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  • 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

 #1523101  by mtuandrew
 
David Benton wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:57 am I'd say for the cost of moving a small station, you could probably provide a free Uber or taxi ride for every passenger.
I’ve thought about that for the Pere Marquette, which used to stop on the southwestern edge of Michigan City, IN but now rolls straight through. (Their station got relocated to the waterfront on the Wolverine route near the shore where it sees several more trains daily.) There’s an eventual plan to move the train over to the shore route as well, but until then why not have a minibus meet Pere Marquette passengers at MIC and bring them all to the old platform for boarding?

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How about we move JAX? It isn’t near downtown, it isn’t near a highway, it doesn’t look like a particularly outstanding neighborhood, and it isn’t readily set up for any future expansions west to Tallahassee.
 #1523105  by Tadman
 
I think you're confusing Michigan City with New Buffalo. MC still has an Amtrak station on the lakefront for 1x/day Detroit trains. The Grand Rapids train does go through town on another main but has never stopped there in Amtrak times. There has been talk of combining the mains from New Buffalo to Porter, but it would require some sophisticated construction on the north side of New Buffalo as the PM passes 50' over the Detroit line. On the other hand, neither line sees more than ten trains per day. Oddly enough the PM route would be better - no movable bridge - but try selling that to Amtrak.

In New Buffalo, the PM stop (a bus shelter) was dropped in favor of a newer shelter with 3x/day across town. They are walking distance, and there is a casino shuttle as well.

I live ten miles up the lake and rarely bother with either when riding to Chicago. I've literally never been on the PM. The Detroit trains are useful when going east to Detroit. But for travel into Chicago, the South Shore is such a better option. It's rarely late, and there are something like 20+/day options each way. $10/ride, no reservations, no delays, I don't even look up westbound Amtrak times anymore.
 #1523114  by Arborwayfan
 
I can't picture a how moving the Champaign-Urbana station a few miles south would help anyone. Students live all through the area between the railroad, University Avenue, Lincoln Avenue or a little further east, and Florida-Kirby Aves and a little further south. The station is just on the NW corner of that area. It's just a mile from the Illini Union, at the middle of campus. I used to live across the street from the Beckman Institute, right on Wright St., and walk to the train. I was pretty determined; most people wouldn't have walked. But short of diverting the railroad to run down Wright street and turning the Illini Union Bookstore into a station, I can't see how it could get much better. Moving the station south wouldn't put it close to a lot of students. Next to the university power plant, where the football specials wait? Down by the vast parking lots near the Assembly Hall? In the university's big tech-commercial park even further south? Where it is now is closer to the center of the university and to a lot students' homes (and other people's homes, too, west of downtown Champaign especially) than any of those, and because it's in downtown Champaign it's at a big local bus node, so it's easy to get there and away by bus except maybe for the City of New Orleans (really early NB, really late SB).
 #1523125  by mtuandrew
 
Tadman wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 7:25 am I think you're confusing Michigan City with New Buffalo. MC still has an Amtrak station on the lakefront for 1x/day Detroit trains. The Grand Rapids train does go through town on another main but has never stopped there in Amtrak times.
Yes I was, thank you Tad. I remember seeing the former Michigan City PM/C&O station site on a map and thought it would be a good place to restore an additional round trip. Same idea holds true for New Buffalo too though, a crosstown shuttle from new station to old station site.
 #1523127  by Ridgefielder
 
mtuandrew wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:12 am How about we move JAX? It isn’t near downtown, it isn’t near a highway, it doesn’t look like a particularly outstanding neighborhood, and it isn’t readily set up for any future expansions west to Tallahassee.
Isn't there a plan floating around out there to move JAX back to the vicinity of-- or even into-- the old Union Terminal downtown?
 #1523139  by lordsigma12345
 
Northampton, MA (NHT) should move. The current location, while convenient for pedestrian access is on privately held land which prevents any type of station building. The ridership at NHT justifies an enclosed waiting area. Greenfield has an enclosed transit center yet has far less ridership. The historic station is a privately held banquet facility so that is not an option. They should in the future move it somewhere where some type of intermodal facility with indoor waiting could be built similar to what Pittsfield, Greenfield and Springfield have done.
 #1523144  by Tadman
 
Rockingham Racer wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:29 pm I used to have a place in Grand Beach. It seems to me that the Père Marquette stopped in New Buffalo on the C&O tracks. No station; just a short platform.
For a time there was a one of those cheapo bus shelters, but it's since been removed.
Like this: https://www.belson.com/Images/ALS5152AFR-001-M.jpg

Also I was in Grand Beach two nights ago and took this pic: https://www.instagram.com/p/B34962-HpVr/
I thought I did pretty well. I was standing right up against the Michigan line. I had attempted a few night shots of South Shore and Wolverine but failed miserably. I looked at them and thought the photographer was drunk... cheap bar bill at least. I'm going out tonight for some pan shots on the South Shore if I can make it.
 #1523161  by Kilo Echo
 
lordsigma12345 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 1:53 pm Northampton, MA (NHT) should move. The current location, while convenient for pedestrian access is on privately held land which prevents any type of station building. The ridership at NHT justifies an enclosed waiting area. Greenfield has an enclosed transit center yet has far less ridership. The historic station is a privately held banquet facility so that is not an option. They should in the future move it somewhere where some type of intermodal facility with indoor waiting could be built similar to what Pittsfield, Greenfield and Springfield have done.
To aggravate the problem, the only automotive access to the current Northampton station is through a parking lot that charges 75 cents an hour (with a 15-minute grace period).
 #1523163  by Drucifer
 
mtuandrew wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:55 pm Sometimes Amtrak had to plop down a station in sub-optimal areas after 1971, . . . .
I do believe that describes Jacksonville.

On my way to Tucson from New York I had to change trains at Jacksonville, and I was dumped in a hole-in-the-wall station about five miles from Jacksonville and its non-railroad used Union Station with hours to kill. If a traveler wants to get dumped miles from a city core, they would fly.
 #1523179  by Suburban Station
 
STrRedWolf wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 8:38 pm
Middletown, PA? Now that is something I would move closer to the airport and get transit service over to it.

Lewistown, PA. Right in the middle of an interlock!
They made the right decision on Middletown. The whole point of using that airport is cheap parking, not much in the way of air service. The station is right next to the long term lot and is supposed to be a stop on the airport shuttle.
Plenty of room at Lewis for more track
 #1523186  by njtmnrrbuff
 
It's great that PennDot gave Amtrak the approval to move the Middletown Station to the airport. I'm not sure how much flight tickets are out of Middletown or if they are cheaper than flying out of PHL. Even though the new Middletown Station won't be in Downtown Middletown anymore, it will still be pretty close to Downtown Middletown.
 #1523188  by Suburban Station
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:45 pm It's great that PennDot gave Amtrak the approval to move the Middletown Station to the airport. I'm not sure how much flight tickets are out of Middletown or if they are cheaper than flying out of PHL. Even though the new Middletown Station won't be in Downtown Middletown anymore, it will still be pretty close to Downtown Middletown.
They split the difference. It will still be walking distance to downtown middletown (unlike the proposed airport site), penndot is extending a street to provide direct access to the town center. It was a compromise. Middletown is more expensive than phl and doesnt have many flights. Would probably be more useful to have a giant parking garage and have trains go to phl
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