HOMEWOOD, IIl. — Bringing Amtrak’s more than 500 stations into compliance with 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act has been on Amtrak’s to-do list since the legislation was passed, but only with recent, specifically designated funding has the company prioritized the transformations.
One such project was celebrated Saturday, June 25, in Homewood, Ill., with Amtrak brass and local leaders on hand for a ribbon-cutting and open house signaling completion of Amtrak’s portion of work replacing deteriorating, century-old infrastructure.
“We’re spending $15 million here and $126 million nationwide on ADA projects this year, the most we’ve ever invested (annually),” says Dr. David Handera, Amtrak’s Vice President of Stations, Facilities, Properties, and Accessibility. Work began in September 2020 [see “Homewood, Ill., station to get $29 million rebuild,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 29, 2020]. Matching funds from Metra and local governments will help pay for additional improvements east of a seven-track right-of-way hosting Canadian National, Amtrak, and Metra trains.
“Accessibility is important,” Handera reminded those who turned out. “It is not just for those who have a disability today. This is for the future.”
The centerpiece of the new facility — and the reason construction was so complicated and expensive — is a glass structure containing an enclosed ramp. This replaces steps on the west side, where Illinois Central’s historic building has been renovated with new restrooms, lighting, and utilities. The ramp leads to a completely rebuilt tunnel under the tracks. A new elevator rises to a heated waiting area that opens onto a wide, 1,000-foot-long center platform.
Because the old platform had to be demolished and completely rebuilt, Amtrak trains couldn’t stop at Homewood until work was finished. A bus shuttled passengers to and from Kankakee, Ill., during construction.
Service on the route to Carbondale, Ill., and New Orleans hasn’t been totally restored: the morning southbound Saluki and afternoon northbound Illini have yet to return and the City of New Orleans doesn’t run Saturday and Sunday evenings to the Crescent City or Sunday and Monday mornings northbound.
Perhaps as a result, Amtrak’s rehabilitated waiting room is currently open only from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. seven days per week. There is no ticket agent or checked baggage at Homewood, but the station is manned by the mother-and-son team of Maruellen and Thanos Garvis.
“We’ve been caretakers here for four years and have tried very hard to maintain this space, but since the renovation we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from locals and many tourists who board,” says Thanos. “We’re here for information even on days the City of New Orleans isn’t running.”
Although the station isn’t always open, the new ramp and well-lit, rebuilt tunnel serve as a vital, 24-hour pedestrian link to and from Homewood’s business district for Metra commuters and residents who live west of the tracks.
Great work!
Gotta wonder what kind of an answer Mr. Handera would have given someone asking when CONO would be restored to daily operation and when Nos. 391 and 392 would come back. A stream of corporate doublespeak no doubt.