Railroad Forums 

  • Stations that Amtrak should move elsewhere

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1523992  by njtmnrrbuff
 
The existing Hartford Connecticut Station, even though, extremely close to downtown is on a viaduct not in the best shape. I don't think that a second track will ever get built there. I know that CDOT and Amtrak are waiting for the highway construction until a brand new underground Hartford Station consisting of two tracks can be built.

I don't know if anyone commented on the Quincy, Illinois Station but it's extremely far from the downtown area. In fact, the station is almost four miles from Downtown Quincy.
 #1523995  by Roadgeek Adam
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:52 pm The existing Hartford Connecticut Station, even though, extremely close to downtown is on a viaduct not in the best shape. I don't think that a second track will ever get built there. I know that CDOT and Amtrak are waiting for the highway construction until a brand new underground Hartford Station consisting of two tracks can be built.

I don't know if anyone commented on the Quincy, Illinois Station but it's extremely far from the downtown area. In fact, the station is almost four miles from Downtown Quincy.
Been to Quincy. The downtown station is long gone and there's been talk of looking into moving it back downtown.
 #1523999  by njtmnrrbuff
 
I know that the right of way passes close to downtown and I believe that the Amtrak trains that run to Quincy continue to the area of the right of way very close to Downtown. I did a long daytrip in 2015 with a friend from Chicago to Quincy on the Carl Sandburg. Fortunately we were meeting up with another friend in Quincy.

It will be great when Amtrak will serve Downtown Burlington, Vermont directly. This will prevent people from having to get off and on in Essex Junction, although when heading to and from many stations along the NEC and Springfield Line, they will still continue to use Essex Junction.
 #1524014  by mtuandrew
 
Williams Junction, AZ was here

It doesn’t exist anymore as an Amtrak station, but when it did, it was exclusively a junction for passengers to transfer to vans and reach Williams and the Grand Canyon Railway. No public access, no parking, and I’m not rightly sure there was even a platform. Since the station was shut down, GCRY passengers and anyone going to Williams now has to disembark at Flagstaff, close to 40 miles distance.

What I suggest is to ask for $10m in order to build a siding and new platform here, ending just south of the Old Route 66 bridge. Make it a public platform with a small shelter - even without parking it would be worthwhile to reopen that tourist gateway.
 #1524053  by lordsigma12345
 
conductorchris wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:48 pm Northampton Massachusetts is in a good location that is 1 block from downtown, walkable from Smith College and right on a bus route to Amherst. The parking is a problem, but I wouldn't want to trade parking for location.

There was a proposal to put Northampton's stop on the north side of town, accessible only by car. I'm sure it would have cut ridership quite a bit. But it would have favored the project of some local developers.
Christopher
While I agree that the current location has benefits, the most common complaint I hear from riders in that area is that they don’t have a more substantial station for the ridership they get there without any indoor waiting in the winter months. Long term the city should try to locate it somewhere where they can build a more complete facility - whether it’s an intermodal train-bus facility or something else. I think that city warrants a better station.
 #1524090  by Station Aficionado
 
Hmm. From google maps, it looks like there’s a large building very close to the current station that would have space for a waiting room and other amenities.😁

Perhaps the long term solution would be for the city of Northampton to buy Union Station and reconvert it into a train station.
 #1524437  by Paul1705
 
Roadgeek Adam wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:27 pm Yeah, no way in hell.

New York Penn Station is not that terrible. It's a windy mess of corridors, but we're mostly used to that.

Trying to funnel all of NY rail service into Grand Central would be a ginormous mistake.

Keep in mind, back in the day, there was a proposal for a big terminal at 51st Street as well that would include an extension of the H&M/PATH to 51st Street. We need more rail terminals, not less.
There was a serious proposal in the 1990s and 2000s to build a two-track tunnel connecting Grand Central and Penn Station. It was part of what was then called Access to the Region's Core and is now languishing as the Gateway Project. The purpose was mainly for "commuter"/regional trains but it was possible that Amtrak could have routed a few New York to Boston trains through it. Metro-North and New York State lost interest in it, and later New Jersey Transit had its own Penn Station-only plan that in turn was cancelled by Governor Christie.
 #1524554  by lordsigma12345
 
Station Aficionado wrote: Sun Nov 03, 2019 10:58 am Hmm. From google maps, it looks like there’s a large building very close to the current station that would have space for a waiting room and other amenities.😁

Perhaps the long term solution would be for the city of Northampton to buy Union Station and reconvert it into a train station.
Highly unlikely to occur. The former union station is privately owned and houses multiple successful bars/restaurants and a banquet facility. I don’t think the owners have any interest in selling.
 #1524555  by east point
 
There has been posts in the past that maintain that a tunnel between NYP and NYG cannot be built until water tunnel 3 is complete. Then Water tunnel 2 which would be very close vertically to the proposed NYP -NYG tunnel will be emptied and can be refurbished and reinforced. Then possibly build the NYP - NYG rail connector. Google and wiki water tunnel 3 in NY city for more information.
 #1524826  by Paul1705
 
Greg Moore wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 8:14 am In regards to Atlanta, until they run more trains, I'm not sure a better station really matters.
What the current one needs is better parking (though the deal with the Mason Lodge does help) and honestly, a 2nd set of stairs/elevator to the platform.

That said, if they do move, they absolutely need to put it next to a MARTA stop.

As for Albany-Rensselaer, this is a strange one. I think moving it to downtown Albany would NOT help. It needs the parking (in fact I'd argue it needs a larger parking garage at this point).

That said, an "infill" station near SUNY-A would make a lot of sense: https://goo.gl/maps/5o1Qkg5f5kVvqmLL6 a walkway across I-90 to SUNY Albany and then shuttle busses to the uptown State office complex and the local malls/airports would tie this in nicely.
There was a thread on another board speculating about a second Albany station to the west (it was actually about the 1970s Colonie station). I thought is was a plausible idea, but there was skepticism about whether the Albany area could justify an additional station.

The right-of-way near to the university is rather narrow, but there probably wouldn't be a need for parking.
 #1524934  by Jeff Smith
 
Tadman wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 8:18 am Savannah perhaps? It's not conducive to the tourist trade, perhaps 30 minutes away from downtown. I'm not sure if there is mainline connection to the railroad museum but I bet the museum would work something out cheap for the carrier to at least terminate the Palmetto downtown.

Regarding Detroit, the location is not bad (fast growing area after decades of utter blight and danger) but the station is a total dive.

Regarding South Bend, the downtown idea may be less feasible because CN/GTW and NS share trackage there for a few miles. The best idea would probably be to close Elkhart and South Bend and open a central station in Mishawaka, half way between the two. The hospital downtown just closed and the area is ripe for redevelopment. And its a very safe and vibrant downtown.
I've been to that museum. Right now, there's a missing overpass, and the museum track is landlocked. It's got a nice roundhouse, and exhibits.

The current station is former SCL, and definitely a throw-back, but very serviceable with off main-line tracks. It is unfortunately a good way from downtown in an industrial area, with most stops except the Palmetto NB occurring at off hours. Very easy to get lost down there. Not much public transit connection either, but good parking.

It would be that difficult to connect it back to the old terminal station even without the bridge; the museum is across from it, and the station now houses the Visitor Center. It's the connection from the SCL that would be problematic. There are a ton of industrial and port spurs and more than a few yards going every which way. There's probably a way to make it work and there are other alternatives, too, but it's a mish-mosh of legacy tracks.
 #1525096  by Tadman
 
And is it worth moving all trains downtown if only one terminates there? That sounds like an hour-plus detour for the Star and Meteor.
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