From the Battle Creek Enquirer

A peek at the future of Battle Creek’s downtown passenger train station was released Wednesday.

The plans by local firm Architects Incorporated would move the station’s main entrance to face McCamly Street and add more outdoor canopies for waiting passengers.

“I think we’re going to have a really nice facility when we’re done, and I hope people are proud of it and more inclined to use it,” said Larry Bowron, who recently was named the city’s transportation director after filling the position on an interim basis for more than a year.

Drawings of the redesigned interior are not finalized, but Bowron said the station’s dated insides will be improved to give the station a warmer and welcoming feel.

The $3.6 million project was announced in January 2010 as part of $40 million in federal economic stimulus money awarded to Michigan to improve the rail corridor linking Detroit and Chicago. Stations in Dearborn and Troy also are getting upgrades.

The funding and similar grants are part of a federal push to create a high-speed rail line across southern Michigan that would cut through Calhoun County.

The Battle Creek station plans also call for a more secure long-term parking area that passengers would continue to access from Capital Avenue.

Bowron said vehicle break-ins had discouraged people from using the long-term parking, but a new fence and video monitoring system should make people more comfortable about leaving their cars at the station overnight. Additional lighting also will help security and make the station more visible, he said.

The city is using another stimulus award to relocate the bus transfer center from next to the train station to across McCamly Street. The Battle Creek City Commission on Tuesday approved a contract worth $230,262 for the project, and Bowron said work could start next week.

He said he hoped to have a contract for the station redesign finalized in late June. Work would then begin after July 4 and take about eight months to complete.

The project won’t interfere with Amtrak’s service schedule but will require Amtrak personnel be temporarily relocated to Kalamazoo, which will affect ticketing, Bowron said.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said when a ticketing window isn’t open, the company will work to maintain service either through its electronic ticketing kiosk or other means. Customers won’t have to pay extra fees in this case, he said.

The station was built in 1982. Amtrak reported that it served as the starting point or end destination for 52,000 passengers last year.

Source: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110519/NEWS01/105190319/Plans-unveiled-redesign-B-C-s-Amtrak-station?odyssey=nav|head

From Up North Live

With gas around four dollars a gallon, all of us are looking for cheaper ways to get around, and that is helping the train industry get back on track.

7&4’s Lauren Amstutz shows us how ridership for Amtrak is on the rise and why taking the rain can be a fun and inexpensive way to vacation.

The day started bright and early. After parking for free at the Amtrak station in downtown Grand Rapids, I joined others near the tracks excited for the train’s arrival.

The Pere Marquette service arrived in Grand Rapids every morning at 7:30, and today was no different. The route makes stops in Holland, Bangor, Saint Joseph-Benton Harbor and finally Chicago, Illinois.

Train Conductor, David Pryor says, “A lot of people do not know that you can go to Chicago for a day have a great time and be totally relaxed in both directors without the hecticness of security and the airport.”

Pryor has a point, not only did I avoid any kind of security line, but the seats are spacious and comfortable, something travelers really seem to enjoy.

Amtrak Passenger Ben Hull says, “In a plane if you don’t ride 1st class you are going to be very compact, the seats would be much smaller than this.”

Ben Hull is on his way to the Windy City for a visit with his brother who is attending college there. Besides a fear of driving in big city traffic, riding the train is his time to unwind.

Hull says, “In the car when you’re driving you have to concentrate on driving, I’ve been doing school work for a while.”

Hate driving, love relaxing, despise the cost of gas, whatever the case Amtrak’s popularity is increasing and ridership numbers in Michigan prove it.

From October 2010 to March of this year, ridership on the Pere Marquette Route increased 6.7%. Ticket revenue was up 11.7% to almost $1.5 million.

Other Michigan routes saw increases too. Amtrak’s Wolverine service from Pontiac to Chicago increased 16.3%.

Ridership on the Blue Water Service, that’s East Lansing to Chicago saw a 26.2% increase in ridership.

Pryor says, “The best part about train travel is that we go from one downtown to the other downtown so you are not on the outskirts of town like most airports.”

After passing small towns, and views of Lake Michigan we finally arrived in Chicago. The entire trip took about three hours.

Read more/ see video: http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=620077

From The Ann Arbor Chronicle

This month’s Ann Arbor Parks Adisor Commission meeting focused on one topic – an update on the proposed Fuller Road Station, a large parking structure, bus depot and possible train station being planned on city-owned property near the University of Michigan’s medical campus.

Eli Cooper, the city of Ann Arbor’s transportation program manager, reprised a presentation he’s given dozens of times over the last two years to various public bodies and community groups. The newest details relate to recent federal funding earmarked for the project – $2.8 million from the Federal Rail Administration, to pay for environmental assessment and engineering at the site. Cooper admitted he had started to feel a bit like the boy who cried “Wolf!” regarding potential funding, but he noted that the “wolf” has materialized – in the form of the grant award.

Read more: http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/21/pac-gets-update-on-fuller-road-station/

From the Wall Street Journal

Amtrak’s financial losses are projected to widen this year despite rising ridership, the top executive of the government-subsidized rail system said Tuesday.