Union Station opened in 1894 and was operated for over 80 years.Union Station sometimes arrived and departed 100,000 people a day and 240 trains an hour (while Lambert Airport, the sixth busiest airport in the country, arrives and departs 55,000 people a day and 80 airplanes an hour).
Building the station originally cost $6.5 millon. Union Station was designed by Theodore C. Link. 6 companies formed a large company called the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA). The TRRA paid for and helped to build Union Station.