Prior to the start up of Amtrak on May 1, 1971 it was operated by a successor company, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and was served by a variety of named trains, including the Alton Limited, the Abraham Lincoln, and the Midnight Special.

However, Amtrak extended this train to St. Louis at its own expense because the Chicago and Alton/GM&O station was not designed to turn trainsets around.

Painted on the wall atop the ticket office, the mural features a route map of the post-1947 Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the state seals of Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Overhauled elements included the GM&O mural, trackside landscaping, passenger seating, handicapped accessibility, parking lot repaving and a new station roof.

Springfield used $571,500 obtained through the Central Area Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district that covers much of the downtown.