LA PLATA, MISSOURI – Amtrak and community leaders gathered at the Amtrak station in this northeastern Missouri city on November 12, 2022, to celebrate completion of improvements to the historic depot. Work crews focused on underground plumbing, the roof deck, exterior façade and masonry repairs, doors, and window systems – altogether a more than $1.7 million investment. An additional $4.3 million was spent to more than triple the length of the concrete passenger platform to 85-feet-long, install a new walkway, signs and lighting, and upgrade the restrooms.
Amtrak has finished 174 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) station-related projects, investing more than $570 million in Federal Railroad Administration funding for accessibility upgrades throughout the country. The architect and engineer of record for the platform project was AECOM, based in New York City, and construction was performed by Coleman Industrial of Kansas City. The architect of record for the station improvements was Quinn Evans Architects of Michigan, and the general contractor was George Allen Construction of Illinois.
The ribbon cutting marking the project’s completion was part of a day-long open house and “Grand Re-Opening” sponsored by the La Plata-based American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation. This non-profit organization is the caretaker of the depot for Amtrak. The building originally dates to 1887, but in 1945, after a fire burned portions of the structure, the interior and exterior were modernized in the then-popular Art Deco style. The remodeling preserved the original building within the inner and outer layers.
La Plata is served daily by the Southwest Chief (Chicago-Kansas City-Albuquerque-Los Angeles). This Macon County community is also the gateway to Kirksville in neighboring Adair County, home of Truman State University and A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Posted November 18, 2022
Amtrak established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources.
Amtrak is seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform rail and Retrain Travel. By modernizing, enhancing and expanding trains, stations and infrastructure, Amtrak is meeting the rising demand for train travel. Amtrak offers unforgettable experiences to more than 500 destinations across 46 states and parts of Canada. Learn more at