Amtrak commits $12 million to renovate Chicago Union Station

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Amtrak has made a commitment of $12 million to continue renovations of Chicago's 90-year-old Union Station. In the coming weeks and months, Chicago Mayor Emanuel will work in coordination with the federal government, the state of Illinois, Metra and Amtrak to facilitate a complete overhaul of Union Station that will require a multi-year, $500-million investment.

 

“By bringing Union Station into the 21st century, we will bring more economic opportunities to residents all throughout the city of Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “A modern transit system is essential to a thriving economy for Chicago. With this investment in the future of Union Station, we will provide a more reliable link between downtown and our neighborhoods, connecting residents to work and keeping Chicago on the move.”

Union Station is the third busiest rail terminal in the United States with roughly 120,000 passengers served each day. With increased ridership of both Amtrak and Metra, the station often reaches its maximum capacity, resulting in overcrowded waiting areas and platforms. Starting this year, Amtrak will invest $12 million in improvements that will create a more comfortable and passenger-friendly station by addressing some of the most critical capacity and service issues. This work will include planning and design for a larger passenger concourse, making safety improvements, enhancing temperature controls and conducting necessary repairs to the station’s exterior façade.

The rehabilitation of Union Station will be supported by projects already underway to expand its role as a central and growing transit hub, linking neighborhoods to jobs and neighboring states and counties to Chicago. These include building the Union Station Transportation Center, a consolidated Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus terminal on city-owned land across the street that will anchor the new Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit Corridor. This corridor will connect Amtrak, Metra, the CTA Blue Line and many downtown destinations and serve as a key link between commuter and intercity rail, resulting in faster, more reliable transit to help people get between home and work.

In addition to this initial phase of rehabilitation, in the coming months, Mayor Emanuel will work with Amtrak, Metra and state and federal partners to start the engineering and design studies necessary to initiate a project of this size and scope and move forward with improvements recommended in the Union Station Master Plan.

 

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