MoDOT
requesting funds from legislature for UP improvements for Amtrak
4/2/08
MoDOT is requesting the legislature for an appropriation for capital
improvements in the Union Pacific Railroad that Amtrak uses for service
between St. Louis and Kansas City with the hopes of improving the
on-time performance of Amtrak on the severely congested line. The
request is based on a study completed in July 2007 for MoDOT by professors
James Noble and Charles Nemmers of the University of Missouri-Columbia
School of Engineering.
As many as 60 freight trains use the line per day. That coupled with
track work has resulted in Amtrak running as many as 12 hours late
on a trip that is scheduled for five and one-half hours. As recently
as December, Amtrak substituted buses for trains because the line
was so congested with freights so far behind schedule that the crews
were out of time and the trains could not move until relief crews
were brought in. Ridership on the route has dropped dramatically,
running counter to national trends of increased ridership on Amtrak.
Some of the improvements identified in the report include building
a new siding in California, MO, which is west of Jefferson City. The
current siding is 3,500 feet long meaning it is too short for many
trains that are more than 5,000 feet long. The report estimates the
cost of the improvement at $4 million. Another siding that could be
lengthened is at Strasburg, which is west of California. The cost
of that improvement is between $2 and $8 million, depending on design
of the project. The report also identified double tracking from Lee’s
Summit to Jefferson City at a cost of $260 million. In total, nine
improvements were identified in the report which can be viewed at
www.modot.mo.gov. Click
on “News and Information” and then click on “Reports.”
“Many states are partnering with railroads that host Amtrak to make
improvements in infrastructure. The state of Illinois has made major
investments in improving grade crossings for the Union Pacific alignment
between St. Louis and Chicago. That with the addition of two frequencies
a day has resulted in a major increase in ridership between the two
cities,” said Thomas Shrout, executive director of CMT. Brian Weiler,
director of multi-modal operations, said he would be bringing Amtrak,
the Union Pacific, MoDOT and legislative leaders together in order
to seek consensus on which projects would be pursued.
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