We at BCR have gotten early word on the opening date for the new Amtrak station, whose slippage from a June opening to July has been the buzz around town for some weeks now.
The current date: a July 10 dedication ceremony for the new station. The ceremony will be held at 2pm, according to the report from a faithful (and well-connected) BCR reader.
Besides being a far more attractive embarking and disembarking point than the double-wide modular unit "Amshack" across the tracks from rail service's new West Village home, the new station's interior also provides a nice recollection of Durham's history -- including a look at Durham's role as a home of the Piedmont blues (including a portrait of Blind Boy Fuller) and its rail-dependent past.
Fitting, since Durham's proximity to the N.C.R.R. corridor is one of the things that allowed the sleepy hamlet to become a booming late 19th/early 20th century metropolis, and since the American Tobacco Company's spur line running south from downtown is now the spine of one of the Triangle's most popular gateways.
Is that pic from the old station or the new? It's hard to tell...
Posted by: G Wolf | June 30, 2009 at 02:27 PM
Yaaay Durham! Yay train ridin! Even the "Amshack" was better than going to the airport, I thought, but I'll take a snazzy new station too. Now if there would just be one more departure time for each of the north- and southbound routes that pass through each day....
Posted by: Scandi | June 30, 2009 at 03:38 PM
Scandi,
I'm with you. If the plan to extend the acela down to charlotte ever happens then I'd be thrilled.
Posted by: Seth Vidal | July 01, 2009 at 12:52 AM
The new station is great!!! We visited on Saturday and met others who were there to see the new station. We continued the chat with a couple at the West End Wine bar.
On Sunday we took some out-of-town visitors to the depot. Again met people who were just there to tour, couples, families.... We all marveled at the new station. We waved hello to Piedmont as it rolled in.
The station agent greeted us with a huge welcome and sense of pride. It is such a HOOT!
Can't wait to take the train to the State Fair or to Charlotte...
Posted by: kaferine de nerve | July 13, 2009 at 12:46 PM