• Plans for the new Amtrak Station

UPDATE: EAST LANSING - Residents in the Eats Lansing area are about to see an improvement in the way they travel.

The Amtrak Station on Harrison Road has a makeover in it's future with a federal grant of $6.28 million. The building will be redone, there will be new bus bays and a larger passenger waiting area.

Train travel will be more accessible with new level boarding to meet the American Disability Association requirements.

Dr. Joe Schwarz, special rail adviser to Governor Synder commented on the barrier-free access, "Now what we hope to have on this line in the not too distant future, are high level cars, and in high level cars you board in the middle of the car and the entrance is way down towards the ground and what you can do is put a dip in the platform and you can make it so people don't have to step up or down they can step directly onto the car which is done elsewhere, this is not rocket science."

This is the sixth time CATA has applied for a grant for this project. According to Amtrak, they have seen their ridership grow by more than 200% at this station since 2003 with the Blue Water Line as the fastest growing line in Michigan.


ORIGINAL STORY: EAST LANSING - Big changes are in store for the Amtrak Station on Harrison Road.