From: nilknocgeo@earthlink.net

"Glen Labah"  wrote in message
news:gl4317-2CF7C3.21333224042014@mx05.eternal-september.org...
> In article ,
> "conklin"  wrote:
>
>
>> Adding parking to the old station would not cost much.
>
>
> Add parking where?  There is a small triangle of trees on the lot at the
> station, but those won't yield much parking.  You would have to take out
> a structure to the south or west, and have people cross a street to get
> to the station.  Better than some cities, but not really the best
> solution.
>
> Adding parking does not address the issue that the station only sits on
> one side of the wye, nor does it address the fact that one train
> obstructs the other if two happen to be there at the same time, or if a
> freight has been sent through on the track closest to the station.
>
> Adding parking does not address the fact that the tracks are a bit of a
> barrier between the station and downtown.  Its on the wrong side of the
> tracks, quite literally.
>
> If you look at the numbers:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_(Amtrak_station)
> it shows ridership at the station having dropped about 2.5% recently,
> even while North Carolina ridership
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont_(train)
> has increased ridership every year it has operated the Piedmont, and
> some years that train has seen 40%+ increases in ridership.
>
> These numbers in this last paragraph indicate to me that there is a
> particular problem with this station location.  Here in Amtrak Cascades
> land, there aren't stations that are reporting drops in ridership while
> at the same time the trains serving them are increasing in ridership.
> The station as it exists, just doesn't seem to be working for people.
>
>

Downtown is not where most of the people who ride the trains are going.
They are going home, which is not downtown.  They can drive, walk or take a
bus from the station to their destinations.   Say 100 people get off the FL
train. How will that affect "downtown" much?  That station is a good example
of why passenger rail is hopelessly expensive to provide.  Huge sums of
money for minimal impact on the city.

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