SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-
Springfield could get its first daily passenger train service in nearly 40 years if plans move forward to develop a new rail line from St. Louis to southwest Missouri, transportation officials said.
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Amtrak are discussing the possibility of creating a daily round-trip route between Springfield and St. Louis, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
The proposed line, which roughly parallels Interstate 44, was announced at a Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission meeting Wednesday in Springfield.
Many vital questions remain, Weiler said, including where to build a rail depot in Springfield. The city hasn't had passenger rail service since 1967, when the Frisco Meteor train stopped running.
For Commissioner Jim Anderson, the proposal is big news for southeast Missouri, especially during the week in which direct air service between Springfield and St. Louis ended.
"It's something people in Springfield have talked about in coffee shops for years," Anderson said.
Weiler said the spike in gasoline prices and consistent growth in the Springfield area have made the plan viable. But because MoDOT pays for Amtrak's operating costs, the Missouri Legislature would have to approve the new rail service, he said.
MoDOT and Amtrak already work together on the Kansas City-St. Louis route, with the highway department paying about $6.5 million of the line's annual operating costs.
Weiler said one plan would be to have the Amtrak train leave Springfield in the morning, arrive in St. Louis in mid-afternoon and return to Springfield that evening.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the high-speed passenger train would run on existing tracks, but railroad crossings would need to be upgraded.
If passenger loads were big enough out of Springfield, Weiler said, Amtrak routes could be expanded, since existing track already links Springfield with Branson, Kansas City and Tulsa.
