2 Pa. Amtrak Stations Being Renovated

Two Amtrak stations in Pennsylvania are being renovated.

The station project in Latrobe includes installation of a new covered ramp from the parking lot level up to the elevated track area.

Other work will include a new elevated platform with rehabilitated canopy, restored passenger shelter building, replacement of existing stairs and pathways, and new pavement and lighting in the parking lot.

The work will begin in September and is expected to take at least 18 months to complete.

The Latrobe station complex was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1903 and last renovated in 1990 when a restaurant began using the depot.

The Greensburg station is slated to receive a new heating and cooling system.

The former PRR station opened in Greensburg in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was last renovated in the late 1990s.

Greensburg and Latrobe are served by the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.

USDOT Awarded Amtrak $4.3B This Fall

Amtrak was awarded $4.3 billion this fall by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which the agency described as “unprecedented funding.”

The funds are being used to modernize Amtrak rolling stock and stations. The latter largely involves bringing Amtrak stations into compliance with access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

USDOT said much of the funding is coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act., which the agency said will allocate to Amtrak $22 billion over a five-year period. That legislation was approved in November 2021.

That money, USDOT said, will be used to bring 280 stations into compliance with the ADA and replace a fleet of 1,000 rail cars and locomotives.

Some of the new equipment is entering service this year and more than 525 new rail cars and locomotives will begin service by the end of the decade.

The USDOT news release said some funding will be used to work down an infrastructure maintenance backlog and to invest in modern technology systems.

What it Replaced

In the foreground is the bus-stop type shelter that served as the Amtrak station in Alliance for several years. A little to the south of the shelter is the new station that Amtrak built in spring 2011. The new station looks much nicer but provides little more than what the existing station did. Both stations were little more than a shelter against the elements. This image was made on April 17, 2011.

Alliance is a stop for the Chicago-Washington Capitol Limited and for a few years also was served by the Chicago-Philadelphia Pennsylvanian.

Photograph by Craig Sanders

MDOT Seeks Proposals for Detroit Intermodal Facility

The Michigan Department of Transportation is seeking proposals for an intermodal facility in Detroit to serve Amtrak and intercity bus routes.

The proposed facility would expand and improve the existing Detroit Amtrak station, which is located in the New Center neighborhood.

MDOT envisions renovating the existing Amtrak station while also upgrading the boarding area. A bus loading area would be located on the north side of the facility.

The bus station itself would be located on the south side of the Canadian National tracks used by Amtrak and be connected to the Amtrak station via a tunnel.

The proposed facility would be named the New Center Intermodal Facility and, officials said, feature improved safety and faster boarding and unloading. It would have a place to buy tickets, handle baggage and wait for trains and buses on the north side of the tracks.

The bus station would have  drop-off and pick-up areas for taxis and ride sharing services as well as connections to the QLine streetcar and other public transit services.

Construction could begin in 2024 and be completed two years later.

Amtrak to Cease Serving Michigan City

Amtrak plans to end service at Michigan City, Indiana, on April 4.

In a service advisory Amtrak advised passers to instead travel to New Buffalo, Michigan, to board its trains or travel to Chicago via the South Shore Line, which offers commute rail service throughout the day.

The service advisory did not give a reason for why service to Michigan City is being dropped.

Michigan City lies on the route used by Amtrak’s Wolverine Service between Chicago and Detroit (Pontiac) but not all trains stop there.          

Eastbound, Wolverine Service Nos. 350 and 354 stop in Michigan City while the only westbound train to stop there is No. 355.

Amtrak’s Chicago-Port Huron, Michigan Blue Water, and Chicago-Grand Rapids, Michigan, Pere Marquette also pass through Michigan City without stopping.

The Michigan City boarding platform is located near the former Michigan Central passenger station.

Middletown Station to Open Jan. 10

Amtrak will begin using the new Middletown, Pennsylvania, station on Jan. 10 following completion of construction of the multimodal facility.

In a news release, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the new station will have high-level accessible boarding platforms, a pedestrian overpass, elevators, stair towers, on-site parking, and bus loading zones.

PennDOT said the $49.5 million station project was part of an initiative to improve rail passenger travel in the Keystone Corridor, part of which also is used by commuter trains of Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Funding for the project included $25.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration, $15.9 million from PennDOT and $8 million of in-kind work from Amtrak.

PennDOT said it collaborated with the Middletown Borough, Capital Area Transit and Harrisburg International Airport.

In a related development, Amtrak said low-level platforms will go into service on Jan. 10 at its station in the Keystone Corridor at Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said use of low-level platforms is a temporary measure because the current high-level boarding platforms are out of service due to construction at the station site.

The temporary platforms are located less than a half mile away from the previous location of 39 Station Avenue.

