I’ll be attending an event at Union Station in St. Louis on Saturday, and I’d like to park at one of Metrolink’s free park & ride lots and then take a train to Union Station. Unfortunately I can’t make heads or tails of the Metrolink website. Can anyone tell me which station I can park at (free is preferable, near I-44 is even more preferable) and then take a train (not a bus) to Union Station?
Also, what is the one-way fare for Metrolink, and do they accept cash?
Is this the metrolink site you’re looking at? It mentions cash, coins, and credit cards are accepted at the ticket vending machines.
I usually only take it for ballgames; it’s ~$10 for a round trip, but that may be a special rate. Should be close to that, though. Make sure you get a round trip if that’s what you intend (should get two stubs back). If you need exact prices, try calling the Metro transit info number.
I usually park at the Shrewsbury lot off I44. You’d have to check for other stations to see if they have free lots.
The only transfer you’d need is on the return trip - the line splits at the Forest Park stop. When you return, make sure you only get on a train marked “Shrewsbury”.
Make sure you validate your ticket before boarding. There’s usually a validation machine near where you go up/down to the train platform at most of the stops. Only validate the ticket for the trip you’re on - if you have a return trip ticket, validate that when you’re returning.
edit: Actually, I have been on a train headed downtown that stopped at the Forest Park station, and we had to wait around for another train to come through. That’s apparently where trains are parked when not in use, so they stop there to take them out of service. If that happens, it adds ~10 min extra wait.
Not sure where you’re coming from, but I’d cross the river and park by the Casino Queen (AKA “East Riverfront”). Miles of free parking and the train ride is just a couple minutes to Union Station. If you’re coming from the west side, Shrewsbury has a park and ride lot. But so do all the stops with a blue dot on them in the map Lightray linked to. Put the name of the stop into Google maps to see how to get there by car. The red and blue lines overlap quite a bit, so if you aren’t going past Forest Park in the west or Fairview Heights in the east, it doesn’t matter which train you take.