8th & Pine station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system.[2] This subway station is located beneath the intersection of 8th and Pine streets in St. Louis' Central Business District.
History
8th & Pine was built within the historic Downtown Tunnel, constructed in 1874 to carry trains between the Eads Bridge and the Mill Creek Valley rail yards.[3] The tunnel closed after a final Amtrak train passed through in 1974. Rehabilitation began in 1991 in preparation for the opening of MetroLink in 1993, which now uses the tunnel to connect communities in Illinois and Missouri via downtown St. Louis.[4]
On April 8, 2024, Metro Transit closed the 8th & Pine station for rehabilitation including upgraded stair access, elevators, lighting, and way-finding. Additionally, the project includes cleaning and general infrastructure upgrades like new walls and flooring.[5] Metro will operate a bus shuttle between 8th & Pine and the Civic Center station for the duration of the closure, expected to last until December.[6][7]
Station layout
The station's westbound platform is accessed via an entrance in the base of the 800 Pine Street building in addition to a set of subway stairs across Pine. The eastbound platform is accessed via an entrance in the base of the Laclede Gas Building and a set of subway stairs on 8th Street near Chestnut Street.
^Primm, James Neal (2010). Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri 1764–1980 (3rd ed.). United States: Missouri Historical Society Press. pp. 289–292. ISBN978-1-883982-25-6.