Mules (Amtrak)
| Mules | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Inter-city rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Missouri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Kansas City, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Stations | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | UP (track) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 283 mi (455.44 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Kansas City Mule and St. Louis Mule were a pair of 283-mile (455 km) passenger trains operated by Amtrak running between St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri as part of the Missouri Service train network. From 2007 these trains used the same track as one other Amtrak route, the Ann Rutledge. In 2009, Amtrak consolidated these trains under the name Missouri River Runner.
[edit] History
Amtrak introduced the two trains on October 26, 1980, in partnership with the state of Missouri, which provided a yearly subsidy of $484,000. The Mules supplemented the Ann Rutledge, which provided a daily round-trip between Kansas City and Chicago via St. Louis. Contemporary news accounts referred to the combined service as the "Missouri Mule", although Amtrak timetables used the individual names.[1][2]
The Mule's original schedule included intermediate stops at Kirkwood, Jefferson City, Sedalia and Warrensburg. Amtrak added Lee's Summit and Washington as flag stops in April 1981 on a one-year trial basis; Lee's Summit was retained in 1982 while Washington was dropped late 1981 in favor of Independence.[3][4]Amtrak reinstated Washington on the October 29, 1995 timetable for another one-year trial period; this time Amtrak retained the stop.[5] Hermann became a permanent stop on September 28, 1991. Trains had previously stopped only during Hermann's annual Maifest and Octoberfest.[6][7]
Because the tracks are owned by Union Pacific (UP), freight trains have priority over passenger trains. This often resulted in severe delays for Amtrak, such as those seen in May 2007, when the Missouri Department of Transportation blamed UP for the disruptions.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ "'Missouri Mule' state's new train". Southeast Missourian. October 26, 1980. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h1ofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1dgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4390,6192891&dq=amtrak+mule&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. February 1, 1981. http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19810201&item=0039. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "Amtrak to alter services". Nevada Daily Mail. February 25, 1981. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vcwhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YJ4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4209,5182130&dq=lee's+summit+amtrak&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. October 25, 1981. http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19811025&item=0039. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "National Timetable". Amtrak. October 29, 1995. http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19951029n&item=0026. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "At last, Hermann will get the trains to stop; Amtrak will begin the service Sept. 28. Arrivals will come from Kansas City, St. Louis". Kansas City Star. September 9, 1991. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=KC&p_theme=kc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF3CE26E9A159C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ Eardley, Linda (October 23, 1991). "SRO plagues Hermann; train seat shortage is a flaw that's been lurking on the railroad". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3A.
- ^ kansascity.com [broken link]
[edit] External links
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