Amtrak Stations Seeing Reduced Operations

Several Amtrak stations across the system now have reduced hours of operation or are being closed for some or all train arrivals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service advisories posted on the Amtrak website said the changes are until further notice.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, station will see its hours reduced to 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.

The station normally hosts six Wolverine Service trains a day but for now that has been reduced to two, Nos. 351 and 352, which operated to Chicago in the morning and to Detroit (Pontiac) in the afternoon.

The Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago Union Station is no longer being staffed.

Passengers may still use the lounge but will not receive coffee, hot water or fountain beverages. Amtrak said regular and diet soda will be available by request at the front desk.

However, given that the station is not being staff it is unclear who will be providing those beverages to passengers.

Other stations at which the waiting room is now closed but access to the boarding platforms is being maintained include Kalamazoo, Michigan; and East Lansing, Michigan.

With the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian and Harrisburg-Philadelphia Keystone Service not operating in Pennsylvania, Amtrak stations in Lancaster, Harrisburg, Altoona and Johnstown are closed.

New Display Site Needed for GG1 in Harrisburg

Amtrak’s plans to renovate the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, station means that historic Pennsylvania Railroad equipment on display there must be moved.

The display includes Pennsy GG1 No. 4859 and a PRR cabin car.

The Harrisburg Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society is seeking a new home for the GG1 and cabin car, both of which it owns and displays on space it leases from Amtrak.

The GG1 is usually displayed on Track No. 5, but Amtrak plans to rebuild the platform for that track to have high-level platforms that conform with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

John Smith of the Harrisburg chapter said it is talking with Amtrak for a solution that would enable the equipment to continue to be displayed under cover.

Amtrak has offered use of another track, but that would expose the locomotive to the elements.

Another idea being considered is moving the display to a pavilion near Harris Tower and 1,000 feet north of the station.

Smith told Trains magazine that he wants to see another track built so that passengers boarding trains could see the equipment and that it would be under cover.

He said that because the GG1 is on the National Register of Historic Places that Amtrak cannot put the chapter and its equipment at a disadvantage.

Harrisburg Station Renovation Planned

Plans are in the works to renovate the Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Transportation Center, but no timeline for the project has been set.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said work inside the station can begin soon, but other work will not proceed until a flooding alleviation project is completed.

PennDOT said it is creating a master plan for the station, which is the western terminus of Amtrak’s Keystone Service from New York and Philadelphia and an intermediate stop for the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.

Officials said 90 percent of the design of the $15 million station renovation is complete and PennDOT is working with Amtrak on a construction schedule.

A public hearing has been set for March 22 at 4 p.m. at the station to discuss the proposed project.

PennDOT and the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority want to transform the transportation center and adjacent area into a new transit-oriented, mixed-use development that they say could help revitalize the city.

The plans call for improvements to Market and Cameron streets and a direct connection between the station and parking areas east of it.

However, flooding issues involving Paxton Creek need to be addressed first, including how to fund them.

By one estimate, the flood control work will cost between $60 million to $90 million with the source of that funding yet to be decided.

Some suggested sources have included the state’s Multimodal Fund and the departments of Community and Economic Development and Conservation and Natural Resources.

Once funding is secured the flood control project will require at least four or five years to complete.

Among the plans for the Harrisburg station  development project are an open-space cafe in the main lobby, new seating in the concourse area, removal of trees on Aberdeen Street to open sightlines and increase safety, a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating at the station, and a new entry plaza from the lower-level Market Street entrance.

Also being planned are new office space in the upper floors and removal of offices in the lobby, a pedestrian bridge over the tracks to the station, streetscaping and improvements, and relocating the intercity bus facility.

Harrisburg Station to Receive Renovations

The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Amtrak station will be renovated under a plan announced this week by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

PennDOT said that an initial investment of $15 million in federal and state money will be used to bring the former Pennsylvania Railroad station into a state of good repair.

The agency expects that another $50 million to $60 million will later be spent for station and land use improvements.

“Enhancing Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure is essential to the region’s economy and the Harrisburg Transportation Center is a vital hub that serves our Keystone Corridor passenger rail service, as well as intercity bus and local transit,” said Gov. Tom Wolf, noting that the center serves more than 1.6 million riders per year.

Michael Baker Corporation and a subcontractor, BASE Architecture Planning and Engineering Inc., will conduct research and outreach as a first step toward a transit-oriented development plan, according to Wolf’s office.

The Harrisburg station is the western terminus for 26 Keystone Service trains and is also a stop for the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.