Capital Area Multimodal Gateway

Capital Area Multimodal Gateway
Other names East Lansing
Location 1240 South Harrison Road
East Lansing, MI 48823
United States
Coordinates 42°43′09″N 84°29′42″W / 42.71917°N 84.49500°W / 42.71917; -84.49500Coordinates: 42°43′09″N 84°29′42″W / 42.71917°N 84.49500°W / 42.71917; -84.49500
Owned by Michigan State University
Line(s) GTW/CNR
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 2
Bus operators Megabus
Greyhound Lines
Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Indian Trails
Connections Capital Area Transportation Authority
Construction
Parking Yes; paid
Bicycle facilities Bike racks
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code LNS
History
Opened 2016
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 64,357[1]Decrease 0.7%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Chicago
Blue Water
toward Port Huron
  Former services  
toward Chicago
International Limited
toward Toronto

The Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, also known as the East Lansing station, is an intermodal transit station in East Lansing, Michigan. Operated by the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA), it is served by Amtrak's Blue Water passenger train, local buses, and intercity buses. It opened in 2015 to replace a nearby Amtrak and bus station operating since 1974.[2]

Description

The 7,300-square-foot (680 m2) station building includes a public waiting area, concessions, Amtrak and intercity bus ticket counters, and public restrooms.[3][4] There are also three internal vestibules which can be accessed by users during the time the station is unstaffed and closed for the day.[5] Outside are separate covered waiting areas for Amtrak and intercity bus riders, a bike storage area, a customer pick-up and drop-off area, and 150 long-term parking spaces.[4]

The station serves Amtrak's Blue Water train. It also serves three intercity bus services: Greyhound, Indian Trails, and Megabus.[6] Local CATA bus routes 20, 35, 39 stop at the station, and the facility also offers taxicab and bike-sharing. The property also has space on its south end of the site along the CSX Plymouth Subdivision to construct an additional platform for future passenger rail services if needed.

History

Historically, the major railroad depots in the Lansing metropolitan area were the Union Station and the Grand Trunk Western Station, both in Lansing. With the establishment of Amtrak in 1971, both stations lost their train service. Amtrak subsequently took over a building in East Lansing to serve as a station for its planned Blue Water train.[2] This building had been built as a storage facility for Michigan State University in 1971.[7] The Blue Water began servicing this facility on September 15, 1974.[8] The service was renamed the Blue Water Limited on October 26, 1975, and became the International Limited on October 31, 1982, when the eastern terminus was extended to Toronto.[8] The International Limited was operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak until it was discontinued in 2004 and replaced with the modern Blue Water line.[9]

Plans for the new station complex, the Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, were announced in 2010, and originally included a new parking structure and improved bus facilities as well as bicycle parking.[10] The project was intended to replace the older Amtrak station with updated facilities, and to consolidated rail and bus service into one intermodal transit station.[2] The project was awarded a $6.3 million grant in July 2012 by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, and by then the parking structure had been dropped from the plan. In addition to the construction costs, CATA paid a $3.2 million long-term lease for the site. The station property also included facilities for intercity bus service. Site work began in late July 2014, and included demolition of the old Michigan State University Surplus Store and Printing Services buildings on-site.[11]

The original station closed after the last train departed on January 25, 2016, and operations moved to the newly built station located a few yards to the west.[12]

Passenger statistics

Passenger Statistics for the East Lansing Amtrak Station
(by calendar year)[1]
Year Total Passengers % change
2000 27,661 -12.5%
2001 26,216 -5.2%
2002 23,502 -10.4%
2003 22,495 -4.3%
2004 33,404 +48.5%
2005 40,577 +21.5%
2006 45,212 +11.4%
2007 48,025 +6.2%
2008 51,161 +6.5%
2009 51,280 +0.2%
2010 62,241 +21.4%
2011 66,400 +6.7%
2012 64,975 -2.1%
2013 65,894 +1.4%
2014 64,827 -1.6%
2015 64,357 -0.7%

Ridership for fiscal year 2015 was 64,643, a 0.5% decrease from 64,982 in fiscal year 2014.

Gallery

Notable places nearby

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Michigan Department of Transportation. Corridor Station Activity Summary, Michigan.gov, retrieved 2014-Dec-28
  2. 1 2 3 "East Lansing, MI (LNS)". /www.greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  3. "About CATA, Capital Area Multi Modal Gateway, Project Components" (PDF). CATA.org. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 "About CATA, Capital Area Multi Modal Gateway, Project Scope" (PDF). CATA.org. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  5. Robinson, Laurie. "Amtrak Announces Jan. 25 Move to New Multimodal Gateway". CATA.org. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  6. Schuster, Simon. E. Lansing Amtrak revamp delayed, The State News, 2013-Sept-26, retrieved 2013-Oct-1
  7. Michigan Passenger Station's website, retrieved 2009-Feb-11
  8. 1 2 Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34705-X. OCLC 61499942.
  9. Matt Melzer (23 April 2004). "Final Run of the Amtrak / VIA International". TrainWeb.org. Retrieved August 2015. From 1982, Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada had jointly operated the International train between Chicago and Toronto
  10. Domsic, Melissa. Senate panel OKs $2.5M for East Lansing Amtrak station, Lansing State Journal, lsj.com, July 29, 2010, retrieved 2010-Aug-10
  11. Robinson, Laurie. "East Lansing Amtrak renovation gets underway" (PDF). http://www.cata.org. Capital Area Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2 August 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  12. "Amtrak to move to $6.3M terminal in East Lansing".">Station closed http://www.freep.com/story/travel/2016/01/22/amtrak-move-terminal-east-lansing/79173586/

External links

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