(rshsdepot) Saratoga Springs, NY

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

From today's Times Union.

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

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      New rail station a draw for city
      Amtrak officials report uptick in ridership since March opening of 
Saratoga Springs facility

      By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
      Wednesday, October 6, 2004

      SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A fresh new train station seems to be boosting 
enthusiasm for reaching the Spa City by rail, with ridership up as much as 
10 percent .
      There were 10,810 arrivals and departures through the station this 
year from May through August, compared with 9,784 during the same period 
last year, according to Amtrak.

      In August, traditionally the city's big racing month, rail travel to 
and from the city was up 6.7 percent over last year.

      Most of the credit for the increase goes to a $5.9 million station 
that the Capital District Transportation Authority opened in March, 
replacing a structure built in the 1950s, officials believe.

      "When you look at the architecture and the artwork, it gives a grand 
statement about Saratoga, compared with the dungeon-like atmosphere that 
existed in the previous station," said Saratoga Chamber of Commerce 
President Joseph Dalton. "It gives an impression of class."

      Though Amtrak has not increased the number of trains stopping in 
Saratoga, this was the first summer in which race fans headed for the 
six-week thoroughbred meet and others drawn by attractions like the New York 
City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra could enter the city through the 
new 6,400-square-foot facility.

      The new station has a small coffee shop and newsstand and an art 
gallery, which seem to attract some folks who don't even have a train to 
catch, noted CDTA spokesman Carm Basile.

      Hopes that the project would be finished for part of last year's 
season went unfulfilled, leaving travelers to await their trains in a 
temporary modular station. And in another blow to the appeal of riding the 
rails to Saratoga last year, downstate race fans traveling on Amtrak weekend 
discounts had to catch a bus in Rensselaer for the final 35-mile leg of 
their trip to make it to the track by post time.

      This year, it was a different story.

      Sales for a package deal that included a round trip from New York City 
to Saratoga Springs on Amtrak, shuttle service from the station to the 
Saratoga Race Course, grandstand admission and a daily racing program were 
stronger this year, though an exact tally of sales is not yet complete, said 
Amtrak spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski.

      The New York Racing Association also heard warm words from race goers 
about the station.

      "We did receive positive feedback from our customers regarding the 
convenience of the Saratoga train station," said NYRA spokesman Bill Nader.

      Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau President Gavin Landry said 
visitors in town for several recent events -- from school superintendents to 
geologists to submarine veterans -- also have remarked on the improved rail 
gateway.

      Even folks with local ties are responding to the fresh look.

      Dalton said his 37-year-old son, Matt, just dropped his car off for 
upstate storage last weekend after seven years of regularly driving to 
Saratoga County from New York City to visit his parents. The new station was 
a factor that helped highlight the convenience of coming home by train 
instead, Dalton said.

      Katherine Blodgett, director of public and media relations for the 
Philadelphia Orchestra, couldn't immediately say whether musicians had 
increased their rail travel during the orchestra's residency here in August. 
But she said one musician's girlfriend found the train was just the ticket 
for keeping romance alive during the extended separation.

      "She made a flying trip up there for a surprise visit," Blodgett said. 
"She found it much easier to take the train."


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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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