U.S. Streetcar Systems

John Smatlak - RPR Consulting

Missouri Streetcar Systems

St. Louis

The Loop Trolley

Began Operation: In Planning

Route Miles: 2.2 

Stations:  tbd

Org: tbd    

Schedule: tbd

Photo: Loop Trolley

The 2.2 mile St. Louis Loop Trolley Project is to feature hybrid-electric trolleys running from the Delmar Loop neighborhood in St. Louis to the Missouri History Museum. Backed by $25 million in federal funding received in July 2010, groundbreaking is expected in late 2011, with trolleys rolling by fall 2012. 

The 2.2 mile route will have nine stops, including the Forest Park and Delmar MetroLink stations; Crossroads College Preparatory School; the Pageant; the Tivoli Theatre; and the Market In the Loop. The trolleys will run in both traffic lanes of Delmar west of the old Wabash train station. East of the Wabash station, the trolleys will transition to a single track running down the middle of Delmar. The trolleys will also run on a single set of tracks on DeBaliviere. DeBaliviere will be reconfigured from four lanes to two. Traffic will be moved to the west side of DeBaliviere, while the trolley and a greenway for bicycles and pedestrians will be on the east side. The project is currently budgeted at $44M.

History of the Loop Trolley

In 1997, a community planning group engaged in a collaborative process with the City of St. Louis, University City, and Metro to explore ways of cultivating development around the Delmar MetroLink Station, an area of pedestrian concern. Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill and staunch promoter of The Loop revitalization, suggested that the streetcar system that once built the area and gave The Loop its name could help attract the development needed to extend the Delmar Streetscape and link the Delmar Station to The Loop.

Metro helped finance a $200,000 feasibility study that estimated the cost of a new streetcar system in 2000. The study, completed in December 2000, suggested that an electric trolley line was indeed feasible and even more efficient and effective than a system of buses disguised to look like trolleys. While a fixed track system would cost more to build, the operating costs of a fixed track versus a rubber tire system were almost identical. The study showed that the fixed track system offered long-term viability, with a 70% higher ridership than the rubber tire system.

Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) along with Joe Edwards and others created the non-profit Loop Trolley Company (LTC). CMT secured a grant from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments and the Missouri Department of Transportation to purchase and renovate two historic vehicles for the new line. The renovation is complete and the cars are currently on display in front of the Missouri History Museum and Commerce Bank in The Loop. A preliminary engineering study wrapped up in January 2010, and the Loop Trolley Company continued its efforts to seek federal funding for the project.