Westbound trains will board in the Suburban Square parking lot off Anderson Avenue while eastbound trains will board in the municipal parking lot located off Ardmore Avenue.

One Morning in Jackson, Michigan

It is a pleasant June 28, 1997, summer morning in Jackson, Michigan. I’ve drive here to spend a day catching Amtrak trains. From here I would drive to Battle Creek to catch the International in both directions on its Chicago-Toronto trek and end the day getting trains in Ann Arbor.

At the time, trains in the Chicago-Detroit (Pontiac) corridor were powered by P32-8 locomotives built by General Electric. The units were pointed east, which meant they pulled eastbounds and pushed westbounds.

Facing west was a cab car, either a former F40PH that had been rebuilt into a non-powered control unit, or a former Metroliner car serving as a cab car.

Amtrak owned 20 P32-8 units that it received in December 1991. They wore a stylized Phase III livery that was unique to these locomotives. It wasn’t long before railfans began calling them “Pepsi cans” because of the resemblance of the livery to a beverage can design of the time.

It also was a time when trains between Chicago and Detroit had individual names of Wolverine, Lake Cities and Twilight Limited.

In the top image No. 504 is pushing the Lake Cities out of Jackson toward Chicago. In the bottom image, No. 513 is pulling the Wolverine into the station.

Notice the mismatched style of the number boards above the front windshields.

Although P32s saw service on long-distance trains, they were most commonly used in corridor service. The “Pepsi can” look lasted a few years but eventually gave way to Phase IV.

The special Phase III livery used on the P32s was revived this year when a P42DC No. 160 was repainted in that livery.

RAISE Grants to Benefit Regional Rail Projects

Projects in Ohio, Detroit and Philadelphia will receive a share of nearly $1 billion in U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure With Sustainability and Equity grants.

The Michigan Department of Transportation will receive $10 million to be used for the New Center Intermodal Facility Project.

Project plans include a new station to serve Amtrak trains and local and intercity buses that will replace an existing depot in the New Center neighborhood of Detroit.

The new facility will comply with Americans with Disabilities standards and have a multi-level parking garage.

It will be located on the south side of the Canadian National tracks used by Amtrak’s Chicago-Detroit (Pontiac) Wolverine Service trains.

The existing boarding platform at the site will be lengthened and rehabilitated. The boarding platform will be connected to the new station by a tunnel.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will receive $15 million to improve the 19^th Street and 37^th Street trolley subway stations.

That work is part of a larger trolley modernization program. The RAISE Grant will be used to bring both stations into compliance with ADA standards, rehabilitate boarding areas and conduct other renovations to station facilities.

The Maumee Watershed Conservancy District of Findlay will receive $7.1 million for replacement of a bridge carrying Norfolk Southern tracks over the Blanchard River.

The new bridge will be a three-span, through plate girder structure with a ballast deck.

RAISE grants are one of the few USDOT discretionary programs that allow regional and local governments to directly compete for multimodal transportation funding.

The funding provide are to be used for “planning and capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and were awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact,” USDOT said in a news release.

The maximum grant award is $25 million with no more than $100 million being awarded to a single state.

Johnstown Amtrak Station to be Renovated

Amtrak has agreed to contribute $16 million to a project to renovate its station in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The work will include making the facility comply with standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act and otherwise bringing it up to a state of good repair.

The project include plans to replace the boarding platform, with an 8-inch above-top-of-rail island platform with a platform snow-melt system.

Other work included a new heating and air conditioning system for the station, and a new interior elevator, stairway, and storage area.

The existing baggage tunnel will be filled in and new concrete will be poured in the existing passenger tunnel, which also will see its lighting system repaired.

The tracks at the platform will be re-profiled on both sides of the boarding platform.

Work is expected to begin in October 2022. Once completed, the Johnstown station will also serve local public transit bus service.

Other funding for the project included a $24.45 million U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant which is being used to fund improvements to the CamTran Downtown Bus Intermodal Transportation Center and restore the historic Johnstown Inclined Plane system.

Johnstown is served by Amtrak’s New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.

Amtrak Rolling Out New Ticket Kiosks

New ticket kiosks are being rolled out by Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor that will eventually be installed throughout its system.

In a news release, Amtrak said the kiosks contain “an updated user interface consistent with other Amtrak digital channels that allows for a minimum-touch experience for the most common in-station transactions.”

Passengers will be able to activate the kiosks by touch, card swipe, barcode scan, or inserting a headset.

The kiosks are 48 inches tall, ADA compliant and eventually will be set up for contactless payment and the sending of tickets to a passenger’s email address.

In time Amtrak said it will install more than 200 of the kiosks at more than 150 stations. They will replace Quick-Trak machines that have been in service for almost two decades.

More information is available at https://media.amtrak.com/2021/10/amtrak-debuts-new-ticket-kiosks-with-national-rollout/