Amtrak

Report: Amtrak Has Lost $834 Million on Food Over Ten Years

Yes, that headline is accurate: Amtrak has lost $834 million on food service over the past ten years, an audit by the Government Accountability Office has revealed. Seems like the national rail line's food-service workers get a little peckish and a little sloppy on those long hauls across the countr ... More >>

With Tavolo V and Pazzo's, Michael Del Pietro adds two new arrows to his restaurant quiver

Pedestrian Hit by Train in Kirkwood

KMOV and KTVI both report that a pedestrian was hit by an Amtrak train just before 5 p.m. near Leffingwell and Scott avenues in Kirkwood (the railroad crossing at the intersection, above). The person was wearing headphones at the time, and witnesses claimed the train blew its whistle prior to the at ... More >>

The Things We Carried on World Book Night

Last night was World Book Night. We started with a box of books. Twenty copies of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, to be precise. We could give them to anybody we wanted.At first we thought it would be fun to pun on the book's title and give copies to people who were already carrying things. M ... More >>

Straight Shootin': The firepower at the NRA convention is incredible, just like the rhetoric

Handcuffed Suspect Steals St. Louis Cop Car in Wild Chase Last Night

​The St. Louis police department mirrored the Keystone Kops last night in a bizarre chase that began in a south-city convenience store. As stltoday.com reports, three gunmen entered the 7-Eleven at Chippewa and Brannon last night and fired shots into the air before making off with the cash drawer. ... More >>

Receding River Allows Amtrak to Restore Full Service to Kansas City

Amtrak: Now free to move about Missouri.​Amtrak will restore full service between St. Louis and Kansas City beginning Wednesday. Flooding along the Missouri River forced Amtrak to reduce its runs between the two cities earlier this month after Union Pacific switched more of its freight traffic ont ... More >>

Swollen Missouri River Forces Amtrak to Reduce St. Louis to Kansas City Service

The Union Pacific line west of Jefferson City as viewed this morning.​Flood waters along the Missouri River have forced the Union Pacific railroad to divert its freight trains to a line of track the carrier shares with Amtrak. The resulting congestion has forced the passenger train to temporarily ... More >>

Pitchfork Music Festival 2011: What to Expect, What to See and More

​Sometimes the Iternets can put on one helluva flesh-and-blood show. Pitchfork Music Festival is run by the music blog of the same name, which just announced it's expanding to Paris this fall with an overseas version of the festival to be curated by (Everybody Loves) Bon Iver. The American b ... More >>

Construction on High-Speed Rail Between St. Louis and Chicago Continues

www.whitehouse.gov​This afternoon in Chicago, Illinois heavyweights and railway folks are going to announce a second round of funding for a high-speed rail line between St. Louis and the Windy City.Sen. Dick Durbin, (D-Ill) and Illinois governor Pat Quinn will announce the new infusion of cash on ... More >>

Boston Mayor of 1940s Offers Solution to St. Louis' Ice Problem

Boston's mayor appealed for M.I.T. engineers to develop flame throwers to help save the city from record snowfall.​Francis Slay is back in town. The St. Louis mayor arrived home Wednesday via Amtrak after his flight from California was canceled Monday due to Midwest snow storms.  One of the m ... More >>

Francis Slay in Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Slay reacts to news that he won't be home for Snowmaggedon '11.​Updated 8:35 a.m. with a hilarious new out take! St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay missed the blizzard that sacked much of Missouri yesterday and left his fair city coated in a few inches of ice and sleet. The mayor was in Albuquerque. As ... More >>

Interview: Potty-mouthed Violinist Owen Pallett on "Bro Music," Sexuality and His Career

David WaldmanOwen Pallett, performing live.​In conversation, composer/violinist/songwriter Owen Pallett is outspoken. This might surprise those familiar with his music - from the serene orchestration on his acclaimed 2010 record, Heartland, and his previous work under the Final Fantasy moniker ... More >>

Before Amtrak Gets Fast, It's About to Get Slow

Someone oughtta right a song about this. Oh, wait...​Beginning today Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Louis will experience several interruptions for track maintenance as part of an effort to create a high-speed route between the two cities. Passengers who use Amtrak's Lincoln Service depart ... More >>

