(rshsdepot) San Bernardino, CA

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

From the San Bernardino County Sun

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

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Amtrak office departs from SB depot
17 May 2004

Amtrak packed its bags and departed the historic Santa Fe Depot on Friday,
leaving San Bernardino residents without a nearby place to purchase tickets.
The company, which serves more than 500 stations in 46 states, had moved its
ticketing office into a trailer in 2002 after multimillion-dollar
renovations began on the crumbling 85-year-old building.

Ticket sales have dwindled since construction began at the depot. Last year,
Amtrak sold only 11,455 tickets, a decline of more than 8,000 from 2001,
when the company sold 19,933.

San Bernardino Associated Governments, which partnered with the city in the
nearly $13.7 million retrofit, offered Amtrak an office at the depot, but
negotiations have not been completed.

``We offered Amtrak an opportunity to be a tenant in the building,` Sanbag
spokeswoman Cheryl Donahue said. ``As of yet, they have not communicated
whether they want to move into the building.`

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham confirmed negotiations were ongoing, but
she would not estimate when they would conclude, even though the depot is
scheduled to reopen June 13.

Unlike the railroad depot in Redlands, which has a coffee house and shops,
San Bernardino`s depot will primarily serve as office space for regional
transportation agencies.

The project has been paid for largely through $11.1 million in federal
grants. The city and Sanbag have added matching funds of $1.27 million each.

When the project is complete, Sanbag, which owns the building and land, will
move into the building. The agency owns and leases cramped quarters in
downtown San Bernardino.

The three employees who worked in the ticketing office will transfer to
other places, and the office will be dismantled to make way for a parking
lot.

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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 #912
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org