CHICAGO — After investing $19 million on station improvements in fiscal 2018, Amtrak announced Tuesday that it will be spending $72.5 million on stations through September 2019. The “Customer Now” program will fund projects at 53 locations in 35 states, not including general repairs performed and managed locally.
Expenditures in 2019 include $21.5 million invested in large-scale projects at 23 stations in 17 states. The remaining $51 million is being spent for Americans with Disabilities Act renovations at 30 locations. Many of these are long-overdue fixes where travelers have had inadequate bathroom facilities or were forced to board trains from platforms that are no higher than tielevel.
Amtrak also released a 7-minute documentary video on YouTube, narrated by former Hill Street Blues actor Daniel J. Travanti, that documents restoration work done at Chicago Union Station’s Great Hall, part of an already-completed, multi-year $22 million project that also featured installation of a first-ever elevator directly up to Canal Street. More funding needs to be secured for train concourse improvements, which are expected to include some platform widening and track relocation.
The video contains both historical footage of the transformation and interviews with the tradesmen, engineers, and architects who helped execute Chicago Union Station’s latest renovation.
Robert: most stations draw people from several surrounding counties. They are a regional issue. Why should a municipality pay for a service mostly used by people from beyond it?
Re: surely these figures are maybe a little high?
Why do you think they are high?
* Expenditures in 2019 include $21.5 million invested in large-scale projects at 23 stations in 17 states.
That’s less than 1 M $ per station.
* The remaining $51 million is being spent for Americans with Disabilities Act renovations at 30 locations.
That’s less than 2 M $ per station. ADA retro fitting has always been expensive.
It would be nice of the local cities paid for this tho. They don’t seem to mind paying for airports.
Contractors have been working (VERY SLOWLY) at the La Plata, Mo. station for over a year. If they are getting paid based on the hours worked, Amtrak is getting ripped off. Work, re-work and re-work again. They don’t appear to know what they are doing.
gives my pause, to think how much this costs, but will not make much contribution to revenue. surely these figures are maybe a little high? It is no wonder Amtrak will always be the neglected child.
Everyone’s a critic. If it’s decrepit, they complain. If they spend money to repair and maintain, they complain. I miss the original East building that was replaced by the office building but life goes on. I am glad that Amtrak restored the GREAT HALL to its grandeur. The new Metropolitan Lounge is nice. You don’t see what they did below the floors and in the other spaces but having had a tour, there was much that has been upgraded. All while maintaining traffic and handling the large amount of commuter traffic.
Stations should be owned by the municipalities that they serve. Not Amtrak. Why is this country turning to the point where everyone pays for the few. If the people of Kirkwood, Mo want a new platform let them have it, at their expense.