I recently authored another voice article in the Buffalo News supporting the Central Terminal replacing the current Depew Amtrak passenger train station, hopefully as part of an overall renovation of the site by a private developer.
I can also see Trailways and Greyhound buses, along with the NFTA headquarters and Bus Terminal moving there to create a WNY Transportation Hub. That would give NFTA the opportunity to sell that valuable downtown property and hopefully put the funds towards creating some type of rail service from the Central Terminal to the airport.
I also endorse keeping the Exchange Street Station but instead of a new facility, fix what we have and improve the exterior to make it more inviting to guests by paving the parking lot, creating new directional signage and well-lit walkways to the Rapid Transit Station and Canalside.
However, since the article was published, I have spoken to many stakeholders and I amend my position.
I completely agree with the views of Pat Whalen, who has said “Spending $25 million on a new terminal is putting the cart way before the horse.”
Pat, a logistics expert, is the former COO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and now the Executive Director of the Niagara Global Tourism Institute. One of his tasks is to find ways to fill hotel rooms in Niagara Falls in the winter. They have created “stay another night” to encourage guests to travel to Buffalo the next day to visit our many cultural sites, museums, ice skating, and restaurants before heading back to The Falls.
Since Niagara Falls opened a beautiful $43 million train terminal, Pat has taken Amtrak to exchange street in the morning and returned to The Falls in the afternoon.
What seemed like the perfect way to transport these guests to our city, became Pat’s nightmare because of the on time performance of the trains from Buffalo to The Falls.
Amtrak passenger trains, traveling east from New York City must stop along the way and wait for CSX transportation freight trains to pass. CSX owns the tracks and over the past two months, Amtrak has averaged 61 minutes late in arriving at the Exchange St. Station.
On Friday, December 16, Amtrak train #63 left Exchange Street at 7:31 p.m., 4 hours and 17 minutes after its scheduled 3:14 p.m. departure. On Christmas, with CSX not running, Amtrak was one minute late arriving at Exchange.
For a Niagara Falls resident working in Buffalo, this kind of performance eliminates Amtrak from being a commuting possibility. If we put a tourist to The Falls on a train to Buffalo, a delay like this would leave a lasting negative impression.
The delays have probably been the reason the current low ridership between these stations has dropped 5.5 percent lower from 2015-16.
Rather than focus primarily on spending our tax dollars to build a new terminal, I encourage this committee to present the governor with a unique out of the box idea.
Your committee includes congressman Higgins, the Governor, Mr. Zemsky and representatives from CSX and Amtrak. I suggest Dean Shibley convene a meeting with them, along with state tourism officials and maybe others to find a way to greatly improve the on-time performance of passenger rail service in the state.
Maybe they re-visit a New York passenger rail system, proposed in 2015 that would use several thousand miles of abandoned tracks so we can have a system similar to Florida, Texas, California and many foreign countries.
Once on-time performance is rectified, New York can then heavily promote train transportation as a great way to see its many tourist attractions, including the waterfront in “New Buffalo” and of course, Niagara Falls.
My primary reason I support the Central Terminal to receive these state funds for a terminal is similar to what congressman Higgins said in a recent article. “We owe this to this community. It will serve as a catalyst for the redevelopment of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. This community can rise again.”
In the infamous Artvoice poll of what we want for 2017, the Central Terminal won question #4—where the new Amtrak station should be with 27 votes while Canalside received 12. Peter hunt said, “Central Terminal… hands down. The land is too valuable at Canalside.”
Larry Quinn adds, “Central Terminal together with a relocated Broadway Market.” Althea Luerson says, “The East Side needs help and the building is amazing” and Robbie Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls, added “Central Terminal, of course.”
As for transporting guests arriving at the various terminals, hopefully Senator Kennedy and Assembly Member Peoples-Stokes can encourage their colleagues to pass Ride Sharing for this part of the state.
I just returned from Florida where the city of Altamonte Springs is offering a 20 percent subsidy on all Uber trips that begin and end in the city and a 25 percent subsidy on trips starting or ending at the city’s rail station. Why can’t we do that?
I mentor at Mount Saint Mary’s Academy and Amanda Thome, a junior, loves taking the train because of the freedom it gives passengers, the dining car and the ability to see sights in the state she cannot see from a plane. “The train is a great way to boost tourism,” she says.
She also has suggestions for Amtrak—“Please make the trains cleaner and therefore more appealing to riders. If you can also fix the many train delays that occur, train travel has the potential of being a great success.”
Mr. Mayor and Dean Shibley, thank you very much for this opportunity to address your committee.