Report: Springfield Amtrak service would be challenging

The report, requested by the Missouri Department of Transportation, found benefits to the proposed route adjacent to Interstate 44, in that it would serve Springfield – the state’s third-largest metropolitan area – and have tourism potential.

However, projected ridership is lower than expected, at 34,000 annually. That includes 5,000 connecting from the Amtrak rail between St. Louis and Kansas City.

The projection is based on the expected unpopularity of the rail service’s travel time – nearly six hours to travel 235 miles of track. Train speeds would be lower than automobiles traveling on I-44 because much of the track would wind along challenging terrain.

The report also points to cost as a possible obstacle. The direct cost to provide the service would be $4.1 million annually, while it would generate about $700,000 in ticket revenue. The initial annual state contract cost would be about $3.4 million.

Additionally, cities where the service is proposed to stop along the route would each have to build a station, for which no state funding is available. Those cities – Springfield, Lebanon, Rolla and Sullivan – could see the cost to do so reach several million dollars, according to the report.

About 25 existing railroad warning systems also would have to be upgraded, to the tune of about $6 million.

“While we were hoping for more positive news in Amtrak’s anaylsis of this proposed passenger rail service expansion, MoDOT will continue to seek to increase transportation options for Missourians,” said Brian Weiler, MoDOT multimodal operations director, in a news release.