(The Columbia Daily Tribune posted the following article on its website on April 1.)
COLUMBIA, MO. — The Amtrak office in Jefferson City is getting less personal.
Starting tomorrow, Amtrak’s passenger rail stations in Jefferson City and Kirkwood will be unstaffed. That will force passengers to reserved seats through Amtrak’s Web site or a toll-free number. Amtrak is also adding a $5 surcharge to all intra-state trips in Missouri.
Amtrak, which makes two daily round trips between St. Louis and Kansas City, had requested $6.2 million from the Missouri General Assembly to help operate the service. Lawmakers provided $5.8 million, leaving a $400,000 shortfall.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said that Amtrak expects to save about $80,000 this fiscal year by eliminating two staff in Jefferson City and Kirkwood.
“We regret having to make these changes but we have to cut costs to keep the trains running,” said Jan Skouby, MoDOT’s railroads administrator.
Even though the Jefferson City office will be unstaffed, Skouby said that arrangements are being made to keep it open to passengers during the day until at least 4:30 p.m. The state Department of Natural Resources owns the building.
In a statement, Amtrak said the $5 surcharge is needed to generate additional revenue. “Since the surcharge may impact ridership, however, it is unclear exactly how much revenue will be raised,” Amtrak said.
MoDOT is encouraging passengers to buy reserve seat tickets either through www.amtrak.com or through 1-800-USA-RAIL. Customers can buy tickets from the conductor on a cash-only basis if seats are available.