The on time performance of Amtrak® has significantly improved in the past year. This improvement can be directly linked to capital investments being made by MoDOT and Union Pacific Railroad to increase capacity and velocity on the St. Louis to Kansas City corridor.

Amtrak performance during the first 10 months of 2008 was pretty dismal, coming in on time only about 62 percent of the time. During November, the on-time performance of Amtrak trains on the St. Louis to Kansas City corridor began to turn around, jumping to 76 percent and then to 79 percent in December 2008. Then, by the first quarter of 2009, the passenger train was averaging a 96 percent on-time rate.

In celebration of improving performance, increasing ridership and 30 years of state sponsorship, MoDOT and Amtrak held a Name the Train contest last winter. A new name, Missouri River Runner, was selected by Missourians in January and is now being used to re-brand the passenger rail service in Missouri.

In May, the department unveiled a new logo, which will be used as a key element in a statewide marketing campaign aimed at generating new excitement for the Missouri River Runner.