Harrisburg Train Station in Line for Major Improvements, Development

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DivMiler

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
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295
Location
Central Pennsylvania
Article from The (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News about planned improvements at the Harrisburg (HAR) station. At least at the time of this posting, included is a short video of comments by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, and footage of the interior of HAR.

Also are the usual "Why should the taxpayers pay for this?" and other comments.

The newspaper article appeared on page A3 of the January 24, 2016 edition.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/aging_harrisburg_train_station.html
 
Fair use quoting from the Pennlive.com site of the Patriot-News, my boldong:

The first phase of the project ... improvements to the aging facility ... to be completed in two years.

The initial $15 million will be used to install energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, replace multiple roofs, install new windows, renovate underutilized space, and ... stabilize the building.

... necessary ... so that the state and federal government can invest ... another $50 to $60 million in state and federal funding ... would tie surrounding businesses, neighborhoods and communities in with the newly improved transportation center.
Most of the stations on the busy Keystone line are to be rehabbed, from 30th Street Station in Philly, and now to Harrisburg. (A handful have been completed.) If they can do a nice fix-up here for $15 million it will be a bargain, and get it done in two years, well, we'll see.

Certainly this is a busy station, with over 508,685 users in 2015, serving the 26 Keystone round trips and the daily Pennsylvanian to/from Pittsburgh.

Add in some Transit Oriented Development in the downtown and what's not to like?
 
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Woody,

Is it 26 round-trips or 26 one-way trips? IIRC it's the latter...I don't recall the Keystone timetables spillng over multiple pages for each direction;-)
 
Woody,

Is it 26 round-trips or 26 one-way trips? IIRC it's the latter...I don't recall the Keystone timetables spillng over multiple pages for each direction;-)
Harrisburg has 13 Keystone arrivals and departures on weekdays, so with the Pennsylvanian, the station sees 14 trains a day (depending on how one counts arrivals vs departures).
I was at the Harrisburg station not long ago (round trip from PHL) and thought the station was in pretty good shape. With work underway for ADA access and platform upgrades. But from the work to be done, it needs modernization of the HVAC, replacing windows, and some renovation stuff. With all the station improvement or new station projects that PennDOT & SEPTA are funding for the Amtrak stops on the Keystone corridor, the corridor will have a modern set of stations with high level platforms in another 4-5 years - or longer, since station projects tend to get delayed (and delayed).

There is also a major study and planning effort for major upgrades to 30th Street Station and looking at building a major development project around 30th St and over the yard tracks. An expanded development complex around 30th St and around the busier stations on the eastern Keystone could make for a far more heavily utilized corridor service.
 
Woody,

Is it 26 round-trips or 26 one-way trips? IIRC it's the latter...I don't recall the Keystone timetables spilling over multiple pages for each direction;-)
It's 13 Keystones each way, plus the Pennsylvanian. I usually think one-way trips. But I was looking at the Penn DOT site which talked about 26 trips. Got it all garbled. Sorry.
 
Anyone know whatever happened to moving the Middletown Station closer to the airport and the new Paradise station.
 
Anyone know whatever happened to moving the Middletown Station closer to the airport and the new Paradise station.
A link:

http://www.planthekeystone.com/PDF_stat_news/B_Middletown/12-17-15--PennDOT_finalizing_design_for_new_Middletown_Amtrak_station.pdf

is NOT WORKING.

Search for Plan the Keystone, or planthekeystone.com. Click on Stations pull down menu. On the Middletown page, on the left side is a good news article from the PennLive.com site of the Patriot-News, quoted below, with my bold for emphasis.

Final design for the new $32 million Amtrak station in Middletown is under review by PennDOT ...

... [it] was approved by the state's Public-Private Partnership Board Nov. 24.

A private developer will design, build, finance, operate and maintain commercial facilities on department-owned parcels near the station while maintaining or expanding station parking.

The entity would also be responsible for maintenance at the train station, such as snow removal, and ... for associated operation and maintenance costs.

The new platforms, towers and overpass over Route 230 will be completed by PennDOT, and that work isn't expected to be done until 2018.
Caveat. As afigg reminded us, "station projects tend to get delayed (and delayed)." But at least there is this solid step with the bureaucratic stuff.
 
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Anyone know whatever happened to moving the Middletown Station closer to the airport and the new Paradise station.
The new Middletown station project is moving ahead. It appeared to have been stalled for years mostly due to funding shortfalls and debate over exactly where the new station should go. Pause, I see Woody has just replied with a news report link. The new station now has a projected 2018 completion date. But until the construction contract is awarded and permits granted, any schedule is subject to more delays. The PlanTheKeystone website has status pages on all the eastern Keystone stations (Middletown page) which appears to be periodically updated.

