Roach, in an interview, expressed support for the likely recommendations of a consulting firm studying MetroLink security for the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

Among them are making police and Metro security officers more visible on MetroLink trains and limiting access to light rail platforms by re-designing some of the stations.

The study was begun after a series of high-profile serious crimes on the light rail system in recent years.

Roach also said in his remarks that he would emphasize engagement with passengers by Metro employees and “relentless customer service.”

Nations and Bi-State board chairman Constance Gully also spoke at the event at Bi-State/Metro headquarters in the Metropolitan Square building downtown. More than 100 employees and well-wishers were on hand.

Among them were Roach’s father, former St. Louis Alderman John Roach, and mother, Susan Feinberg, who was an assistant to then-Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl Jr. in the 1980s; and the current mayor, Lyda Krewson.

John Roach, who also is a former city community development director, played a key role in developing the first MetroLink line, which opened in 1993. Gully called him “a trailblazer for transit.”