Connecting to the Bus in St. Louis

In a previous post, I was down on the St. Louis train station.  I made another visit this past weekend and I am not enamored with it.  But it is still has a few things going for it:

• Most train stations do not have Pizza Hut and KFC in them.  Although not the healthiest food, but chains serve yummy treats you can eat with your fingers.
• There are two sets of rest rooms.  The one on the way to the Amtrak tracks are better.
• It is a brief walk to the Civic Center Metro stop which you can see from the train station.
• Long-term parking is only $6/day at a lot one block away.  Short-term parking (no matter how short) is $1/hour and is adjacent to the station
• There were three taxis waiting to pick up passengers.  At most stations you have to phone a taxi.
• The Marriott Union Station (in the true St. Louis train station) is only a few blocks away.
• The intercity buses leave from the same station as Amtrak

The last point should be considered further.  Those of us who live in Chicago revel in the idea that our hometown is the center of the railroad universe (at least in the United States.)  That is great news for Amtrak riders wanting to begin or end their journey in the City of Big Shoulders.  But I can imagine that there are those who want to travel on the train between two places and not have to spend the extra time being transported to Chicago and waiting to change trains there.  For those traveling between locations in the west and south, St. Louis and its ease in changing from train to bus or vice versa may be the answer.  For instance:

• You wish to go from Kansas City to New Orleans.  You could go to Chicago and connect to the City of New Orleans.  With connecting time, that will take 32 hours.  Or you can take the train to St. Louis, ride the Amtrak Thruway Bus Service provided by Vandalia Bus Company to Carbondale, IL and catch the City of New Orleans at Carbondale.  That takes only a little less than 24 hours.
• You are a college student in Texas or Arkansas and you want to visit a friend at the University of Illinois-Champaign.  You could take the Texas Eagle all the way to Chicago and change to the Illini to come back down to Champaign.  Or you could get off the Texas Eagle in St. Louis and transfer to the Greyhound Champaign Express.  You will save at least four hours by doing so.
• Other Amtrak cities such as Omaha and Indianapolis may be better reached by connecting with a bus service in St. Louis than traveling through Chicago.
• And then there are places you can't get to on Amtrak.  Like Tulsa, OK.  If you are coming from the east, you can get on a Lincoln Service train leaving Chicago at 7:00 pm and arriving in St. Louis at 12:30 am.  You can then switch to a Greyhound bus and less than eight hours later have breakfast in Tulsa.  This also works for travel to Nashville and Columbus.

You can find connecting bus service from St. Louis by going to the Greyhound website.

Amtrak Train Travel Between St. Louis, Springfield and Chicago

Interstate 55 must be one of the most boring highways east of the Mississippi River.  Once you leave Chicago going south,  you make your way through the Great Corn Desert.  It closely follows the old US 66 route.  The towns are nice and the people are really friendly but the road is long and straight.

Some of the attractions along the way include:

• A couple of large wind farms near Dwight
• A huge landfill by Pontiac where trucks from Chicago come and dump their loads
• Illinois State University's Farm close to Lexington where agricultural research and student activities take place
• Dixie Travel Plaza (aka Dixie Truckers' Home) in McLean, halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, to help you know you are either entering or leaving The South
• South of Springfield, keep your eyes peeled for oil pumps since Illinois was once one of the leading oil producing states in the country

If this list did not entice you to drive down to Springfield and/or St. Louis, you may wish to consider Amtrak.  There are 5 trains a day each way which means you can choose a time that fits your schedule.  If you are making a visit to Chicago, an overnight visit to either city is convenient.

Springfield is the capital of Illinois but don't hold that against it.  The highlight is Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum opened in 2005.  Only four blocks from the Springfield Amtrak station,  the museum provides research and information on the 16th President.  About 10 blocks south of the Amtrak station is the Dana-Thomas house designed and build by Frank Lloyd Wright.  It is currently closed for renovation but if your trip will take place after June 30, 2011, it will be worth your time to see it.  There a myriad of other Lincoln-oriented sites to explore.

The Springfield Amtrak station is a beautiful brick building built in 1895 by the Chicago and Alton Railroad and was used by the successor Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad.  Recently renovated, the small but spacious building has fine details and precious artwork.  Only basic services are available at the station including vending machines for food.

If you decide to rent a car, there is an Enterprise only 2 blocks away.  Unfortunately, they are open only Monday through Friday and Saturday morning.  You may also wish to check out Budget.  Even though it is at the airport, they will pick you up at the Amtrak station with advance notice.

A fun place to stay overnight in Springfield is the State House Inn.  The hotel has been restored to reflect the colors, patterns and furnishings of the 1960s.  Listed on the Springfield register of Historic Buildings, it is located only two blocks from the Amtrak station.  The hotel has a number of free amenities such as high-speed internet access, hot American breakfast buffet, on-site parking, USA Today and local calls.  All rooms are equipped with upscale mattresses, top-notch linens, plush towels and bathrobes, coffee makers, irons, ironing boards, hair dryers and cable television.

St. Louis, the most populous city in Missouri, is also one of the oldest cities in "The West."  Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and others started the long journey up the Missouri River to the west coast.  The Jefferson Expansion National Monument includes the famous Gateway Arch (and its cool tram system to get to the top) and the Old Courthouse, where the Dred Scott cases were decided.  You must also see the world-acclaimed St. Louis Zoo where there are over 800 species on over 90 acres.  There is no cost to get into the zoo but there are admittance fees to certain attractions.  The Missouri Botanical Garden is well known for it beauty, variety of species and research programs.

Unfortunately, the St. Louis train station is a modern facility opened in 2008.  One block away is the historical Union Station where there are excellent restaurants, shopping and a hotel (more on this later.)  The current station is a multimodal station that serves not only Amtrak but also Greyhound buses, city and county buses, metropolitan rail, and taxis.  The station has most amenities travelers desire including a food court with national chains and local merchants.

Besides, the old Union Station, you will likely need a car to visit most attractions.  Budget has a rental counter in the Sheraton hotel across the street from the station.  If you still need help, they will pick you up with advance notice.

The Marriott at Union Station is a wonderful place to stay in St. Louis.  You are in the middle of the action at Union Station and close to all major freeways so you can get to the sites you wish to visit.  The hotel itself has two restaurants/bars in addition to many others in the station.  Each room features premier bedding and deluxe amenities.  The hotel also has a fitness center with cardiovascular equipment, free weights, exercise balls and bands, an outdoor pool and sauna.