ALBANY, N.Y. — Ginny Baxter of Arlington, Va., walked through the spacious $53.1 million railroad station Sunday morning to catch her train to Washington, D.C., taking in the newness of the building as it began its first day of operations, the Albany Times-Union reported.
“It’s a lot more modern,” Baxter said, comparing the station to the U.S. Capital’s Union Station. “But it has that same airiness.”
Baxter didn’t mourn the demise of the old station a short distance up the tracks. She arrived there, but was departing from the new 67,000-square-foot facility. The station was supposed to open two years ago, but construction delays postponed that moment until its quiet entrance Sunday into the national rail system.
“It’s amazing when you come up one day in the old one and leave from the modern one,” said Baxter, who spent the weekend at a family reunion in the Capital Region.
Dennis Fitzgerald, executive director of the Capital District Transportation Authority, was at the station with his wife, Carol, to visit its reception, one of his last chores before he retires Friday after 31 years with the authority.
“Only those who have been involved with the project on a daily basis fully appreciate the mountains that have been moved to reach this point,” Fitzgerald said.
While the authority’s experience lay in running the region’s bus service, Fitzgerald said it learned its shortcomings and strengths getting the station built. He said the challenge of building the station and moving the railroad tracks was accomplished without an accident on the rail side.
The station towers over downtown Rensselaer and is easily seen from Albany, across the Hudson River.
“I’m hoping it will give a boost to the city of Rensselaer,” Fitzgerald said.
The so-called “soft opening” of the station — the blue-ribbon opening will be today at 11 a.m. — drew various authority officials sneaking a peak after surviving controversy over construction delays, cost overruns and the time it took to reach an agreement with Amtrak to move into the new building.
Construction began in 1999 on what was then a $35 million project. An opening was expected in 2000 but was postponed by construction delays. The opening was put off until June of this year but was delayed again when the lease with Amtrak remained unsigned until earlier this month.
Construction work still needs to be done. Canopies over the stairways to platforms, railings on upper floors and other work must be completed.
For passengers using the station on its inaugural day, the delays seemed to be worth it. “This is awesome,” said Leslie Burmaster of Schenectady.
Burmaster and her husband, Chuck, married Saturday and were taking Amtrak to New York City to start their honeymoon cruise. They saw the new station as a good sign for embarking on married life.
“It looks like a beautiful building,” Chuck Burmaster said.
Donna Warwick of Seneca Falls shared the sentiment: “It’s beautiful. It’s plush.”
Warwick and her husband, Jeff, also were heading to New York.
“Very modern. A big improvement over the old station,” Jeff Warwick said. “Architecturally, it’s impressive.”
Jack Kennedy, a road foreman for Amtrak, said the crews would move into their quarters on the station’s first floor during the next month. After they settle in, the old station will be demolished.