By Railfan & Railroad Staff

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The State of Missouri and Amtrak will restore the second of two daily round-trip trains on the Missouri River Runner service between Kansas City and St. Louis starting July 19. 

The second round-trip was suspended at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. State officials said the resumption of service is being funded through December 2021 by the recently-passed American Rescue Plan Act. 

“We appreciate the General Assembly and Gov. Parson providing necessary resources for the Amtrak Missouri River Runner service in the state’s budget as well as the additional COVID relief funds enabling us to restore this important transportation service to Missourians,” said Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna. “The two daily round-trip trains will be available through December covering the busiest time of the year including summer vacations, fall festivals and year-end holiday travel. We will re-evaluate the situation this fall based on the actions at the federal level with the renewal of the federal transportation budget to determine how long we can support the two daily round-trip service.”