Amtrak offers guidance on passenger station development
Written by jrood
February 14, 2001 Amtrak is offering its expert guidance on station development to communities in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin where new state-supported Amtrak service is planned to begin in the next three years. As a part of its Great American Stations Project, Amtrak is hosting local and state leaders in a Civic Conversation with a special focus on the development of stations on planned Chicago routes to Dubuque, Iowa, via Rockford, Ill.; to Iowa City via the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities; and to Madison, Wis., via Milwaukee.
Some of these communities
have not had passenger rail service since early and mid 1970s, while others
were last served in 1981. Some of their former passenger rail stations still
stand, but many other stations were converted to other uses or have been
demolished.
During the meeting July
22, Amtrak will discuss real estate and railroad relationship issues, station
design and staffing matters and provide other technical expertise, including
understanding how to comply with the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. In addition, representatives from both large and small
communities will explain how they successfully shepherded their station
projects through the design, funding and construction phases.
Helping
communities understand station development issues is essential, as Amtrak does
not own the majority of stations it serves. Of the 529 stops on Amtrak’s
current schedule, nearly 33 percent of stations are owned by cities, 27 percent
by the freight or host railroads over whose tracks Amtrak trains travel and 27
percent by Amtrak (primarily on the largely Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor).
Private parties own another 8 percent, and the remaining 5 percent are owned by
other entities, such as port authorities, commuter railroads or transit
agencies.
The
GreatAmericanStations.com Website also enables an exchange of information and
provides a point of initial contact to develop partnerships in an initiative to
renovate and revitalize stations. The Website spotlights the success of station
projects and includes descriptions of stations along the routes in the 46-state
Amtrak network.
Illinois,
Iowa and Wisconsin have plans to use state and/or federal funds to begin new
service to be operated by Amtrak. Illinois and Wisconsin have been Amtrak
partners since 1971 and 1989, respectively, and Iowa could become the 16th state
to have Amtrak state-supported intercity passenger rail service. The GreatAmericanStations.com
Website also enables an exchange of information and provides a point of initial
contact to develop partnerships in an initiative to renovate and revitalize
stations. The Website spotlights the success of station projects and includes
descriptions of stations along the routes in the 46-state Amtrak network.
Attendees at the Civic
Conversation in Chicago will be welcomed by Thomas Carper, Amtrak board
chairman, and Joseph McHugh, Amtrak vice president, government affairs and corporate
communications. Amtrak has hosted similar meetings in the past three years in
Denver, Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Savannah and San Antonio.
The
GreatAmericanStations.com Website also enables an exchange of information and
provides a point of initial contact to develop partnerships in an initiative to
renovate and revitalize stations. The Website spotlights the success of station
projects and includes descriptions of stations along the routes in the 46-state
Amtrak network.
