Four times a day you can hear the Amtrak whistle in Independence: once around breakfast time, once after lunch, once late in the afternoon and once after sundown.
Two trains head from Kansas City to St. Louis, and two head the other way, with stops in Independence, Lee’s Summit and half dozen other cities.
Those trains have a reputation – well earned – for frequently running late, sometimes absurdly so. But lately they have been doing a lot better. Amtrak says trains on the Kansas City-to-St. Louis line arrived on time in those two cities 93 percent of the time. (We’ve been informally tracking their on-time performance in Independence and have seen a significant improvement, too.)
The main problem is simple: The Union Pacific owns and runs those tracks, and its trains keep them busy. Most of the track from here to Jefferson City is a single line. If two trains are approaching each other, a mile-long freight train often cannot squeeze into a siding, so Amtrak pulls over.
And sits and waits. It’s maddening for passengers and bad for business.
But one effect of the slumping economy is that freight traffic is way down – off 25 percent from this time a year ago. Railroads such as the UP have tens of thousands of rail cars stored on sidings around the country. They won’t roll until the economy does. With fewer trains in its way, Amtrak can get from Point A to Point B much more easily.
Even on the double line from Jefferson City to St. Louis, there have been bottlenecks where the track goes down to one-lane bridges over the Osage and Gasconade rivers. The UP has now put up a second line over the Gasconade, and that helps.
The railroad also has state money to help put in a longer siding near California, Mo. That should be done by fall. State and railroad officials to would like to extend one more siding in western Missouri as well.
It’s not that Amtrak can’t run on time. It just needs a clear shot to get going and win the trust and loyalty of customers.
