Saint Louis
CitySide
St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors.
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Comptroller Announces Audits Now Available Online
Gateway Mall Master Plan Unveiled
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Downtown Projects Receive Awards For Dedication to Downtown
Proposed Downtown Stage Project to Provided Permanent Entertainment Area Around the Soldier's Memorial
Groundbreaking for Rosati House Apartment Complex Marks New Beginning
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View from inside the city of St. Louis' new $20 million Gateway Transportation Center which will bring together Amtrak, Greyhound, MetroLink, Metro Bus and taxi services in one convenient downtown location at 430 S. 15th Street, across from the Scottrade Center.
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Gateway Transportation Center Will Be Hi-tech, Modern and Very Convenient for the Traveling Public
"Simply put, the current level of passenger rail service is unacceptable," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn.
"At the time when rail travel is up, hopefully the state legislature will see fit to fund the enhancement for rail travel," said Comptroller Darlene Green.
Entrance to the new Gateway Transportation Center, across from the Scottrade Center.
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by Bob Moore, SLFP.com
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), March 24, 2008 - While passenger rail is growing across the country, trains in Missouri are routinely late and ridership between St. Louis and Kansas City has declined from 207,928 in 2001 to 144,312 in 2007.
The Missouri Department of Transportation, along with Amtrak, has called for state approval of a $10.6 million funding increase that will boost on-time performance and ridership. The proposal calls for new track sections to handle more trains, as well as electronic on-time messaging boards at the ten stations across the state.
"The legislature is listening to our argument to invest in the infrastructure. We need to fix this or we need to stop putting the money in Amtrak," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn during a special media preview tour of the new Gateway Transportation Center, across from the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis.
Rahn stated that it costs about $8 million a year to subsidize the two Amtrak trains that make daily round trips between St. Louis and Kansas City. "Right now the on-time performance currently is about 70 percent," he said. "We're not happy with that performance and it's only going to get worse."
"Simply put," Rahn continued, "the current level of passenger rail service is unacceptable. We need to fix this or we need to stop putting the money in Amtrak."
The event brought together officials from MoDOT, IDOT, state and city legislators, Amtrak and Union Pacific Railroad to address the need for more capital investment to improve freight and passenger trains service. The facility will bring together Amtrak, Greyhound, MetroLink, Metro Bus and taxi services in one convenient downtown location.
St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green, whose office will staff the $20 million Gateway Transportation Center upon its completion, detailed her vision for operating this state-of-the-art multimodal hub.
"This is a great facility for traveling public who are coming in and out of St. Louis," stated Green. "For so long, we've had the old Amtrak facility that is really an eyesore for the City of St. Louis. This facility is state-of-the-art. It's going to be clean, safe and a friendly environment for our traveling public," she said enthusiastically.
The transportation hub, which has been in the development and funding stage for many years, will replace the old building under Hwy 64, at 15th Street, that has been fondly tagged "Amtrak Shack".
The planning for the terminal began in 1978 when the last train pulled out of Union Station and a temporary Amtrak station was erected nearby. A proposal for a 22,000-square-foot Amtrak-Greyhound terminal, costing an estimated $26 million, was first unveiled in November 1997. An official groundbreaking ceremony was held, March 30, 2006. See archived story Construction Begins on St. Louis Transportation Hub.
Green said that the new facility is expected to open in the next few months. "At a time when rail travel is up, hopefully the state legislature will see fit to fund the enhancement for the rail travel."
"Hopefully it will make traveling by train more convenient and on time.
With the increase in gasoline and airline travel, this will certainly be a more cost-effective way for travelers to come in and out of St. Louis," stated Green.
The tracks between St. Louis and Kansas City are overloaded and can't handle all the freight and passenger trains. "We are seeing ridership increases on virtually every Amtrak route in all 46 states, with the exception of the route in Missouri between Kansas City and St. Louis," said Ray Lang, Amtrak Senior Director, Government Affairs.
"The capital investment being sought by MoDOT would provide the state with a more dependable service that would attract more passengers. These trains could serve as a foundation for more service in the future, with states on four sides of Missouri looking at ways to add new Amtrak service."
The tracks used by Amtrak between Kansas City and St. Louis are owned by Union Pacific Railroad and are busy with freight shipments. "With the amount of traffic, it is particularly challenging giving preference to Amtrak," said Tom Mulligan of Union Pacific. "Here in the middle of the country we're handling record volumes, and the tracks sometimes can't handle all the traffic."
Other states rely on new revenue to upgrade facilities and grow ridership. Seven years ago in Illinois, ridership between St. Louis and Chicago was virtually the same as St. Louis to Kansas City in Missouri, at a little more than 200,000. Since then, Illinois officials have spent $100 million on upgrades, resulting in ridership that's nearly doubled to 409,000.
"Rails are no different than highways or airports or any other mode of transportation - you've got to keep improving them to keep them successful," said Tom Shrout, executive director of Citizens For Modern Transit, a rail advocacy group in St. Louis. "Amtrak can be a terrific service - offer transportation to those who can't drive, ease congestion on our highways, improve the environment - but we must invest what it takes to keep it viable."
The Missouri House is currently considering state funding for Amtrak service and capital improvements. For more information visit www.morail.org.
Proposed Greyhound Bus terminal at the new Gateway Transportation Center, across from the Scottrade Center.
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