MichiganRadio

Grand Rapids will buy land, construct new Amtrak station to leverage $3.8 million GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Michigan Radio) - The Amtrak station in Grand Rapids is roughly half the size of a fast food restaurant. There's nothing to eat or drink, many times there's no staff on hand to help you and there's really no place to park. Frustrated drivers wait up to ten minutes each morning as the train blocks two busy roads while passengers load.

Taiwo Jaiyeoba directs planning and development for The Rapid - Grand Rapids' transportation system. "This station has served us well but the plan is to have a more robust station," Jaiyeoba said. He says the downtown development authority's decision to invest $850,000 to build the new 2,000 to 3,000 square foot station will alleviate all of those problems - and make the trip about 7 minutes shorter. The investment allows Grand Rapids to take advantage of a $3.8 million federal grant to reroute the tracks to the new station. "You never know, there could be some transit-oriented development that could result from having a full-staffed station,"
Jaiyeoba said. The move has the potential to increase rail services in the future, and it'll be in a more convenient location right next to the bus station.
The new station should be complete in a year and a half.
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