As we’ve reported before, the Missouri Department of Transportation has a $10 million plan to begin improving the dismal performance of the KC-St. Louis Amtrak route.  The General Assembly recently allocated $5 million, and today it was announced that the Federal government has matched that with $3.3 million.  This funding will enable construciton of rail capacity improvements near the town of California in Mid-Missouri, and the design of future improvements near Knob Noster east of Kansas City.

Despite having one of the worst one-time records in the entire Amtrak system, high gas prices and congestion on I-70 have driven increased ridership on the KC-STL route over the last several months.

KC Star: Federal grant help shorten Amtrak delays in Missouri.