(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Plans to rebuild parts of Union Station are slated to get rolling next year – and Amtrak is sharing details about how it plans to bring more people and trains through the station.
Three sets of tracks at Union Station that used to carry USPS mail and have sat unused will be demolished and reconstructed, along with parts of the platforms, says Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.
“We are going to create some space, by using an area that hasn’t been used in a long time.”
Those are the platforms and tracks that used to handle the US Mail at the Old Post Office building.
“The first thing that people are going to see that's really customer facing, will be these improvements in the south concourse when we put those former mail docks into service for customers.”
They’ll be converted to load and unload passengers as post-pandemic ridership continues to rebound. Amtrak has secured the funding and plans to solicit bids soon for that part of the work.
“We don't have enough capacity in the station. I mean, Metra still has big days every day of the week. If you ride Metra, you'll see it's busier on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. We're pretty busy seven days a week because our schedules are the same seven days a week.”
If there’s a problem on one of the lines that backs up things on the concourse – the roughly century-old station is also getting much needed attention.
“Some of the sort of maze that are in the concourse level now, that's going to be a much more open space – as you'll see in the designs once we get those out in the public in 2025.”
He says that part of the station, which is used by both Amtrak and Metra passengers, was renovated in 1991.
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