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Issue: 1194 Date: 7/11/2013
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McCaskill Praises Kirkwood Train Station Volunteers |
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| Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) thanks volunteers at the Kirkwood Amtrak station on Saturday, June 29. Credit Tim Lloyd / St. Louis Public Radio |
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(June 29, 2013) Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) cut cake and scooped ice cream during a ceremony to celebrate the volunteers who helped restore and now staff the Amtrak station in downtown Kirkwood.
"We are celebrating the best of this community, which are the kind people who decided this train station is worth saving," McCaskill said. "It's now recognized as one of the best train stations in the country."
McCaskill also read a letter of thanks from Vice President, and vocal Amtrak supporter, Joe Biden.
Ten years ago Amtrak had to pull its ticket agents from the station due to budget cuts, that's when volunteers stepped in to fill the void. From helping passengers get onto trains to installing flower boxes, around 70 community members now help maintain the historic rail stop.
"When we originally started we told them come an hour before the train, then stay twenty minutes or so after, then go home, lock up," said Station Manager Bill Burkhalter. "That lasted about a month, now they stay all day. We're almost hope 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, then we open back up at 8 p.m."
Burkhalter said ridership at the station has jumped in recent years, with more customers looking to take day trips on the River Run line to visit places like Herman, Mo., where wineries dot the hilly rural town.
"This is a national example of what happens when a town engages with us and the service," said Amtrak Spokesman Mark Magliari.
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