NEWS





National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-906-3860
Fax: 202-906-3864; 906-3865


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		      	        ATK-96-117
May 22, 1996						       Contact: Ray Lang    (312) 655-2012
							  	         Marci Larson (904) 359-8135


MEMPHIS TO BREAK GROUND FOR DOWNTOWN STATION REDEVELOPMENT

	CHICAGO -- The City of Memphis, Tenn., will break ground Wednesday, May 22 for the renovation of its 82-year-old Central Station.  The $17.8-million project will transform the stately old structure into a spectacular intermodal terminal that will anchor the city's downtown redevelopment.

	The terminal will be one of the major intermodal facilities in the United States.  The project is being spearheaded by Mayor W.W. Herenton and the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), with support from Shelby County, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the United States Department of Transportation, and Amtrak.  

	Amtrak will be the first tenant of the new terminal, which means its customers will be among the primary beneficiaries of the historic makeover.  Passengers will enjoy a large waiting room and marble ticket concourse.  And, they will be able to make easy connections with trolleys, buses, taxis and private automobiles.  Central Station also will feature retail stores and commercial offices when the renovation is complete in late 1997.

	"It took a great deal of visionary thinking for the City and the Memphis Area Transit Authority to invest so heavily in what has been described as one of the worst train stations in the country," said Tommy McDonald, Product Manager of Amtrak's City of New Orleans which links Memphis with Chicago and New Orleans six days each week.  "We will be proud to call Central Station our home in Memphis."  

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	McDonald said in addition to dramatically improved passenger facilities, Amtrak will have a 1,300-square foot outbuilding for expanded package and express service.  

	Although Amtrak will benefit from this project, as a rule intercity passenger rail projects are not eligible for federal surface transportation funds.  Amtrak believes state and local planners should have greater flexibility to spend federal transportation dollars on projects such as this if they are the best ways to respond to congestion and air quality concerns.  Amtrak is seeking changes in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, currently under consideration in Congress, to allow states the discretion to apply federal transportation funds to the mode that best suits a community's needs.

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