Perhaps the state could help sponsor thruway service using the dedicated Amtrak buses as in California or even, on a smaller scale, like North Carolina.
New Birmingham Station as early as October 2016
- Thread starter lepearso
- Start date
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
We're getting closer and closer.
According to AL.com the Transit Center and Megabus stop will go into service in early June. They were supposed to be in place on May 20th, but the city postponed the opening date until all punch list items are finished.
A new cafe will open on the property in June. Based on the article it seems like it will be a good fit.
There is no definite timeframe for Amtrak and Greyhound. I understand that Amtrak will not start their transition until the facility is completely finished. Mid-July may be reasonable and realistic.
Here's the article: http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/05/opening_of_max_central_station.html
According to AL.com the Transit Center and Megabus stop will go into service in early June. They were supposed to be in place on May 20th, but the city postponed the opening date until all punch list items are finished.
A new cafe will open on the property in June. Based on the article it seems like it will be a good fit.
There is no definite timeframe for Amtrak and Greyhound. I understand that Amtrak will not start their transition until the facility is completely finished. Mid-July may be reasonable and realistic.
Here's the article: http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/05/opening_of_max_central_station.html
I drove down to Birmingham last weekend to see the progress on the station.
The transit center is about 95% completed and should be in business by the end of June. I understand that Megabus will stop in this location and that Olivia's transit cafe will open at about the same time.
The Amtrak/Greyhound section is about 70% completed. I think that October 1 would be a reasonable opening date.
As the transit center opens and the Amtrak/Greyhound facility moved to completion, the contractors will start taking apart the temporary transit facility on the end of the property. That area will then become parking lot with over 200 spaces.
What I like best is the way that the design blurs the line between indoor and outdoor. When you are standing outside, you can see inside. When you are standing inside, you can see outside.
The transit center is about 95% completed and should be in business by the end of June. I understand that Megabus will stop in this location and that Olivia's transit cafe will open at about the same time.
The Amtrak/Greyhound section is about 70% completed. I think that October 1 would be a reasonable opening date.
As the transit center opens and the Amtrak/Greyhound facility moved to completion, the contractors will start taking apart the temporary transit facility on the end of the property. That area will then become parking lot with over 200 spaces.
What I like best is the way that the design blurs the line between indoor and outdoor. When you are standing outside, you can see inside. When you are standing inside, you can see outside.
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2015
- Messages
- 4,638
While the old birmingham Amtrak station is beyond basic and not very charming... It was a quiet place to wait for a train. The new station... Connected to greyhound and MegaBus, may not be so.... quiet.
Still looks like a Bus Station, but its definitely an improvement over the dungeon like "Station" that is currently the Amtrak Waiting Room!
frequentflyer
Conductor
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2008
- Messages
- 1,172
Why Amtrak is always linked to intercity buses is beyond me.
ehbowen
Engineer
Because there are hundreds of miles of taxpayer - subsidized streets and highways for every mile of railroad track in suitable condition to host passenger trains.
Last edited by a moderator:
To clear up possible misinformation, The pictures above are of the City Bus transit facility. It is almost finished and should be opening soon. The new Intermodal facility for Amtrak and Greyhound is a block away. Amtrak is tentatively scheduled to relocate into the new building in early August. Greyhound will be relocating from 7 blocks away as soon as Morris Ave is repaved and the sidewalks and landscaping is finished. Amtrak will be able to move earlier as the work on 19th St side will be completed soon and that will allow access to passengers. Also, that move will allow the work to start to connect the new building to the old section (and to the trains) to begin.
If you would like to see more pictures of the progress, see my album - I just added a night time picture of the building.
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Bob
If you would like to see more pictures of the progress, see my album - I just added a night time picture of the building.
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Bob
Thanks for the clarification and info, it's good to know that the Amtrak/Greyhound Station won't look like a Bus Station!
Intercity rail and intercity bus services complement each other. Having intermodal (bus/rail) stations allows connections between the two and also means there are more passengers at a given station, making it easier to provide services such as restaurants at that station that might not be possible with separate stations.
trainman74
Conductor
So you're saying it has windows?
(Yes, I saw what you meant in the photos. Looks good.)
cuppb001
Train Attendant
Ive heard few stories of the 1950s L&N depot and see that it was similar in age to stations like Savannah which while not the nicest of stations is kept in a state of good repair. Its clean and serves its purpose well. I know hindsight is 20/20 but would it have made better sense instead of tearing down the L&N depot in the early 2000s to have renovated it and combine the services at that building? Or have renovated the L&N building for trains and maintain bus service at the old MAX terminal demolished for the new station?
Full history of the L&N station in Birmingham is posted at http://www.bhamrails.info/Downtown_Trains/Grade_Separation/Grade_Separation_Hist_05.htm. It opened in 1960. I remember using it during L&N days. Unfortunately by the late 1960s it was oversized because of discontinuances. Also, L&N no longer needed the office space upstairs. This led to a downward spiral... the office space was leased out and the passenger waiting room was moved into the former baggage area. Eventually the building deteriorated due to unenthusiastic maintenance and was deemed unworthy of renovation/repurposing because of its internal layout. Nor would it have been easy for the station to serve buses. So, it was demolished... a sad fate shared by the L&N Mobile station that was built in 1956.
