Building on the progress achieved during the past year, Amtrak is moving forward in 2013 with more upgrades to Lancaster Station including major work to rehabilitate the main waiting room by repairing the plaster walls and ceiling, repainting it with historic colors, restoring historic light fixtures and relocating the sprinkler pipe.
Other station improvements planned for the coming year include repairing and repainting the foyer and the hallway near the restrooms, refinishing all remaining doors and doorways, and modifying the bus turning area from McGovern Avenue to provide easier access to the bus canopy located at the side entrance.
“Since the start of the project a year ago, Amtrak and our partners have made significant progress and passengers will see more improvements underway this year,” said Marilyn Jamison, Amtrak Senior Director, Major Projects and Partnerships.
During 2012, 14 wooden benches that date back to the station’s opening in 1929 were fully refurbished to their historic appearance. The stairwells leading from the platforms to the station concourse were repainted and the skylight that brings natural light into the main station concourse was cleaned and broken or missing panes of glass replaced.
Also in the past year, the yellow warning strips that alert passengers of the platform edge were repaired and the platform canopies repainted. Three pairs of doors leading from the main waiting room to the bridge were refinished and repaired. In addition, the plaster walls and ceiling in the men and women restrooms have been repaired and repainted.
Throughout it all Amtrak is consulting with federal and state agencies on the renovation and rehabilitation efforts to preserve the historic nature of the station while also improving accessibility for passengers with disabilities.
To support the improvement project, the Lancaster Station Advisory Committee is keeping the lines of communication open between Amtrak, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Lancaster community. The Committee now includes local, state and federal representatives and elected officials all working together to make sure the project goals are achieved.
Lancaster Station is the third busiest Amtrak station in the state and serves the Keystone Service (Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York) and Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh – Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York). For fiscal year 2012 (ending September 30), 559,364 train passengers arrived or departed from the station, up 3.7 percent over the prior year.
The information above provided by Amtrak.