Useless Loop Trolley Collides with a Vehicle Near the History Museum

Sadly there's been no notice that service will be interrupted

Aug 7, 2023 at 12:17 pm

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USED WITH PERMISSION

The Loop trolley left a local car missing a few pieces on the evening of Saturday, August 5.

The Loop trolley found itself in a familiar jam on Saturday night.

A spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police confirms that it received a call about a collision involving the trolley and a Toyota vehicle near the intersection of Lindell and DeBaliviere around 7:49 p.m. on August 5.

click to enlarge

USED WITH PERMISSION

The crash site.

The department said it did not have further information to share at this time. Trolley operators — who are now a part of Bi-State Development, which runs public transit in St. Louis — did not respond to a message for comment sent through their website on Sunday.

Trolley accidents were semi-regular occurrences during the old-timey railcar's initial run in 2018 and 2019, though they mostly involved parked cars — and mostly took place on the stretch of Delmar east of Skinker, where street parking sat perilously close to the trolley tracks. After the trolley resumed operations late last summer, and then again this April after a winter hiatus, things have been quieter.

Also quiet since service resumed: any talk about ridership. Has anyone actually been riding the trolley since its Bi-State takeover? That's a different question.

Not seeing any passengers on the 12:20 Loop Trolley as it heads down Delmar to the History Museum. pic.twitter.com/gEsvQCcqVo
— Charlie Brennan (@charliekmox) August 3, 2023

It's a question the feds seemed distinctly uninterested in when they forced us to take over the operation at gunpoint — and a good thing, too.

After all, they can force us to pay for its continuation or risk getting $47 million in federal grants clawed back. But that doesn't mean we have to ride it.

UPDATE: In a statement received late Monday afternoon, Bi-State CEO Taulby Roach said the accident happened around 6:40 p.m. Saturday, and contrary to what the St. Louis Police said, it was a Nissan. "It appears a motorist ran the stoplight at DeBaliviere and Lindell as the Loop Trolley was moving through the intersection. The vehicle (a Nissan) struck the side of the Trolley car, causing minor damage to the Loop Trolley car. Only the Trolley operator was on board at the time of the accident and fortunately, the operator was not injured."

Roach also confirmed this was the first collision for a trolley since Bi-State took over the service last year.

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

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