to a park-and-ride lot at Bayless via Jefferson Avenue and Interstate 55. After St. Louis County voters defeated Proposition M in November 2008, all MetroLink expansion plans were shelved.

In 2017, St. Louis City voters passed Proposition 1, a half-cent sales tax estimated to generate about $12 million per year for MetroLink expansion. The following year, East-West Gateway staff recommended an updated north/south LPA that would shorten the route to run between North Grand Boulevard and Chippewa Street via a couplet on 9th and 10th streets in downtown St. Louis. This route would have added 19 stations and cost approximately $667 million.

In 2022, Bi-State Development approved an intergovernmental agreement with St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis allowing the parties to move forward on an expanded Northside-Southside MetroLink corridor study.

In September 2023, Bi-State's board approved a four-year, $18.9 million contract with the joint venture Northside-Southside Transit Partners to provide consulting services for the design phase of the project. In February 2024, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments approved the updated locally preferred alternative along Jefferson thereby allowing the region to apply for federal funding.

The route would serve about 10 stations between Chippewa Street in South St. Louis and Grand Boulevard in North St. Louis running primarily on Jefferson Avenue. It would provide a fixed rail upgrade to Metro's #11 (Chippewa) and #4 (Natural Bridge) bus routes. The 2023 design study estimates 5,000 daily boardings, $8-9 million in annual operating costs, and $1.1 billion in capital costs. Metro planned to expand the Ewing Yard and Shops to maintain light rail vehicles for the proposed expansion.

In April 2025, Bi-State announced that St. Louis mayor Cara Spencer had requested a pause in further planning for the Green Line project until a review of viability and competitiveness was completed.

Route

The route would begin at the intersection of Natural Bridge Avenue and Grand Boulevard with a station at Fairground Park. It then continues east along Natural Bridge and then south on Parnell Street with a station at St. Louis Avenue. Continuing south as Parnell turns into Jefferson Avenue the line has stations at Cass Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive before entering downtown St. Louis. Downtown stations include Market Street and Scott Avenue/Ewing Yard where a transfer between the Red and Blue lines can be made. Continuing south on Jefferson the line has four more stations at Park Avenue, Gravois/Sidney Street, Cherokee Street and terminates at Chippewa Street.

Stations

''From Grand/Fairground Park to Chippewa (north to south)''

Future extension

An extension of the Green Line into North St. Louis County had been explored. In 2023, four alternatives were proposed that would have continued the line from the Grand/Fairground station along Natural Bridge Avenue toward the county. By 2024, County leadership had rejected all four routes primarily due to the unfunded gap between the Grand/Fairground station and the county line. Additionally, concerns were raised about federal funding, ridership, right-of-way constraints and other factors. Instead, county leaders are exploring alternatives for North County such as light rail branching off the existing Red Line near the University of Missouri–St. Louis, rapid bus service or a hybrid of the four 2023 alternatives.

Those 2023 alternatives were:

# Goodfellow/West Florissant. This route would continue along Natural Bridge Avenue, turn north on Goodfellow Boulevard and then head northwest along West Florissant Avenue ending at the North County Transit Center.
# Jennings Stations/Halls Ferry. This route would continue along Natural Bridge Avenue, turn north on Jennings Station Road and then head northwest along Halls Ferry Road ending at the North County Transit Center.
# Lucas-Hunt/Halls Ferry. This route would continue along Natural Bridge Avenue, turn north on Lucas-Hunt Road and then head northwest along Halls Ferry Road ending at the North County Transit Center.
# Natural Bridge/Florissant. This route would continue along Natural Bridge Avenue with a transfer to the existing Red Line at the UMSL–North station. The route would then continue north through Ferguson on Florissant Road ending at Hereford Avenue.

See also

References

{{Missouri public transit

Proposed rail infrastructure in the United States
MetroLink (St. Louis)
Metro Transit (St. Louis)
Light rail in Missouri
Rail in St. Louis
Proposed railway lines in Missouri
Passenger rail transportation in Missouri
Public transportation in Greater St. Louis
Public transportation in St. Louis