Passenger Trains > 5/27 update: St. Louis Metrolink extension to MidAmerica Airport

Brush clearing/grubbing of the right-of-way and utility relocation (via both underground and raised power lines) is complete to Rieder Road.

1.) This view is looking west from the soon-to-be-removed southward segment of Wherry Road.  The line will pass through a cut at this location underneath the new section of Rieder Road.  The hill in the distance will also be cut into to make room for the level right-of-way.  Culverts will go in where creeks cross the ROW. The line will go from double track to single track about 1/3 of the way into this scene.

2.) Looking east along Wherry Road near the end of double track.

3.) Looking south from I-64 at the west end of the airport property, just east of Silver Creek.  The line will be single-track here.

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4.) Cleared ROW at the soon-to-be-dead-ended Old Highway 158.  The hill in the background (also visible in photo #1) will be cut into. The line will be double-tracked at this location.

5.) Looking south from Seibert Road (the 4-lane road to the Scott Air Force Base main gate) down the new ROW.  The double-tracked line will rise up on approach embankments on either side of Seibert Road and cross over the road on a new bridge.  The active portion of the line can be seen in the distance, including the end-of-track buffers north of the Scott AFB station and the curved bridge over the Norfolk Southern tracks where the line turns west toward Belleville.

6.) Map sketch of the new extension, with the photo locations marked.

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7.) Looking north from Seibert Road.

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Excellent report, but what is the attraction of MidAmerica Airport?  Is it solely a General Aviation airport or is there scheduled commercial service there?

Gordon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/23 05:26 by gbmott.

Allegiant is currently the only airline serving the airport.

Good map. Thank you.

Posted from Android

Is the AFB there going to have a station served by the St Louis Metrolink?
And what another Airlines are looking to serve Mid America Airport?

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

GP25 Wrote:
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> Is the AFB there going to have a station served by
> the St Louis Metrolink?

There already is a Scott AFB station.
 

Smaller airports outside major cities are attractive to air freight providers and forwarders.

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Smaller airports outside major cities are
> attractive to air freight providers and
> forwarders.
>
> Posted from Android

And as diversion fields if the main airport is closed due to weather or accident.

gbmott Wrote:
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> Excellent report, but what is the attraction of
> MidAmerica Airport?  Is it solely a General
> Aviation airport or is there scheduled commercial
> service there?
>

10000x150 foot runway. Good for landing the big iron, so possible avoidance of expanding STL, air freight operations (go back to interurban times and build LRV freight vehicles.A variety of air freight containers could fit in them.

TAW

Alleigant is the only passenger carrier currently, but they have been gradually adding flights over the years.  The passenger terminal was expanded this year. Boeing has been doing some major building at the airport.  The latest is a new production facility for the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refuleing plane.  There has also been quite a bit of new residential townhouse construction at the I-64/Highway 4 interchange north of the airport.

GP25 Wrote:
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> Is the AFB there going to have a station served by
> the St Louis Metrolink?
> And what another Airlines are looking to serve Mid
> America Airport?

To pharaprase the late Lucious Beebe, this airport is quite popular with commuting ghosts.

Seriously, mass transit to airports can't just be considered a convenience for air travelers. Airports tend to be big job generators, whether employed in air transport directly or the many businesses that tend to locate on airports and around them.

While many airline passengers use transit to get to airports, there are many who just want to get to the airport by some sort of car service or be dropped off by a loved one. Not all passengers using the Metrolink light rail will be heading to the airport. There will be plenty who live in and around Mascoutah who are heading to St. Louis who will probably use the light rail. What's very unique about the Metrolink light rail on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River is that it runs through so many cornfields. I rode it in April of 2015 and felt like I was over 60 miles from St. Louis even though Shiloh is actually around 23 miles from St. Louis.