(rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

From the Intelligencer Journal

Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

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E-Town Criticizes Inactive Amtrak


Amtrak officials are continuing to stall a $2.2 million plan to revitalize a
dilapidated railroad station in Elizabethtown Borough.
Borough manager Peter Whipple said the plan is "still dead in the water"
because Amtrak cannot resolve "indemnification issues" regarding station
liability.

The station, which was abandoned more than 20 years ago, is falling apart
while the transportation giant dawdles, borough officials complained at a
council meeting Thursday.

"Frankly, I'm very disgusted with Amtrak," said councilman John Buch. "Here
we tried to do something to improve the station and the community. We have
all this money waiting to go, and Amtrak is just sitting on its butt."

Borough officials have been waiting impatiently for years while the plans
await the stamp of approval that would allow construction to begin.

Even the train platform, where daily traffic is rapidly increasing, is in
poor condition, councilmen said.

The $2.2 million plan is intended to inject fresh commercial energy into the
busy transportation hub, which sits just a few blocks from the borough's
thriving downtown business district.

"It's unbelievable," councilman Meade Bierly said Thursday. "This is a
pitiful situation."

Bierly revisited an idea he'd suggested nearly a year ago, when he urged
council to erect a large billboard in the parking lot outside the station.
The sign would explain the reasons for the delay and list the names and
addresses of officials to contact on the matter, he said.

Amtrak agreed to review plans for the station in July 2003. Amtrak had
previously abandoned its promise to provide $464,500 in support for the
renovation project, which includes a variety of commercial and transit
services. Pleading financial distress, Amtrak later demanded a fee of up to
$15,000 from the borough for the privilege of an engineering review.

The borough cannot begin work on the site without Amtrak's approval. Council
approved payment of the fee in August 2003.

Amtrak signed a $1 per year lease in 1998 giving Elizabethtown control of
the station and its immediate surroundings. Borough officials quickly
initiated a plan to make the site a commercial centerpiece for the region,
then met difficulty when Amtrak withdrew its support.

Ridership to and from the borough station has been on the increase in recent
years. At last report, 38,000 people use the platform each year.

Borough officials had hoped to begin construction on the project this
spring.

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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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