UTU member urges more Amtrak trains in Missouri (The following column, "Springfield train feasible," appeared in the Springfield, Mo., News-Leader June 27, 2007. It was written by Matthew Dowty, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Passenger Rail Association and is as a conductor in freight train service with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. He also is a member of UTU Local 1016 in Enid, Okla.)
In the coming years, we face challenges that threaten to limit the travel freedoms we all take for granted. More train service to more places is part of the solution.
Southwest Missouri and the tourism component of its economy is dependent on highway travel and affordable gasoline. The preponderance of evidence suggests the era of cheap, readily available oil is behind us. Record high pump prices have everyone's attention, so the state's evaluation of energy-efficient rail passenger service from Springfield to St. Louis and Chicago was particularly timely.
