De Soto city leaders could know in the next few months whether an Amtrak railway platform is on track to be built in the city.
Local businessman Jim Thomas, who heads the Fast Track De Soto group proposing development of an Amtrak passenger train stop in the city, spoke about the project at the April 18 De Soto City Council meeting and said he expects a decision this summer.
“We’ve been discussing a potential Amtrak (stop) for years, at least four or five years,” Thomas said. “Then, the pandemic hit and everything stopped.
“We will make a presentation to Amtrak at the end of May. We could have a possible decision from them by the end of July.”
He said the estimate to construct an Amtrak platform in De Soto is $1.7 million.
Thomas said his group, city officials and Union Pacific Railroad representatives have been working together to get approval to build the platform in De Soto, which has a long history as a train town.
Union Pacific has a large train-car maintenance facility on the east side of downtown De Soto, and its rail lines could be used for passenger-train service.
“We’ve worked with the guys from Union Pacific, and they picked a spot on South Main Street across from the
(De Soto Public Library, 712 S. Main St.),” he said. “The city owns some of the property along the street and Union Pacific owns property by the tracks. There are dual tracks owned by Union Pacific.”
Thomas said having those tracks is an essential element for a location to be considered for a train stop.
“You must have dual tracks to have a station for safety reasons,” he said.
Thomas said those working to get an Amtrak stop in De Soto have a basic structure in mind.
“What we’ve proposed is fairly simple – a platform with a covering, open, 40 feet to 60 feet long, concrete,” he said. “It must be handicap accessible.
“We’d have solar panels on top of it and charging stations for electric cars. The city has agreed to use some of its municipal property across the street for gated parking.”
Thomas said De Soto officials will survey local residents to collect data about people’s interest in an Amtrak stop, in preparation for the upcoming presentation to Amtrak.
“The city is sponsoring a telephone and internet survey of De Soto residents and a few communities around De Soto to get an idea of the viability of a station,” he said. “We want to know the interest in it.”
Thomas said he is optimistic about De Soto’s chance to get an Amtrak stop.
“I think we have a great chance,” he said. “We’ve been working on this a long time. There is all kinds of funding available right now: CARES Act funds, Federal Railroad Administration funding and other sources.”
De Soto Councilman Jim Akers said he would love to see the city have a stop again, recalling the station that was demolished in the early 1980s.
The city welcomed train travelers as recently as April 1971 (aboard Missouri Pacific trains), but the stop disappeared in 1982 with the demolition of the city’s train station, which was built in 1919.
“I’m 80, so I remember it,” Akers said. “It was a Missouri Pacific station. They sold the station to Union Pacific. We had quite a few people come through that station.”
He said a stop in southern Jefferson County could spur economic growth.
“We hope (the platform) will help bring people here and that will bring more customers to our businesses,” Akers said. “There is not another station close to us other than the one in Kirkwood.”