10.30.2008 3:21 pm
Another birthday for Amtrak’s temporary digs
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
When Amtrak moved from Union Station to a humble combination of trailers on Nov. 2, 1978, the location was described as short-term. But “Amshack,” as the new station was called, became downtown’s rail gateway until December 2004, when a new ”interim” station opened.
This weekend marks 30 years since Amtrak moved into these ”temporary” digs. Passengers shouldn’t have to use this bare-bones station much longer. A new multi-modal station near 14th Street and the Scottrade Center has been under construction for more than two years. Amtrak hopes to move into this larger location before Thanksgiving, but track work could delay the move once again until December, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
How can it take four months to install a few hundred feet of track?
Lots of “coffee” breaks
This entire situation is and has been a regional embarassment since the “shack” opened. There was very little attempt to keep the “train station” in Union Station. How do you not keep the train station in the train station? Virtually every city in this country, worthy of calling itstelf a city, has at least one train station (some have as many as four). Other cities have had the same train station in use since they were built, even Kansas City! Why not St.Louis? To me this is just another manifestation of the neglect by the big money in the region. Not that they should be giving their money to support these civic necessities, but my god, don’t they care about what kind of image this city projects? This new “intermodal” transit building is the culmination of years of neglect and show a real lack of commitment to this city and rail transit as a necessary mode of transportation.
The trains SHOULD be at Union Station. There’s a Metrolink station that they could have used for the multimodal center. Having trains at Union Station brings back some nostalgia, takes train travel out of their hiding place for the last 30 years, and puts the station nearer to parking, hotels, and restaurants. This is something that the current station has been lacking for 30 years. The new station isn’t going to be all that much better. Kansas City put their Amtrak service back at their Union Station, although it is much smaller than in the glory years of the station. How it could take 2 years to build the new multimodal center is about as easy to answer as why it takes St. Louis a year to build a simple overpass. MoDOT can build the routine ones in about 60 days.