The city's intercity train station sits 1⁄4 mile (400 m) to the south, serving MetroLink, Amtrak, and Greyhound Bus.

[5] The headhouse originally housed a hotel, a restaurant, passenger waiting rooms and railroad ticketing offices.

[3] During World War II, German actor Til Kiwe, was recaptured in the station's waiting room after escaping from a POW camp in Colorado.

[10] The 1940s expansion added a new ticket counter designed as a half-circle and a mural by Louis Grell could be found atop the customer waiting area which depicted the history of St. Louis with an old fashion steam engine, two large steamboats and the Eads Bridge in the background.

As airliners became the primary mode of long-distance travel and railroad passenger services declined in the 1950s and 1960s, the massive station became obsolete and too expensive to maintain for its original purpose.

By then, Amtrak had cut back service to four routes per day–the State House, the Ann Rutledge, the National Limited (formerly the Spirit of St. Louis) and the Inter-American.

Amtrak has since moved its St. Louis service to the Gateway Transportation Center, one block east of Union Station.

[8][11] The station was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970, as an important surviving example of large-scale railroad architecture from the late 19th century.

[13] In August 1985, after a $150 million renovation designed by HOK, Union Station was reopened with a 539-room hotel, shopping mall, restaurants and food court.

Federal historic rehabilitation tax credits were used to transform Union Station into one of the city's most visited attractions.

The station rehabilitation by Conrad Schmitt Studios[14] remains one of the largest adaptive re-use projects in the United States.

The Memories Museum features artifacts and displays about the history of St. Louis Union Station and rail travel in the United States.

MetroLink, the St. Louis region's light rail system, serves Union Station via the Red and Blue lines.

A scene involving the captured President was shot in the station's train shed and the film's gladiatorial fight was staged in the Grand Hall.