KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Officials at the Missouri Department of Transportation met with staff of Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas Thursday for a discussion about commuter rail in the region.
Lucas posted about the meeting early Friday morning, in which he mentioned Amtrak could help the area with service.
MoDOT gave my team time yesterday to talk commuter rail opportunities in Kansas City and surrounds, working with our friends from Amtrak
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) October 18, 2024
Making existing local routes better timed, more efficient, and affordable can unlock better rail transit in our region for generations to come pic.twitter.com/mCYoJDjE26
Amtrak already operates daily regional service through the Missouri River Runner route, which includes stops in downtown Lee’s Summit, Independence and Kansas City’s Union Station. The route allows riders to take the train for less than $10 each way depending on the stops.
But the timing isn’t synced up for commuters. The first train available for commuters in Lee’s Summit doesn’t leave until 1 p.m., arriving at Union Station about 45 minutes later.
The options are a little better heading from Union Station back to Lee’s Summit. The first train leaves Union Station at 8:40 a.m., but the second train leaves Union at 4:05 p.m., arriving in Lee’s Summit just after 4:40 p.m.
“Making existing local routes better times, more efficient and affordable can unlock better rail transit in our region for generations to come,” Lucas said in the social media post.
Lucas also said his staff has been in contact with the Kansas Department of Transportation to review options on the Kansas side.
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