Amtrak dedicates Lawrence, Kan., station improvements

Amtrak joined state and local officials to celebrate more than $1.5 million in improvements to the Lawrence, Kan., station, including a 500-foot passenger boarding platform and access to parking with designations compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Repairs to the platform canopy and new exterior lighting designed to both improve safety and blend with the former Santa Fe Railway ATSF station have also installed. The depot was built in 1955 and designed by Warren Corman and Warren Jones, both graduates of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. The exterior has changed little since then and the interior retains almost of all its original appointments, furniture and materials. As was common with ATSF stations, neon signs at the platform canopies identified the name of the city. Amtrak restored those signs and installed an Amtrak sign in neon that echoes the previous "Santa Fe" neon sign atop the building. Amtrak worked closely with the City of Lawrence on the historic elements of the building, along with the state's historic preservation office, the Federal Railroad Administration and the station's current owner, BNSF, the successor to the ATSF. The Lawrence station, at 413 East 7th, is served by the daily Amtrak Southwest Chief train operating between Chicago and Los Angeles, with 6,410 passengers using the station in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2011. The improvements at Lawrence also make the station more able to accommodate service expansions envisioned by Kansas and other states.