"This regionally significant project will improve the experience of travelers by providing them with a safe, accessible, and up to date facility. The station serves as an important gateway to downtown Rochester, Monroe County, and the Finger Lakes. Neighbors, business owners, and community groups welcome the Rochester Intermodal Transportation Center as an economic development driver for the northeastern quadrant of Rochester."
-Mayor Thomas S. Richards
Looking ahead: The Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC)
The City of Rochester has partnered with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for the design and construction of a combined Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Rochester.
Inside the ITC
The Intermodal Transportation Center's design will showcase the building as a community landmark and a gateway to Rochester’s Center City. Keeping Rochester's rich architectural and transportation history in mind, the transportation center will complement the neighborhood, foster adjacent development, and serve the operational needs of the various entities occupying the building.
The hope is that the Intermodal Transportation Center will be utilized by not only by Amtrak, but also by Greyhound, Trailways, local taxis, Rochester Genesee Regional Transit Authority bus and shuttle service, hotel shuttles, car rental agencies, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Various agencies will be able to set up space in the building for information kiosks or staffed booths.
Depending on market demand and operational aspects, additional space in the building could be reserved for restaurants, newsstands, cafes, vending services, wireless work stations, baggage, mailing services, bicycling services, and gift shops.
Rochester’s Intermodal Transportation Center will be the end result of community outreach and planning recommendations put forth by professional and experts involved in the following fields: railroad operation (Amtrak, CSX), urban planning, retail operators, development, bus and transit operations, public space, bicycling, parking, heritage, economic development, transportation, and tourism.
Looking Back: Bragdon Station
In 1914, New York Central built what came to be referred to as the Bragdon Station; a grand station designed by famed New York City architect Claude Bragdon. Its elaborate curved brick exterior made a prominent mark on downtown. Besides the railroad-themed geometrical designs and ornamental details, Claude Bragdon also infused his study of music into the design. He was guided by musical ratios, which he actually used to determine the size and scale of the entire building.
Unfortunately, this grand station, busy for four decades, lost most of its passengers to the emerging airline and automobile industry. By the late 1950’s, after years of declining use, Bragdon Station began to show its age. Passenger service to Rochester ended in 1959. Six years later in 1965, Bragdon Station was demolished to make room for a parking lot.
It took another 11 years for passenger rail service to reestablish itself in Rochester. The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 created Amtrak to operate and revitalize the nation’s inter-city passenger rail service. Most of Amtrak’s resources were needed for updating trains, with little funding available to upgrade the stations. The last remaining section of the building was demolished in 1978 to make way for the current Rochester Amtrak Station. This station was constructed for pure utilitarian function and reflected the limited scope, financing and vision of railroads in the late 1970’s.
Images
Checkout a slideshow of both historical and proposed conceptual images.
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Funding and Project Schedule
Station and site costs total approximately $27.3 million, and track and signal costs total approximately $10.4 million, bringing the estimated project cost to $37.7 million. New York State Department of Transportation submitted a federal grant application to offset costs.
Should funding materialize, the tentative timeline would be:
| Phase |
Start |
End |
| Scoping Report |
August 2011 |
August 2012 |
| Environmental Assessment |
April 2012 |
December 2012 |
| Preliminary Design |
January 2013 |
November 2013 |
| Final Design |
December 2013 |
August 2014 |
| Bid and Award |
September 2014 |
November 2014 |
| Construction |
December 2014 |
August 2016 |
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Documents
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Conceputal Plans:
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Public Participation
The project team held an open house on November 17, 2011 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Comments received from this meeting and from subsequent surveys will be compiled, reviewed, and evaluated by the Steering and Advisory Committees. All written comments will be incorporated into the Draft Scoping Report and Final Scoping Report.
A Second Public Meeting was held on May 30, 2012 to review the draft scoping report and conceptual plans.
Steering Committee
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| City of Rochester |
| New York State Department of Transportation |
| Federal Railroad Administration |
| Amtrak |
| U.S. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s Office |
| New York Trailways |
| Advisory Committee |
| City of Rochester |
| Monroe County |
| Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority |
| Genesee Transportation Council |
| Rochester Regional Community Design Center |
| Rochester Downtown Development Corporation |
| Rochester Rail Transit Committee |
| Greater Rochester Visitor’s Association |
| Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester |
| The Landmark Society of Western New York |
| Empire State Passenger Association |
| Greater Rochester Enterprise |
| Empire State Development |
| CSXT Inc., |
| Neighborhood and business groups |
Media
- City Studying Where to Put Transportation Center, YNN, 11/17/2011
- NYSDOT Launches Project to Replace Rochester's Amtrak Station, YNN, 8/6/2011
- Federal Funds Secured for New Rochester Train Station, YNN, 10/25/2010
- Public weighs in on intermodal train, bus station in Rochester, Democrat and Chronicle, 11/18/2011
- Train station is chance to dream big, Democrat and Chronicle, 11/30/2011
- New Intermodal Train Station Moving Forward, WROC-TV, 5/31/2012
Questions?
If you'd like more information about the project or want to add a comment, please contact the City's project manager, Mr. Thomas Hack, P.E. at (585) 428-6852 or email him.