The ACL/SAL Savannah station (1962) has held up better over time, but it serves three trains and has always been more patronized.
The ACL/SAL Savannah station (1962) has held up better over time, but it serves three trains and has always been more patronized.
Last edited by a moderator:
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
Moderator
AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
Moreover, until A-Day, Savannah was actually served by more trains than what remained active eventually under Amtrak too.
Here is a link to updated photos of the station. Plans right now are for Amtrak to move in around August 1. There will still be construction going on and only one entrance will be open as street work will not be finished on Morris Ave.
Bob
Edit - Try this one instead.
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Bob
Edit - Try this one instead.
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry - Try this one
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Last 4 photos on the second page of photos.
Bob
http://hastybob.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=94874
Last 4 photos on the second page of photos.
Bob
dogbert617
OBS Chief
I liked looking at all those pics of the new Birmingham intermodial station, plus the current and past station houses and platforms. Good to see that is finally being built, though the platform the Crescent stops at sure looks old(a la Toledo, OH). It's sad when you see stations like Birmingham and Toledo and see the out of service side platforms(both here, and the out of service side platforms in Toledo just to the east of the platform location where the LSL and CL stop), it sure does remind those riding on Amtrak long distance trains how many more trains used to serve stations like these 2.
Maybe the platforms at both stations(and I'm sure others in the Amtrak long distance train system, too), will get updated someday? It'd be nice if some sort of additional train service(even if just 1 or 2 regional lines, a la the Saint Louis to Kansas City Amtrak service) could be established from Birmingham or Toledo, though sadly I suspect it'd be a big uphill battle in both states to start additional interstate regional Amtrak train service. I know it sometimes has been proposed to establish Birmingham-Montgomery-Mobile train service(if not also Huntsville), though who knows if that's likely to happen anytime soon. And of course in Ohio, it was proposed(till Gov. Kasich killed it off, sadly) for there to be a Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati regional train service. I know there used to be Toledo-Detroit(and to the rest of Michigan, too) Amtrak service, and I'm sure once upon a time(maybe pre-Amtrak days?) there probably was train service from Toledo south to Dayton and Cincy. Wouldn't be surprised if there once was a Toledo-Defiance-Fort Wayne train, though I dunno if that also was pre-Amtrak days.
Last edited by a moderator:
There was talk of an intrastate Alabama train but predictably it faded. What's unclear to me is whether station tracks 2-3 at B'ham will be usable after construction is complete. Google satellite view indicates tracks 4-5 (closest to Morris Ave) were removed and tracks 2-3 were paved over, but perhaps the rails remain.
Not yet. My most recent update was 4 weeks ago. This is what I was told:
The Amtrak/Greyhound facility is down to the punch list.
When the transit authority - the entity that owns the building - does a final walk-through, Amtrak will relocate the ticket office.
At that point, the old ticket office will be demolished and the wall broken through connecting the old and new facilities together.
The old facility will then undergo a build out. In this timeframe, passengers will access the tracks by way of the temporary entrance in the old facility.
When the build out is completed, the temporary entrance will finally be sealed off and all Amtrak related functions will be in permanent position.
Greyhound will relocate at the end of the year. I think January 2018 is more realistic.
I expect all of Amtrak's transition to be completed by the end of the year.
The Amtrak/Greyhound facility is down to the punch list.
When the transit authority - the entity that owns the building - does a final walk-through, Amtrak will relocate the ticket office.
At that point, the old ticket office will be demolished and the wall broken through connecting the old and new facilities together.
The old facility will then undergo a build out. In this timeframe, passengers will access the tracks by way of the temporary entrance in the old facility.
When the build out is completed, the temporary entrance will finally be sealed off and all Amtrak related functions will be in permanent position.
Greyhound will relocate at the end of the year. I think January 2018 is more realistic.
I expect all of Amtrak's transition to be completed by the end of the year.
Amtrak will be the first to move into the new Intermodal station. There is still some work to be done for Amtrak to move but it is minor. Final inspections for occupancy are to be done this week. Even once Amtrak moves, look for another 6-8 months of work that will need to be done. Things like construction in the current portion of the building, street work, sidewalk, Greyhound work, a LOT of work on the transit authority space upstairs, build out of the restaurant/shop in the waiting room area, etc. Amtrak and the transit authority are still in lease talks and the move will not take place until that is completed.
I'll post some more pictures when I can get them with good light.
I'll post some more pictures when I can get them with good light.
The new parking facility will be 2 blocks from the station. It will be an open lot. I don't know whether it will be fenced or have security. There will be drop off at the curb parking-very short term parking. Most likely, the best place to park will continue to be the parking deck across the street.
