Amtrak offers $ to move Elyria Station

[The Davy Crockett]

According to this article in The Chronicle-Telegram Amtrak has pledged $2.9 million to relocate the Elyria, Ohio train station to the Lorian County Transportation Center.

From the article:

Of course, this is all contingent on Norfolk Southern Railway allowing such work to be done on the rail lines it owns, but county officials are hopeful a financial commitment from Amtrak — something the commissioners have been working on for years — will sweeten negotiations.
“This is a good project, just something I would describe as very tenuous at best,” Commissioner Ted Kalo said. “But any step forward, and that is exactly what this is, is a good step.

”The money will be used to help fund much-needed improvements at the facility that have impeded use of the building as the county’s transportation hub with Amtrak as the anchor. They include low-level platform and station improvements on both the south and the north tracks, and possibly an elevator at each platform from the passenger tunnels to permit safe passenger access to the platforms.

It is not known when the money will be made available to county officials or the extent of the work to be done. However, by offering the money, it signifies Amtrak is beginning to see the value the facility could have on its Elyria business.

 

[Nathanael]

This one is going to be complicated. If NS can agree to some solution for grade-separated crossing of the tracks, and the money can be found for that, then the project will probably go forward.

Amtrak's money is probably sufficient to build the platforms themselves. They'll likely be 8" ATR because the Capitol Limited stops here, and freight goes by the platforms, and it's a freaking STRACNET route. A huge rigamarole of paperwork will be required with the FRA to build new low-level platforms (sigh).

However, another source of money will need to be found to get the grade-separated route across the tracks built / upgraded to modern standards; and NS / Amtrak / FRA / Elyria haven't agreed on a design for that yet. :sigh:

 

[fairviewroad]

That's an awful lot of love for a station that had just 6,400 passengers last year.

 

[jis]

Being unfamiliar with the situation, could someone please explain why a grade separated crossing of the tracks would be required?

OK so after picking up everything that I could find on the subject and studying them carefully, I discovered that the biggest issue is getting NS to agree to use the existing pedestrian underpass at the old NYC station to access platforms. There is space for getting a low level platform on each of the three tracks if so desired. Most likely they'd want platforms at the two outer tracks minimally.

Did not see anyone mention anything about any fancy flyover tracks in all the material I was able to find so far.

 

[afigg]

That's an awful lot of love for a station that had just 6,400 passengers last year.

Amtrak is probably providing the money from its station ADA compliance funding. Amtrak has a requirement from Congress to make all stations ADA compliant by the end of 2015. The deadline is not going to be met because of the vast challenge presented by 500+ stations with different owners scattered across the US, but Amtrak has to get as many stations compliant as it can.

It is a lot of money for a station with only 6,408 passengers in FY12. But if the new facility is better located with better local transit connections, it could boost ridership. But, true, at a seriously high cost per passenger even spread over 10 or 20 years. OTOH, if Ohio (under new management) ever gets behind a Chicago to Cleveland daily corridor train, a better station facility in Elyria could be useful.

 

[Nathanael]

That's an awful lot of love for a station that had just 6,400 passengers last year.

The existing station is a dump (or actually a couple of trailers). People from the area are probably driving to Cleveland to catch the train.

 

[Nathanael]

Being unfamiliar with the situation, could someone please explain why a grade separated crossing of the tracks would be required?
OK so after picking up everything that I could find on the subject and studying them carefully, I discovered that the biggest issue is getting NS to agree to use the existing pedestrian underpass at the old NYC station to access platforms.

This is what I am referring to. IIRC, NS absolutely refused an at-grade pedestrian crossing (which I guess I understand), and has been balky about using the old pedestrian underpass. More convoluted routes via the neighboring road sidewalks have been suggested but nobody seemed to like those either.
Because of the refusal of an at-grade crossing, it's not likely to be possible to put platforms on all three tracks; the platform for the middle track probably doesn't have enough room to make it accessible by ramp without an elevator, and it sounds like everyone is trying to avoid elevators.

 

[cirdan]

Did not see anyone mention anything about any fancy flyover tracks in all the material I was able to find so far.

I doubt it. You can't buy much flyover with 2.9 million.

 

[jis]

That's an awful lot of love for a station that had just 6,400 passengers last year.

The existing station is a dump (or actually a couple of trailers). People from the area are probably driving to Cleveland to catch the train.

Interestingly those trailers constituted the Cleveland Station before the current structure was built there.

 

[fairviewroad]

. But if the new facility is better located with better local transit connections, it could boost ridership. But, true, at a seriously high cost per passenger even spread over 10 or 20 years. OTOH, if Ohio (under new management) ever gets behind a Chicago to Cleveland daily corridor train, a better station facility in Elyria could be useful.

Yeah, with current calling times of 1:15 AM, 3:29 AM, 4:18 AM, and 4:51 AM, I seriously doubt better local transit connections are going to make a lick of

difference in terms of ridership. A day-time corridor run(s) would obviously help, but that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

That's an awful lot of love for a station that had just 6,400 passengers last year.

The existing station is a dump (or actually a couple of trailers). People from the area are probably driving to Cleveland to catch the train.

Yeah, you probably could capture some of that ridership with a better station in Elyria. Cleveland does offer checked bags

and a more tolerable departure time for NYP/BOS bound travelers, neither of which will change with a new station in Elyria.

 

[Nathanael]

Reviving a two-month-old topic.

For what it's worth, the trailers constituting the Elyria station just caught fire and have basically been destroyed.

http://akronrrclub.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/fire-damages-elyria-amtrak-station/

It's just a platform now. The station move can't happen soon enough.

 

[Guest]

(This thread is from 2013)

The quest continues.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/01/21/lorain-county-commissioners-weigh-9-million-amtrak-project/

ELYRIA — The Lorain County Commissioners are leaning toward a $9 million proposal that would see Amtrak service to the city of Elyria returned to the old train depot.

County Administrator Jim Cordes said the county has cobbled together all but $500,000 in local match money for cover the cost of the project, which represent continued improvements at what has become known as the Lorain County Transportation Center.

A second proposal that makes use of tunnels running underneath the tracks would be cheaper — around $8.6 million — but would represent significant challenges, including opposition by Norfolk Southern, Cordes said.

The county needs to move fairly quickly to get the project underway, Cordes said, because some of the federal funding will begin to disappear starting at the end of June if progress isn’t made.

Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda said she backs the proposal, which she thinks could be good for revitalizing downtown.

 

[neroden]

*** is wrong with NS management? They're being terribly balky and uncooperative with everyone. I was just reading about their genuinely fraudulent behavior in a unrelated railroad leasing case. If the tunnel was good enough for the NY Central, it's good enough to rehabilitate for use now, and NS's opposition is BS.

 

[Anderson]

My best guess is that there's some sort of liability concern. It's only a guess, but that's what I've got.