by neroden
gprimr1 wrote:I thought this thing died when Amtrak and Vermont basically said they would axe the Vermonter because it would be financially impossible to build high level platforms at every station.For better or worse, there was an explicit requirement in the ADA for all "intercity rail stations" (meaning Amtrak) to have fully accessible platforms by a date certain.
I think the ADA is about reasonable accommodations. To me, forcing the railroad to build high level platforms at every station, even one a days is extreme overkill.
Which is odd. Because "public transportation systems" (including every other passenger rail operator in the country) only have to:
(1) upgrade a list of "key stations" which was agreed in advance (except for NYC, I think everyone's finished their key stations, though do tell me if I'm wrong)
(2) make stations ADA-accessible when they build new ones or renovate old ones (this is the general requirement for *all* public buildings).
Apart from key stations, commuter rail operators and urban rail operators are not required to renovate anything, only to make ADA upgrades when they do get around to renovating. I have no idea why there is a special rule in the ADA law forcing all intercity stations to be upgraded by a date certain; perhaps this was the pet project of some Senator.