(rshsdepot) Louisville, KY

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_home.com>]

Amtrak service to return to Union Station
Armstrong will lead ceremony marking extension across river
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By Butch John
The Courier-Journal

After a 25-year absence, passenger-train service will return to Louisville's
Union Station today when the Kentucky Cardinal crosses the Ohio River from
Jeffersonville, Ind.

A Golden Spike ceremony -- indicative of completion of the extension from
Indiana into Louisville -- will be held at 10 a.m. and be led by Mayor Dave
Armstrong, who spearheaded the city's effort to regain Amtrak service.

''Rain, sleet or snow, the mayor will be out there,'' said Larissa Reece, a
spokeswoman for Armstrong's office. ''It won't affect the spike.''

In addition to the driving of the spike, Union Station will be decked out in
photos and other memorabilia from previous passenger service.

Included will be an original chalkboard train schedule that once hung in the
terminal.

The Kentucky Cardinal began operating between Chicago and Jeffersonville in
December 1999, offering the area its first Amtrak service since the old
Floridian was discontinued by Amtrak as part of a reorganization in the
1970s.

Armstrong has said restoring Union Station's passenger rail service could be
a key element in downtown redevelopment by encouraging riders to come to the
city for shopping, dining and sightseeing.

More than 29,000 people rode the Kentucky Cardinal last year. Amtrak
officials have not projected additional ridership resulting from the
extension.

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