Altoona Transportation Center

The Altoona Transportation Center is an intermodal passenger facility in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is served by the daily Amtrak Pennsylvanian, Greyhound Lines intercity buses, and AMTRAN local bus service (for which is serves as the hub). The station was built in 1986, replacing a temporary station, which had in turn replaced the 1887-built Pennsylvania Railroad station in 1972.

Altoona Transportation Center
Altoona, PA
Altoona Transportation Center's Amtrak platform
General information
Location1231 11th Avenue
Altoona, Pennsylvania
United States
Coordinates 40°30′56″N 78°24′4″W
Owned byCity of Altoona
Line(s)Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line (Keystone Corridor)
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks4
ConnectionsBus transport AMTRAN: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14[1]
Bus transport Greyhound Lines
Construction
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: ALT
History
Rebuilt1887; 1972; 1983–1986
Passengers
FY 202215,142[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Johnstown
toward Pittsburgh
 Pennsylvanian Tyrone
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Johnstown
toward Chicago
 Three Rivers
1995–2005
 Tyrone
toward New York
Broadway Limited
Until 1995
 Huntingdon
toward New York
Johnstown
toward Kansas City
 National Limited
Until 1979
 Tyrone
toward New York or Washington, D.C.
Location

History
A westbound Pennsylvanian stops at the temporary station, June 1981.

The Altoona Transportation Center stands on the site of the old Altoona station, which was constructed in 1887 immediately to the West of the Logan House Hotel.[3] When Amtrak took over intercity passenger service in May 1971, it retained two daily round trips serving Altoona – the Duquesne and the combined Broadway Limited/Spirit of St. Louis.[4] The Spirit of St. Louis was renamed National Limited on July 12, 1971, and began operating separately from the Broadway Limited between Pittsburgh and Harrisburgh.[5]: 18  The Duquesne was renamed Keystone on November 14, 1971, and discontinued on April 30, 1972. To replace it, the National Limited was rescheduled to no longer cross Pennsylvania late at night.[6]: 91 

Amtrak and Penn Central vacated the old station effective November 6, 1972; it was demolished to make room for a parking garage. Although Penn Central originally planned a $400,000 replacement station, a 12-by-60-foot (3.7 m × 18.3 m) trailer instead served as a ticket office and waiting room.[7][8] The National Limited was discontinued on October 1, 1979.[5]: 62  It was replaced by the Pennsylvanian on April 27, 1980.[5]: 75  From April 26, 1981, to January 30, 1983, the Fort Pitt provided an additional Altoona–Pittsburgh service.[6]: 91 

Planning of an improved transportation center was a controversial topic in the Altoona area. Candidates for city positions structured their campaigns around the expense of, feasibility of, and location of the pending transit hub.[9][10] Projected costs ranged anywhere from 10 million dollars to 3 million dollars. On August 12, 1982, the Altoona Area Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously in favor of a new Transportation Center.[11] By October of the same year Harry Weese and Associates, an architectural firm from Washington D.C., had been chosen to conduct a series of surveys in order to determine the optimal location for the proposed structure.[12] Ultimately, urban renewal parcels 14A, 14B, 16A, and 16B were chosen, and the Transportation Center was merged into an existing Altoona Parking Authority project, creating the hybrid parking garage/transit facility that exists today.[13] The facility opened on October 23, 1986 after being completed for $3.2 million,[14] an estimated $500,000 under budget.[13][12] The cost of construction was completely covered by a federal grant.[13]

In 1995, the Broadway Limited was replaced by the Three Rivers. The Pennsylvanian was discontinued in November 2004, leaving Altoona with only a single daily round trip. The Pennsylvanian resumed on March 7, 2005, when the Three Rivers was discontinued.[6]: 94  In March 2020, the Pennsylvanian was suspended as part of a system-wide service reduction in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic.[15] Service resumed on June 1, 2020.[16]

References
  1. "AMTRAN Regular Routes". AMTRAN. July 10, 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. "Blair County Pennsylvania Railroad Stations". www.west2k.com. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  4. "System Puts City On Amtrak". The Pittsburgh Press. May 2, 1971. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  6. Warner, David C.; Goldberg, Bruce (2021). Fifty Years of Amtrak Trains: A Comprehensive Survey of Amtrak Routes: 1971–2021. Bucklin, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN 978-1-932804-70-6.
  7. "News From Around Here". Tyrone Daily Herald. June 9, 1972. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "News From Around Here". Tyrone Daily Herald. November 6, 1972. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Jesse W. Zorger - City Council". The Altoona Mirror.
  10. "David N. Korns for Controller". The Altoona Mirror. 29 October 1981.
  11. "Chamber Vows to Support Center". The Altoona Mirror. 14 August 1982. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  12. Stevens, Kay (9 October 1982). "Firm Resumes Work on City Transit Center". The Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. Mulhollem, Jeff (22 October 1986). "Improved lots open tomorrow". The Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  14. "Teamwork, byword of Intown development". The Altoona Mirror. 6 March 1988. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  15. "Amtrak Advisory | Amtrak to Operate on Modified Schedules". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  16. "Amtrak announces re-opening of some Pa. service, with new safety guidelines". pennlive. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2020-07-11.

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