(rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

E-town hoping to keep station plans on track

Intelligencer Journal
3-15-03

Elizabethtown Borough officials are considering releasing Amtrak from its
commitment to help fund the town's train station renovation in return for
getting the project moving.
Amtrak had promised $464,500 toward the $2.2 million renovation project. The
88-year-old station was abandoned nearly 25 years ago.

The borough has raised the remaining $1.7 million through state and county
grants and with $400,000 from its own budget.

But borough officials recently learned that there is no money in Amtrak's
budget for the station. They further learned that Amtrak does not have the
resources to review and approve the local plans.

Borough Manager Pete Whipple told Elizabethtown council of the situation
during a Thursday evening work session. Whipple told them the project --
already five years in the planning -- is languishing without necessary
approvals.

To move matters along, borough officials recommended that Elizabethtown
"release Amtrak from its funding obligation... and secure the needed funds
elsewhere from federal and/or state resources."

In return for that consideration, the recommendation stated, Amtrak should
be required "to allocate the resources to finalize plan review and
approval."

Council in 1998 signed a 100-year lease agreement with Amtrak, giving the
borough control of the station and surrounding five acres for $1 per year.

Besides renovating the platform, officials hope to include a bus stop, taxi
stand and bicycle access at the site, plus the potential for an automated
ticket booth, high-speed rail line and shuttle service to Harrisburg
Airport.


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

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