(The following story by Tom Uhlenbrock appeared on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website on January 4.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Rich Eichhorst can see the light at the end of the tunnel for Missouri’s beleaguered Amtrak riders. And he hopes it’s not an approaching freight train.
Eichhorst, president of the American Association of Railroaders in St. Louis, says track improvements this year could threaten Missouri’s title as the “poster child” for tardy trains.
Eichhorst should know. His non-profit group promotes rail travel by sponsoring outings for the public, and he usually is riding the rails at least once every two weeks.
“We’re Amtrak’s biggest customer,” Eichhorst says. He also admits to being something of a “pot-stirrer,” with a letter-writing campaign complaining about Amtrak’s on-time record. Missouri trains were at least 30 minutes late more than a third of the time in 2007 and last year, for the worst state record in the nation, according to the railroad’s tally.
“I actually think it was closer to 50 percent of the time,” Eichhorst said.
The problem is simple — freight trains, most of them pulling full coal cars heading east and empty ones coming back.
“Coal trains probably amount to 65 percent of the traffic between St. Louis and Kansas City,” Eichhorst said. “That line sees maybe 60 freight trains a day, where the St. Louis-to-Chicago line has about 10.”
Union Pacific, which owns the St. Louis-to-Kansas City line, gives priority to freight trains. Most of the line is double track from St. Louis to Jefferson City, but west of there is single track. In the past, Amtrak trains have pulled off onto sidings to allow freight trains to get by. That means the normal 5 1/2-hour trip to Kansas City can take up to twice that long.
“I have sat in some places for two hours while they have run as many as four trains by me,” Eichhorst said. “There have been times when Union Pacific has told Amtrak not to run their trains on certain days because they were so busy.”
But times may be a-changing for passenger rail traffic in Missouri.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has received $8.3 million in state and federal funds to lengthen two sidings on the western side of the state and allow freight trains to pull off, giving priority to Amtrak. Work on one siding near California, Mo., is expected to be completed late this year. Work may begin in 2010 on the siding near Knob Noster.
“Completing both of these projects should dramatically increase on-time performance,” said Rod Massman, administrator of railroads for the state.
Eichhorst also sees hope with the arrival of a railroad-friendly new president in Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden.
“Up until now, the Bush administration hasn’t cared if Amtrak lived or died,” Eichhorst said. “Which is strange, seeing that 82 percent of American people want passenger service, according to a Parade Magazine survey in November of 2007.
“We definitely will be better off because we have a pro-public transportation administration coming onboard. Joe Biden, up until his election, was a daily rider.”
One more change is in store for railroaders in Missouri. Amtrak is conducting a contest to rename its St. Louis-to-Kansas City passenger line. You can vote for either the Missouri Rail Blazer, Missouri River Runner, River City Corridor, ShowMeMo or Truman Service online at www.morail.org until Jan. 23.
In past years, the Show-Me Slowpoke might have been in the running.