On the Right Track

You can help put the future of Missouri rail on the right track!

MoDOT has already begun hosting public meetings to get your input on the movement of goods and people in the state by rail. A recent meeting in the Northeast district brought great feedback that will be used to help develop MoDOT's Statewide Rail Plan.

The Rail Plan guides the development of both freight and passenger rail service for the state for the next 20 years. Don't miss your chance to help shape the future of Missouri rail service!

Upcoming meetings:


The Central District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, at East Elementary School, 1229 East McCarty Street in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The St. Louis District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, at the Kirkwood Amtrak Train Station at 110 West Argonne Drive in Kirkwood, Missouri.

The Southeast District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, at Osage Community Center, 1625 North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

The Northwest District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, at MoDOT NW District Office at 3602 North Belt Hwy in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The Kansas City District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2, at Sermon Center North Room at 201 N. Dodgion Avenue in Independence, Missouri.

The Southwest District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce at 202 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway in Springfield, Missouri.

If these are not in your area, you can still be a part! MoDOT is hosting an online public meeting from Oct. 18-Nov. 18 at www.morail.org. At the online meeting, you have the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

Your Input, Please

If you could guide the future of rail in Missouri, where would it lead?  A new online survey gives you the chance to tell us.

Visit MoDOT's homepage at www.modot.org or click directly to the survey here to give your input.

Results, along with other information collected through public involvement activities, will be used to help MoDOT create a statewide rail plan that will focus on three areas: Freight rail development, passenger rail and highway/rail crossing safety.

So speak up! Make tracks to the survey today and share it with someone you know who wants a voice in the future of rail in Missouri.

Missouri Captures Millions for High-speed Rail Projects

With the recent addition of a new rail siding at California, Mo., riders of Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner have already been rewarded with much improved on-time performance, but there’s more good news. Missouri captured $31 million in recovery act funds for several high-speed rail projects that will support good jobs and keep the momentum building toward a faster and even more reliable passenger and freight train service.

The recovery act funding will be used for three shovel-ready projects:
• a second rail bridge over the Osage River;
• a universal crossover near the Kirkwood Amtrak station; and
• safety improvements at several rail crossings, primarily west of Sedalia.

It will also fund preliminary engineering on six future improvement projects worth approximately $100 million, including double tracks between Lee’s Summit and Pleasant Hill, a passing siding at Kingsville, a grade separation at Strasburg, a passing siding extension at Knob Noster and universal crossovers – a device that allows trains to crossover to another track in either direction – at Bonnots Mill and Hermann.

Missouri’s success was part of the larger Midwest Regional Rail Initiative’s effort that, as a whole, captured $2.6 billion of the $8 billion in recovery act funds available for high-speed rail corridor improvements.

100 Percent On Time!

One-hundred percent on time! That’s the exciting news MoDOT gets to report for Amtrak trains during the Thanksgiving holiday week. All four Missouri River Runner trains that carry passengers from Kansas City to St. Louis and vice versa arrived safely and on time from Tuesday, Nov. 24 through Monday, Nov. 30. Nearly every single person to whom I announced this news had the same reaction, “One-hundred percent on time? I’ve never heard that before.”

Exactly. Rodney Massman, Administrator of Railroads for MoDOT told me that in his entire career (which spans more than a decade) he has never been able to report a 100 percent on-time performance. In fact, Massman told me that in as recent as last year, the on-time performance was hovering in the 60 percent range.

So how in the world can this be? How can Amtrak trains crossing the entire show me state arrive on time and do this during the busiest travel week of the year?

The passenger-friendly answer is called the California Siding Project. MoDOT, Union Pacific, and Amtrak found the place that created the biggest bottleneck problem along the entire 275-mile rail corridor -- California, Mo. It was there that a 25-mile-long stretch of single track rested that forced delays due to trains not being able to pass one another. Well, not anymore. The California Siding Project laid down 9,000 feet, nearly two miles, of additional track next to the main corridor. This will now allow freight trains to be set aside in California so that Amtrak passenger trains can glide through without stopping.

The really neat thing about this is the California Siding Project was just finished on Nov. 20… meaning its first test was the super-busy Thanksgiving holiday week! Talk about a promising project! Its first time on the job and already it hits a 100 percent on-time performance. That's a great talking point for MoDOT Director Pete Rahn, who is scheduled to officially announce the opening of the California Siding Project on  Dec. 8 at 10 a.m.

Where are the Bullet Trains?

Progress continues toward high-speed rail development in Missouri. While the bullet trains are not coming anytime soon, significant improvements could occur if the Federal Railroad Administration approves MoDOT's application for $200 million in economic recovery funding. Competition for the limited $8 billion in available funding will be strong, considering the $103 billion in applications submitted by 40 states.

However, MoDOT, in partnership with Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak, has developed a very good list of proposed improvements. These projects will not only put people to work quickly, they will remove significant system bottlenecks and allow for increased train speeds. MoDOT has also been working with other Midwest states to acquire modern and efficient train equipment to replace the current 1960's-era trains.

Construction work on Missouri's first-ever publicly funded rail capacity project is on schedule for completion in 2009. This new 9,000-foot passing rail siding near California will eliminate a 25-mile section with no siding long enough to hold a freight train. This area has been a major bottleneck in the past.

Passenger ridership in Missouri remains strong, closing the state fiscal year 10 percent above last year. This is largely due to improved on-time performance, which has been above 95 percent since January 1st. People are running out of excuses for not using this service. What are you waiting for!? Go to www.morail.org and get aboard!