(The following story by Ken Leiser appeared on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website on December 28.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Five finalists have been selected to name Amtrak’s passenger rail service between St. Louis and Kansas City. Amtrak and the Missouri Department of Transportation held the “Name the Train” contest to mark 30 years of state-supported passenger rail service across Missouri.
The finalists and their creators are:
— Missouri Rail Blazer, submitted by Betty Crancer, Sunset Hills.
— Missouri River Runner, submitted by Keith Kohler, Glendale.
— River Cities Corridor, submitted by Richard A. Chenault, Webster Groves.
— ShowMeMO, submitted by Kerry Simmons, Independence.
— Truman Service, submitted by John Fernandez, St. Louis.
More than 8,300 names were submitted, from which judges chose the five finalists. In the case of duplicate names, a random drawing was held to choose a finalist. Each finalist will receive two round-trip coach tickets to any Missouri destination served by Amtrak, as well as a gift basket.
The winner will receive tickets for two in sleeping car accommodations to anywhere in Amtrak’s U.S. network, said rail service spokesman Marc Magliari.
“We were amazed at not only the response, but the creativity,” Magliari said.
People are encouraged to vote online for their favorites at www.morail.org or mail your vote to MoDOT, Name the Train contest, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102. Voting ends at 4 p.m. Jan. 23. The new name will be announced Jan. 30.