NextStop Blog

I recently received an interesting Tweet from Jim Barnthouse at the Arch Observer. He wrote, “Can Metro do a holiday train?”

Every holiday season in Chicago, the CTA unveils its annual Holiday Train – several L cars decked out in strands of lights and music, complete with Santa and his elves.  The Holiday Train travels all CTA lines during November and December, and is understandably very popular among riders in Chicago.  Santa waves from an open-air flatbed while volunteers hand out candy canes.  Handpoles are dressed in red and white ribbon to resemble candy canes and overhead lights are tinted red and green.  Indeed, the cars are decked out to the nines:

Why does the CTA do this? I can’t speak for that Agency, but I imagine the answer is somewhere along the lines of “the passengers like it.” It’s a chance to add some cheer and frivolity to an otherwise ordinary commute. Comparable to why towns and Main Streets decorate for the holidays, it can bring people together in celebration and holiday spirit. And, it’s just plain fun to ride.

But Metro wants to know that St. Louis area riders would like a holiday MetroLink train. It’s a grand experiments for us. Our Chief of MetroLink operations Scott Grott said if I can drum up public support, we will do it. So let me know! Here’s how:

1. Email me at [email protected] Subject: Holiday train! If you want to tell us why, great. I’ll post the good responses on the blog.

2. Use the hashtag #stlholidaytrain in your updates on Twitter. I’m counting!

3. Call Customer Service at 314-982-1406 and tell them you would like to see a holiday train. I will keep track of messages.

We are looking at ways to decorate the train…sponsorships, employee donations, etc. If you have any suggestions or would like to sponsor the train, please let me know.

It’s getting cold outside. The economy is still stale, and we’re closing another decade. Let’s celebrate the joyful moments in life, shall we?