(rshsdepot) Rensselaer, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Walkway, fiber lines going in at new rail station
By ROBIN K. COOPER
Gazette Reporter

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RENSSELAER - Verizon Communications Inc. is installing 1.4 miles of new
fiber-optic voice and data lines to help increase capacity and provide
faster Internet access at the new $53.1 million Rensselaer train station
slated to open in June, officials announced Monday.
Meanwhile, construction workers are placing the finishing touches on the new
rail station. Today, workers are planning to install five 42-ton beams as
part of the new overhead walkway that will connect the train station to the
passenger boarding platforms.

A crane will be used to set in place the five 50-foot walkway sections
between 8 a.m. and noon.

Carm Basile, spokesman for the Capital District Transportation Authority,
which is overseeing the new train station project, said the new fiber-optic
lines will provide state-of-the-art communications at the new Rensselaer
station.

The $100,000 fiber-optic line project, which should be complete when the
station opens, also could help attract new customers around the new station,
according to Verizon spokesman Cliff Lee.

The CDTA has said the station will be equipped with conference rooms and a
business center that will include high-speed Internet access for laptop
users.

Amtrak's local general manager, Phillip Larson, said the passenger-train
company plans to continue using the same internal communications practices
that are currently used in the existing Rensselaer station. But the new
fiber lines will help Amtrak when it makes the move from the old to the new
facility in June.

Larson said the new station is close to complete, but there still are a lot
of logistical details to be worked out, including the relocation of
furniture, computer hardware and staff.

On Monday, Verizon also announced that it is planning to install about two
miles of fiber-optic lines in Delmar to accommodate residential growth.

That project, which should be complete by late summer or early fall, will
cost about $190,000, Lee said.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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