Construction on High-Speed Rail to Chicago Underway

Amtrak's St. Louis-Chicago route, converting to high-speed...eventually.​The dream is alive! Construction on a new high-speed rail line between St. Louis and Chicago is set to begin in September and the first 90 miles -- extending from just north of Alton to just south of Lincoln but excluding ... More >>

Engine Excitement

St. Louis to Chicago in Under Four Hours By Train

It may be possible in the not-too-distant future. Yesterday President Barack Obama unveiled plans for a high-speed rail network throughout the United States. A Midwestern route -- with a hub based in Chicago -- could go online in 2012 connecting the Windy City with Milwaukee and Detroit. Another lin ... More >>

Get Intimate with Joe Biden for $10,000

Joe Biden, champion of the working class. Joe Biden, who commuted from Delaware to D.C. with the regular folks on the Amtrak. Working-class Joe, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Some say it's a mythical legend, that of the blue-collar Joe Biden and his rags-to-riches journey to the top.The senator-tu ... More >>

Washington University: Tourist Mecca?

Wikimedia CommonsWish you were here!An article in Sunday's New York Times touts the university campus as the hot new tourist destination. Universities, you see, usually have at least one picturesque corner or impressive building (fit for the cover of the admissions catalog), some sort of historical ... More >>

Ride the Megabus for Free. Yeah, That's Right, Free!

We know how much you love St. Louis. We know you love it so much you would never, ever want to leave, even though gas prices have gone down which makes an out-of-town excursion more feasible than it was a couple of months ago. Leave the mid-winter snow and the late-winter slush? Never!But that evil ... More >>

Metro Ridership, St. Louis Gas Prices Up

St. Louis Gets a Grand Central Station (Sort Of)

End Zone

Battered by the pounding they took on the gridiron, former players say the National Football League has abandoned them.

The Next Big Thing

A middle-aged couple with a million dollars and a big dream: To make St. Louis a pop-music hub

The Mississippi Mirror

Unreal takes a local celeb inside our actor's studio, browses for Star Trek figurines and says hello to "The Pampered Queer."

Sweet and Lo-Fi

Bill Streeter's vlog is how others see us

Letters

Week of December 22, 2004

O Amshack!

Unreal goes (ugh!) holiday (groan!) shopping and surfs over to our Local Blog o' the Week; plus, we continue to fight the good fight for our beloved train-trailer

Save the Amshack

We lament the impending doom of our beloved train-trailer, talk to a guy with some great squirrel recipes and go to jail. Plus: Can taking Communion give you the flu?

Farr Out Campaign

A loose-lipped former train conductor is looking to get his long-shot congressional bid on track

October Surprise

Now we know just how far candidates will go -- and just how much Pimp Juice they'll drink -- for an endorsement

All Aboard!

We get political with Kerry and Dean, feel the bite of a "Mad Dog" and discover something amazing about Prius ownership. Plus, confidential to Unreal readers: Parking downtown is easy!

Another Steakout

Don't let the Lou become the sole property of Bloosiers; plus, we try to go on a wholesome date (to Mel's new movie, perhaps?), visit one of the few remaining typewriter stores, learn a thing or two about balls and make some super suggestions for Lambert

Street Talk 2003: The Year in Review

Week of December 31, 2003

What Do You Have to be Thankful For?

Week of November 26, 2003

Letters

Week of October 8, 2003

When He Was Cruel

Neil LaBute tries to be nice but comes off very savage

Suds Slap

Week of February 12, 2003

White-Trash Junction

Amtrak's station was supposed to be temporary -- a quarter-century ago

If You Build It, They May Fly Elsewhere

High-dollar airport expansion rolls on despite fewer flights, loss of TWA

A Mayor Runs Through It

With the determination of a Missouri mule, Mayor Mike Swoboda drags a $40 million development into the heart of Kirkwood

Patriot Games

With a distant war, a vague enemy and no access, local media are left waving the flag

Letters

Week of July 11, 2001

City of Night

Dark Days discovers the real tunnel-dwellers behind the urban myths

Sleep Cheap

Webster University invaded by hostel beings at travel expo

Letters to the Editor