[nomarandlee]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/...i5hPXUIHHm9TqM

With more funding rolling in and planning underway, a redesign of Chicago Union Station is moving forward


The aging station, last renovated in 1991, is in line to get nearly $134 million in federal funding for the project so far.

The project is expected to include overhauling the concourse to improve the way passengers move through the area, renovating and expanding station platforms — including those on the south concourse used primarily by Metra’s BNSF line — and bringing platforms into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Amtrak also hopes to rehab old, unused platforms that once served trains carrying U.S. Postal Service mail, now littered with the remnants of decaying booths and unneeded station infrastructure, and the tracks alongside used to store trains. Returning the platforms to service would expand the station’s train capacity......

Amtrak was awarded up to $93.6 million in federal grants in December for the project and is in line for another $40 million for Union Station in the federal budget. Still, in an earlier 2022 grant application, Amtrak sought $251 million for the project, which at the time was expected to cover more than half the cost of construction.

Magliari said the estimated costs at that time included track construction outside the station intended to shorten the running time of some trains and reshuffle the tracks on which they run. The passenger rail service is seeking more money for work both at Union Station and for the tracks connecting to it, Magliari said. He declined to specify how much more funding could be needed for the station, saying the total cost will depend on the design work that is underway......

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