(rshsdepot) Rensselaer, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Amtrak station opening set for Sept. 22
Albany-- Trains to finally roll at new Rensselaer station; grand opening
expected on later date

By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, September 12, 2002

Amtrak passengers will be able to board trains for the first time at the new
Rensselaer station on Sunday, Sept. 22, Capital District Transportation
Authority officials announced Wednesday.

The long-awaited date was revealed at a meeting of the CDTA board and it
comes about a week after officials reached a lease agreement with Amtrak
that cleared the way for the opening of the $53.1 million facility.

CDTA officials had said the train station could be open within two weeks of
a signed occupancy agreement with Amtrak.

CDTA Deputy Director Jack Reilly said a Sunday opening date was selected
because Amtrak needs time to make the transition to a new facility, "and we
would like to work with them on that."

He said a grand opening event will be held on a later date. For now, getting
the station up and running was the top priority.

"There might be a 'soft' opening to get Amtrak operating there first; then
we'll have some kind of ribbon-cutting at some point," said Wayne Pratt of
Rensselaer, who chairs CDTA's Operations Committee.

Pratt also said he'd like to have that grand opening coincide with the
launching of the first of seven state-owned, high-speed turboliner trains
being rebuilt in Glenville for service between Rensselaer and New York City.

"I'd love to have the first turbo train at the grand opening of the
station," Pratt said. "That would be fun."

After close to two years in delays, the station had been slated for an
opening in June, but unfinished construction pushed expectations for a grand
opening into the summer.

Most recently, the opening was delayed by a failure by CDTA and Amtrak to
reach agreement on a lease.

Also Wednesday, the CDTA adopted a $5.9 million funding plan for a new
Saratoga Springs train station.

But the autumn 2003 opening date on the schedule struck a sour note with two
Saratoga County board members, who pressed for a compressed timetable that
would have the station open for the 2003 Saratoga Race Course thoroughbred
meet.

"The local expectation is that people will be getting off the train next
August and heading for the track," said Michael Ingersoll. "We don't need to
belabor the black eye we all received or may have received, whether it was
fair or not" for the delays on the Rensselaer station.

Stephen Bland, the CDTA's new executive director, said the staff will meet
with construction managers from U.W. Marx and station architects to explore
ways to shave time off the schedule, but he said the time-saving measures
could add to the cost.

Bland said it is unlikely, however, that the project would be changed to a
"fast-track" process, where construction takes place at the same time as
design work. An audit by state Comptroller H. Carl McCall's office found
that a switch to a fast-track process during construction of the Rensselaer
station contributed to delays and to some $19 million in cost overruns.



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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #469
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org