(The following report appeared on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website on July 31.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Amtrak will change its St. Louis-to-Kansas City schedules Aug. 8 after the completion of much of the rehabilitation work on the Missouri part of the rail line.
Union Pacific, which owns the tracks, has installed new rail, ties, ballast and rail crossing surfaces between St. Louis and Jefferson City. The $27 million project will be finished in November but should no longer hurt train operations, according to Amtrak.
Trains leaving St. Louis’ Union Station for Kansas City will leave at 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., rather than 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Arrivals in Kansas City are scheduled for 2:10 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.
As of Aug. 8, St. Louis-bound trains will leave Kansas City at 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., rather than 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Scheduled arrivals in St. Louis will be 1:10 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.
Passengers will be able to get to and from Missouri and Illinois by changing trains in St. Louis, said Rod Massman, railroad administrator at the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Those buying tickets on Missouri trains through Dec. 10 can buy a second ticket for the same itinerary at half price. Three-day advance booking is required and some restrictions apply. Use fare code V539 to get the discount at http://www.amtrak.com.