4/8/2009
Amtrak stations throughout the country are getting a facelift thanks to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Two states recently announced station improvement plans in their neck of the woods.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will allocate $9.3 million in stimulus funds to refurbish the 97-year-old Elizabethtown station. Ridership at the station has increased 93 percent since Amtrak completed Keystone Corridor improvements and launched express service on the Harrisburg-Lancaster-Philadelphia route in 2006. Today, more than 80,000 passengers use the station.
Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Transportation announced Amtrak has earmarked more than $1 million to improve six stations along the Southwest Chief route. Improvements include adding signage, platform kiosks and wheelchair lifts, and rehabilitating platforms.
