By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Crews are finishing work on a new Amtrak station for downtown St. Louis.
That means days are numbered for the building that has for 25 years been St. Louis's temporary train station. 'Amshack,' as it's sometimes jokingly called, is being replaced with a building Amtrak hopes to open by Christmas.
But the new digs won't be permanent, either. They'll just be used until a long-planned permanent home is built.
Spokesman Marc Magliari says the building about to open will be useful because it will become an Amtrak repair shop once it's no longer needed for passengers.
"Instead of building another temporary structure that would either be in the way of a permanent station or just be hauled a way when we're done using it, we need a new mechanical facility anyway," says Magliari. "We need to move that function away from where it is now to make room for the permanent station."
The new building is up, crews are just finishing work inside. The permanent home - which is not built - will also house Metrolink and bus stops, but there's no word on when construction of that building will start.