(The Associated Press circulated the following on June 15, 2009.)
HOPE, Ark. — Officials say Hope will soon win back an Amtrak stop in the southwestern Arkansas city.
Officials say Amtrak and Union Pacific have agreed to place a stop at Hope. The old brown brick train station, remodeled into the city’s Visitor and Information Center, will serve as a stop on the line.
Hope Mayor Dennis Ramsey told the Hope Star that the effort to regain the train service dates back to 1983.
Under the likely plans, travelers on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle train connecting Chicago and San Antonio would be able to get off at Hope. That would let passengers visit the city’s biggest tourist attraction, the President Clinton Birthplace and museum _ and continue their trips by catching another train the next day.
The Texas Eagle route already makes stops in Arkansas at Arkadelphia, Little Rock, Malvern, Texarkana and Walnut Ridge.