(rshsdepot) Rensselaer, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Tentative lease agreement reached for Amtrak station


By ALICIA CHANG
The Associated Press
8/17/02 11:59 AM


ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Officials from Amtrak and the Capital District
Transportation Authority have reached a tentative lease agreement for a new
$53.1 million train station across the Hudson River from Albany, the CDTA
executive director said Saturday.

"I can confirm that we reached agreement on the basic terms and we're
continuing this weekend to iron out details of the agreement," said Dennis
J. Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald would not give details of the agreement but said he will be
conversing with Amtrak representatives via telephone to hammer out the fine
details of the plan, which could be finalized as early as next week.

"I think it's likely or possible we could do it early in the week," he said.

The new 80,000-square foot facility would replace the nearby one-story
yellow-brick station, which currently serves 630,000 passengers annually,
the tenth busiest station in the nation. Those passengers include state
government officials who travel to and from New York City.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, a Republican from Clifton Park who sits
on the House Transportation Committee, said both sides reached an "agreement
in principle" on the lease.

The station, funded by the state and federal governments, CDTA, Amtrak and
the city of Rensselaer, cannot open until Amtrak signs the lease.

A state audit released this week revealed the station was plagued by cost
overruns that created a $19 million budget gap and delayed construction by
two years.

Telephone messages left with Amtrak were not immediately returned Saturday.

Issues of contention during Friday's talks included the amount of space
Amtrak will occupy in the station and the use of an Amtrak-owned surface
parking lot next to the old station, according to Sweeney.

Fitzgerald estimated this week it could take up to three weeks to complete
preparations for the new building even if a lease were to be signed
immediately.

There is no timetable for when the new rail station may begin to operate,
and Amtrak president David Gunn recently made comments in a newsletter for
the National Corridors Initiative, a rail passenger organization, suggesting
the troubled rail company might not have the money for a new lease.

The rail line recently struck a deal with U.S. Transportation Norman Mineta
whereby the federal government would provide $200 million to keep Amtrak
running until Sept. 30. Amtrak says it needs at least $1.2 billion to
operate for another year.



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

------------------------------