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winnie6052

Train Attendant
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Oct 24, 2007
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The new St Louis Inter modal Amtrak station was due to open in Feb 2008. Anyone have an update of completion date?
 
winnie6052 said:
The new St Louis Inter modal Amtrak station was due to open in Feb 2008. Anyone have an update of completion date?
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New Amtrak station? I've been to STL but not seen the station; have heard it is pretty shabby, especially considering it is pretty well-used on a day-to-day basis.

Is the new one expected to be cool or impressive in any way? Will it connect directly with the light rail? Will it be any closer to the center of downtown?
 
meatpuff said:
winnie6052 said:
The new St Louis Inter modal Amtrak station was due to open in Feb 2008. Anyone have an update of completion date?
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New Amtrak station? I've been to STL but not seen the station; have heard it is pretty shabby, especially considering it is pretty well-used on a day-to-day basis.

Is the new one expected to be cool or impressive in any way? Will it connect directly with the light rail? Will it be any closer to the center of downtown?
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Don't know of a set opening date, but progress is looking good.

The new station will serve Amtrak and Greyhound, with a direct link to light rail and bus. The bulk of the station is done; most of what remains is platform and track work (the station sits further back than the current one but is connected to the currently used tracks via an enclosed bridge).

Here's a link to a discussion forum on another site:

http://www.urbanstlouis.com/urbanstl/viewt...c&start=270
 
Thats great! It will be so nice to have Amtrak and the Metro-Link at the same station! Very handy for my next trip to St. Louis, which will need to be soon!

Seriously though, very nice, hopefully more cities will follow.
 
I think I need to make an agr run down to St. Louis to check this bad boy out. LOL A friend of mine rode up to Chicago last week, but since she did not mention the station, I think they are still using the old one.
 
MrFSS said:
Where is this new one in relation to the old Amshack and the even older STL Union Station?
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The new station is located about 100 yards east from the existing Amtrak station. It is right next to the Metro Link station and outside the Scottsdale Center (home of hockey team).

The building is long and narrow with an enclosed walkway under the highway and then steps down to the boarding platform.

I rode up to Chicago and back last week and it is getting close to being completed. The only information I could get from Amtrak employees that the track work and platform work is getting started. Date of opening not know..only comment was later this year.

It will be a hugh improvment over the 2nd temporary station that has been these for a couple of years. The new INTER MODAL station will serve bus, train and meto service.
 
winnie6052 said:
MrFSS said:
Where is this new one in relation to the old Amshack and the even older STL Union Station?
Click to expand...
The new station is located about 100 yards east from the existing Amtrak station. It is right next to the Metro Link station and outside the Scottsdale Center (home of hockey team).

The building is long and narrow with an enclosed walkway under the highway and then steps down to the boarding platform.

I rode up to Chicago and back last week and it is getting close to being completed. The only information I could get from Amtrak employees that the track work and platform work is getting started. Date of opening not know..only comment was later this year.

It will be a huge improvement over the 2nd temporary station that has been these for a couple of years. The new INTER MODAL station will serve bus, train and meto service.
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Thanks - how is the closing of the Interstate there in town affecting traffic flows?
 
MrFSS said:
Thanks - how is the closing of the Interstate there in town affecting traffic flows?
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The closing of I64 is actually happening on the west portion first, and will slowly work its way downtown in a few years. The closure has really been, surprisingly, a non-issue. The media was talking about it for nearly a year before the shutdown happened, and it appears that most of the people have adjusted to alternate routes. The true test will be when the next section closes down in, IIRC, 2009. That section is from I-170 (the innerbelt that cuts through the middle of the county) and then 4 or 5 miles closer to downtown, running past Forest Park. I wish I had a map to attach to help, but, I don't. There is a website to discuss the entire project, if anyone is interested in some 'entertaining' reading. The website is MO I 64 construction (hope I inserted that correctly). All in all, less traffic flowing to downtown on I-64, but, I-70 and I-55 are still getting the traffic there.
 
Article in today's St Louis Post Dispatch on the new Amtrak station.

ST. LOUIS — Once escalators are working and the track extensions are finished in late spring, the Gateway Transportation Center will fill with bus and train passengers.
Whether many of them will be boarding Amtrak trains to Kansas City — that's the uncertainty.