Checking the status for the other stations including google searches for recent news reports, appears that the new Coatesville station is expected to start construction in 2016. The Phase 1 work at Exton for high level platforms and expanded parking started in 2015. High level platforms and phase 1 improvements are in the SEPTA capital plan and budget for Paoli and Ardmore. No recent news for the new station for Downingtown and major upgrades at Mt Joy; suspect they are in the typically very drawn out design and approval stages. Parkesburg station project appears to be in limbo.
 
Looks like a great plan to me. Harrisburg's station is a fine 1887 building, but it has a lot of space that is barely being used. A restaurant would be a welcome addition.
 
I like it as it is--a cozy, historic looking waiting area and a wonderful newsstand, with good sandwiches and ice cream at reasonable prices. I hope they can have a compromise--update it a bit, but keep the charming parts. Frankly, the place that needs updating is the bus waiting area downstairs--I went through there once and it is very depressing.

Will they keep the GG-1?
 
Whatever happened to the plan for a station at Paradise? It would be great to have an Amtrak connection to the Strasburg RR. The only downside would be the danger of expanding the Philadelphia urban sprawl to that wonderfully bucolic area.
 
On review, I find that:

-- Ardmore is supposed to start construction this year

-- Paoli is under construction

-- Exton is under construction, supposed to finish this year

-- Downingtown seems to be caught in development hell (preliminarily designed, including relocation, but not under construction)

-- Coatesville seems to be caught in development hell (mostly designed but not under construction)

-- Parkesburg is just starting design and is very very far from construction

-- Lancaster is done

-- Mount Joy is under construction

-- Elizabethtown is done

-- Middetown is supposed to start construction this year but is caught in development hell (waiting for NS to do track work!)

-- Harrisburg has minor improvements scheduled for this year but it mostly done

If everything goes well this year, most of them should be either under construction or done, except for Downingtown, Coatesville, and Parkesburg, in that order.
 
The station is historic, but does need some updating. Food service/coffee shop at least early morning to mid-afternoon. Great opportunity for an evening restaurant to bring life to the area evenings and weekends. The bus area is desperate need of a total redo. I would hope they would keep the history of the building and exhibits.
 
The work on Mount Joy continues:

Keystone Service Schedule Change

Keystone Service Schedule Change
Effective June 30, 2018

Due to station improvements being completed at the Mount Joy station, minor schedule adjustments will be made to Keystone Service effective June 30.

Train 661 will operate 5 minutes earlier from Philadelphia to Lancaster, 6 minutes earlier from Lancaster to Middletown and 5 minutes earlier into Harrisburg.Train 662 will operate 10 minutes later from Harrisburg to Philadelphia.

Train 664 will operate 5 minutes later from Harrisburg to Philadelphia.
PSN 0618-139
They are single tracking around the project. This change will assist with meets.
 
On review, I find that:

-- Ardmore is supposed to start construction this year

-- Paoli is under construction

-- Exton is under construction, supposed to finish this year

-- Downingtown seems to be caught in development hell (preliminarily designed, including relocation, but not under construction)

-- Coatesville seems to be caught in development hell (mostly designed but not under construction)

-- Parkesburg is just starting design and is very very far from construction

-- Lancaster is done

-- Mount Joy is under construction

-- Elizabethtown is done

-- Middetown is supposed to start construction this year but is caught in development hell (waiting for NS to do track work!)

-- Harrisburg has minor improvements scheduled for this year but it mostly done

If everything goes well this year, most of them should be either under construction or done, except for Downingtown, Coatesville, and Parkesburg, in that order.
Curious how NS trackwork impacts on Middletown station construction...not that familiar with it...is it where the Port Road comes alongside?
 
Curious how NS trackwork impacts on Middletown station construction...not that familiar with it...is it where the Port Road comes alongside?
This diagram shows the construction stages and the required Norfolk Southern track shift. The NS track involved is the Royalton Branch. The Port Road Branch crosses the Susquehanna River from the east to west side at "Shocks," about 12 miles south of Middletown. The Royalton Branch continues up the east side of the river from Shocks to Harrisburg.
 
Curious how NS trackwork impacts on Middletown station construction...not that familiar with it...is it where the Port Road comes alongside?
This diagram shows the construction stages and the required Norfolk Southern track shift. The NS track involved is the Royalton Branch. The Port Road Branch crosses the Susquehanna River from the east to west side at "Shocks," about 12 miles south of Middletown. The Royalton Branch continues up the east side of the river from Shocks to Harrisburg.
Thanks! Makes it crystal clear...they are moving the NS track further south, to allow Amtrak to separate its two tracks to accommodate a center platform.

I suppose they could have moved the NS track, kept the Amtrak tracks where they were, and just built a second platform, since they are building an overpass access to the platform anyway...
 
But probably two platforms cost more than one platform to build and maintain in the long run? So building an overpass anyway would tend to favor a single island platform wouldn't it?
I suppose you're right.

Another alternative, if they had the space, not sure....would have been to just move the Amtrak Track #1 north, and built the center platform...
 
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