Missouri Amtrak Service

[bahua]

I take the train to Galesburg, IL all the time. It shortens my trip to Peoria by over two hours. If I'm good enough with advance ticket purchase, then it's actually cheaper than driving, as well as shorter.

I think mean took the train to Chicago, earlier in the year, and that's also faster than driving. (~6 hours in the train, compared to >8 hours in the car)

The KCY-STL line is slow, I thought, because of all the stops it makes. If ridership continues to increase, maybe an express train will be justified.

[LenexatoKCMO]

"honey I am going to need you to pick me up at Union Station; plan on me getting there some time between Noon and 5:00PM." 

[bahua]

"Honey, the train is running late, so don't wait up. I'll just hop on the bus at Union Station."

[The Summit]

The station in Lee's Summit seems to always have amtrak trains passing through.  It would seem like a perfect place for commuter rail.  I-470 is getting horrible.  In the last year, it has started backing up in areas between 50 and 70 around the interchanges of Douglas, Colbern and Woods Chapel and sometimes near I-70.  I think over half the 470 traffic goes to SKC and Johnson County though, so I'm not sure if transit will help.

[enough]

Amtrak has a train status reporting feature on its www.amtrak.com home page.  Train status info is also on its 1-800-872-7245 number, where you'll "talk" with Julie, "Amtrak's automated agent."  

Rather than drive to the station and wait, your "Honey" would call Julie, or do the web thing.

The afternoon train from St. Louis is due to arrive at Union Station at 9:10 pm, or 8:20 pm at Lee's Summit.  As I write this it's between Jeff City and Sedalia and running 29 minutes late.

Trains are not for everybody.  Planes are not for everybody.  Greyhound is not for everybody.  Driving is not for everybody.  

Viva la Choice!

[The Summit]

For those that don't know, 470 regularly backs up from the triangle clear to US 50 in the mornings and the same thing EB at night. So the new backups showing up along the eastern portion of 470 are in addition to that.

[bahua]

I think over half the 470 traffic goes to SKC and Johnson County though, so I'm not sure if transit will help.

I have said numerous times, going from Lees Summit to JoCo has to be the worst commute in town.

[dangerboy]

Unfortunately Amtrak is still very much a niche service in Missouri.  It would take improvements in both speed and reliability to really attract a healthy ridership.  The problem isn't the number of stops, it's too much single track and too slow speeds.

Summit,

Your idea hasa been studied for years by MARC, along with several other commuter rail routes.  Their latest conclusion is that the I-35 south and I-70 east routes are most feasible.  The Lee's Summit route is basically #3 in the queue, but you're looking at least 10 years, if ever.  It would potentially extend out to Pleasant Hill and even Warrensburg.  But it won't help your Joco commute because there are no train tracks running that way. 

http://www.marc.org/transportation/comm ... lindex.htm

[Maitre D]

I took an ex-girlfriend to SL back in 99 i think.....for the weekend.  It took about 7 hours to get there, and the last hour was sooooooo painfully slow we joked about getting out and catching a cab (or just jogging the last 5 miles) to the station.

It was nice in that we drank wine, hung out, joked, and read.  Much better than driving, but the time is such a huge problem.  Way too many stops, and getting in/out of STL is slow as sin.

[bahua]

Under Amtrak's current configuration of using the freight lines, there's really no choice, regarding entering and exiting cities. They have to stay under a certain speed, just as the freight trains of the companies that own the lines do. Ironically, if a city has lots of suburbs, as St. Louis does, the slow rolling will take even longer.

[trailerkid]

The ride from KC to Chicago seems like it takes the same amount of time as the trip from KC to StL. I love Amtrak. Big up to MO for the expanded ridership, but the KC/StL route is kinda a joke and won't carry many riders until it's improved. Kit Bond anyone?

[enough]

As with so many things, better Amtrak service is a chicken and egg thing.  Speed and reliability won't be significantly upgraded until ridership -- and thus a vocal constituency -- increases dramatically, and ridership might not increase dramatically until reliability improves.

Single track and inadequate siding capacity between KCY and JEF will continue to be a cause of many delays -- as will occasional freight train backups in both KCY and STL. 

MoDOT is supposed to contract for an analysis of Union Pacific track capacity, looking for ways to improve reliability -- for freight as well as passengers.  (Freight delays are a bigger concern for the state's economy than passenger train delays.)  Ultimately, it's up to the the UP to make needed capital investments, and they've got needs all over their system -- as do all railroads.  Once the UP decides to make improvements, then perhaps the state can provide some financing assistance, as it did with the $50+ million Sheffield and Argentine rail viaduct projects here in Kansas City.

Unfortunately, a dedicated high-speed passenger line just isn't on the horizon.

[Maitre D]

Under Amtrak's current configuration of using the freight lines, there's really no choice, regarding entering and exiting cities. They have to stay under a certain speed, just as the freight trains of the companies that own the lines do. Ironically, if a city has lots of suburbs, as St. Louis does, the slow rolling will take even longer.

That's right.  I forgot to mention we were FLAT STOPPED for a half hour outside SL.  I was thining, "This thing has  mechanical problems."  The guy says, no, freight is coming and we have to wait for it to pass.

Geez.

[KansasCityCraka]

I'm suprised their isn't a KC to Oklahoma City route yet.

[cdschofield]

I'm suprised their isn't a KC to Oklahoma City route yet.

Oklahoma City has been lobbying for that.

[dangerboy]

Oklahoma City has been lobbying for that.

Is there an existing track available?

[KansasCityCraka]

I have also noticed that their is no easy way to get to Indy. Yoiu would have to go up to Chicago and then back down to Indy. WTF is up with that?

[dangerboy]

It would be very difficult, politically, to get rid of any of the stops between KC and STL.  While it would speed up the journey, it would also reduced the train's already shaky support in the General Assembly.  It's only hanging on by a few votes, and getting rid of a couple small towns could also get rid of enough votes to kill the whole thing.

Besides, it seems like track capacity is a far bigger problem than the number of stops.

[bahua]

Yeah, the number of stops has little to do with it. The condition of the track is such that the speed has to be kept relatively low. As well, the line is a very heavily used freight artery, which can also make for a lot of delays.

[WoodDraw]

Has there ever been a study done to see what the cost of highspeed rail from KC-STL would be, what the ridership would have to be to support it, and what the estimated real ridership would be?