About two dozen Missouri legislators toured the new train and Greyhound depot near Scottrade Center on Monday and heard a pitch for more Amtrak funding — a $10.6 million request to improve on-time performance and ridership across the state.
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Edited to conform with our policy on posting news stories.
 
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I was downtown this weekend, and drove by to take a look. Several of the 'old buildings' there (the trailer for the crew, something that appeared to be a maintenance shack, etc) have been demolished. This has limited the available parking there by about a third, which, if anyone has ever been there they would agree with me, wasn't anything great to begin with! The building looks pretty cool. However, I'm still trying to figure out how all the transit is going to connect, but, I know it will be nice to finally have everything together. I'll see if I can slip in there once its open and get a few pictures.
 
I just finished an editorial to the Post Dispatch. The article just put up from today mentions the problem with the union pacific not having long enough passing sidings as to why ridership is down 30% when others are booming. The rep from the UP states that business is booming. Then the Missouri rep says the state can't come up with the money to lengthen them, that they need to think outside the box.

My contention was that with business booming they ought to Look to Union Pacific who is in the railroad business to fix the situation. They can probably do it and get a Capital Improvement write off, so every one wins.
 
Larry H. said:
I just finished an editorial to the Post Dispatch. The article just put up from today mentions the problem with the union pacific not having long enough passing sidings as to why ridership is down 30% when others are booming. The rep from the UP states that business is booming. Then the Missouri rep says the state can't come up with the money to lengthen them, that they need to think outside the box.
My contention was that with business booming they ought to Look to Union Pacific who is in the railroad business to fix the situation. They can probably do it and get a Capital Improvement write off, so every one wins.
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Larry, a great comment. I think you have to understand the Missouri representative's comment in the context of Missouri politics. Every year the legislature says that Missouri can't afford to pay for Amtrak service. There are threats to end service, followed by plans to do things like eliminating all food service on the trains or to add slot machines to the trains so that they "pay there own way." This is followed by the legislature approving the funding. This year the Missouri Department of Transportation is actually recommending a plan to improve the tracks between Kansas City and Jefferson City that might lead to improved on time performance and eventually additional trains. There is a detailed proposal on the MODOT website. MODOT has been very active in promoting rail service in Missouri during the past year, and I think there is a sense of urgency that the state needs to do something.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
Why can't anything be built as well or as beautiful as they used to be?
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Why do we have Wal-Mart instead of Marshal Fields, McDonalds instead of Hot-Shops? Who would build such things? I remember -long ago- having to put on a coat and tie before going to the dining car on the Santa Fe routes. Now it's sufficient to check to see if those entering the dining car are merely clothed.
 
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MrFSS said:
Amtrak Watcher said:
Why do we have Wal-Mart instead of Marshal Fields . . .
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And now Marshall Fields is a thing of the past!
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Yes, but one can still watch the movie Silver Streak for that famous line by the FBI guy to the Assistant Dispatcher, where he tells him that he's gonna have 2,000 tons of locomotive crashing through Central Station on its way to Marshall Fields. :)
 
I am traveling to st. louis from Minneapolis with students on Thursday. Does anyone have any information as to whether or not the new station is open? Was hoping to get on metrolink, but it sounds like a taxi to a hotel near the arch may be a better idea at 11:00 at night if the new depot is not being used. Any updates and/or suggestions would be helpful.
 
soolineson said:
I am traveling to st. louis from Minneapolis with students on Thursday. Does anyone have any information as to whether or not the new station is open? Was hoping to get on metrolink, but it sounds like a taxi to a hotel near the arch may be a better idea at 11:00 at night if the new depot is not being used. Any updates and/or suggestions would be helpful.
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In yesterday's St. Louis Post Dispatch, it was mentioned that while the station is open (for Greyhound and Metrolink), Amtrak will not be moving in until "later this month"

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/colu...F8?OpenDocument

The old and new stations are within a few hundred yards of each other. If you were on an earlier train I would see no issue with walking to the new station and Metrolink platform.... however with an arrival that late in the evening, I don't really know how safe it would be.
 
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