Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Metro opens new East St. Louis facility to paint MetroLink cars

EAST ST. LOUIS -- Metro, the operator of the Metro public transportation system and MetroLink light-rail, celebrated the grand opening Monday of its new paint facility in East St. Louis.

The new facility is for painting the MetroLink vehicles. It will allow Metro to restore the body of the trains, some of which have been in use since the 1990s, and provide customers with a more consistent image.

Dianne Williams, director of communications for Metro, said the painting project is not just to "make the vehicle look good," but to preserve "the longevity of the trains," from rust and deterioration.

MetroLink cars travel an average of 500 miles a day.

The paint facility was completed six months ahead of schedule and 10 percent under the estimated budget. Plocher Construction Co. of Highland was the general contractor.

"They (Plocher Construction) did a really good job. We didn't run into any major problems with construction. We are really proud," Williams said.

It cost $4.3 million, which came from federal funds and local contributions from St. Clair County Transit District and St. Louis County, to build the 9,600 sq. ft. environmentally friendly facility.

The facility has "two distinct work areas. One is a totally enclosed paint booth, and one is the prep side," Williams said.

The prep area includes a dust collection system, which is one of the "green" features in the facility. The paint used is also the most environmentally safe paint.

Metro, which operates on both sides of the river, includes 87 vehicles for the 46-mile MetroLink rail system, 206 Metro buses and 100 vans for the Metro Call-A-Ride system.