Elizabethtown station

Elizabethtown is an Amtrak railroad station on the Keystone Corridor in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The station is served by Amtrak's Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg, and by the Pennsylvanian between New York and Pittsburgh. The station was built in 1915 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to replace another that had been built in 1900. The station building was closed in 1977 by Amtrak. The title to the building was transferred to the borough of Elizabethtown in 1998, and it was leased back to Amtrak. From 2009 to 2011, the station underwent a 21-month renovation to make it handicapped-accessible.

Elizabethtown, PA
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Location50 South Wilson Avenue, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°8′48.8″N 76°36′44″W
Owned byAmtrak
Line(s)Keystone Corridor (Main Line)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections RRTA: 18
Construction
Parking49 short-term, 90 long-term
Bicycle facilitiesBike rack
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeELT
History
Opened1915 (1915)
RebuiltAugust 2009–May 2011
ElectrifiedJanuary 15, 1938[1]
Passengers
FY 2019100,505  0.5%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Middletown
toward Harrisburg
 Keystone Service Mount Joy
toward New York
Harrisburg
toward Pittsburgh
 Pennsylvanian Lancaster
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Middletown
toward Chicago
 Main Line Mount Joy
toward New York or Exchange Place
Conewago
toward Chicago
 Rheems
toward New York or Exchange Place

Services and facilities

The Elizabethtown station is located on South Wilson Avenue, off of Pennsylvania Route 241 (West High Street). In addition to being used by passengers originating from Elizabethtown and surrounding Lancaster County, residents of nearby Dauphin and Lebanon counties utilize the Elizabethtown station as well.[2] It sees twenty-six arrivals by the Keystone Service on weekdays, thirteen from both Harrisburg and New York Penn Station, and seven from each on weekends.[3] The Pennsylvanian arrives once daily from both New York and Pittsburgh Union Station.[3] The station is 18 miles (29 km) east of Harrisburg, 86 miles (138 km) west of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and 179 miles (288 km) from New York.[3] The station was the 7th busiest in Pennsylvania with an annual ridership of 100,505 passengers in fiscal year 2019, an increase of 0.5 percent from the previous year.[4][5]

The station is equipped with Amtrak's Quik-Trak ticket machines, public restrooms, information kiosks, and wireless internet.[2] As the Elizabethtown station is unstaffed, all tickets from the station need to be pre-paid, purchased from Quik-Trak, or from a conductor on board the train.[6] Parking is in a 45-vehicle lot located in front of the station and a 100-vehicle "overflow lot [located] down the street."[2] The Red Rose Transit Authority's Route 18 transit bus provides service between the station, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, and Lancaster.[7]

Elizabethtown College's campus security drives students to the train station.[8]

History
Platforms in April 2009
Platforms in May 2011

Because of the construction of an embankment at nearby Bainbridge Street, the Pennsylvania Railroad was forced to build a new station at West High Street in 1900.[9] After 15 years, the Pennsylvania replaced the station.[10] The new station was constructed out of Indiana Limestone in a similar style to the nearby Masonic Homes built by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. On July 4, 1915, the Liberty Bell made a stop at the station while being transported to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California.[11] The Pennsylvania began electrifying its line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in 1937, a task which was completed on January 15, 1938.[12] In 1977, the deteriorating station building was closed.[13] Prior to the introduction of the Keystone Service in 1981, the Elizabethtown station was served by the Big Apple, the Silverliner Service, and the Keystone.[14] From 1991 to 1995, the Atlantic City Express served the station on weekends.[15][16] The Three Rivers made stops in Elizabethtown in 1995 and 1996.[17][18]

Renovations

In August 1998, the station building was leased to Amtrak for 99 years by the borough of Elizabethtown for $1 per year after ownership was transferred to the borough; ownership of the platforms and right-of-way was retained by Amtrak.[2][19] Renovations began in August 2009 and were funded by $9.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The station was cited by U.S. Senator Tom Coburn as an example of pork barrel spending in the stimulus bill.[20] Elevators were built and the station's two platforms were raised, per the requirements of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[2] The platforms were also lengthened to accommodate longer trains. Canopies were erected over the platforms to provide protection from the elements for waiting passengers. The station building was completely remodeled, including restoration of the original wood furnishings, replacement of broken slate roof tiles, and masonry repointing.[2] The completed station was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 4, 2011.[2]

Station layout
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Track 2 ←      Keystone Service toward Harrisburg (Middletown)
←      Pennsylvanian toward Pittsburgh (Harrisburg)
Track 1 ←      Pennsylvanian toward New York (Lancaster) →
←      Keystone Service toward Philadelphia or New York (Mount Joy) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right

See also

References
  1. "Pennsy Completes New Electric Link". The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. January 15, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Knapp, Tom (May 3, 2011). "Elizabethtown train station roars back to life with makeover". Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  3. "Keystone Service" (PDF). Amtrak. April 6, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2018, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  5. "Station Appendices" (PDF). Amtrak Five-Year Asset Line Plans. Amtrak. 2019. p. 50. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  6. "Elizabethtown, PA (ELT)". Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  7. "Route 18 Mount Joy / Elizabethtown" (PDF). Red Rose Transit Authority. August 24, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  8. http://www.etown.edu/offices/security/services.aspx
  9. MacMaster 1999, p. 157.
  10. MacMaster 1999, p. 182.
  11. MacMaster 1999, p. 184.
  12. Bezilla (1980), p. 159.
  13. MacMaster 1999, p. 282.
  14. Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. April 26, 1981. pp. 22–23.
  15. Amtrak System Train Timetables. Amtrak. April 7 – October 26, 1991. p. 29.
  16. Amtrak Northeast Timetable. Amtrak. October 30, 1994. p. 27.
  17. Amtrak National Timetable. Amtrak. October 29, 1995. p. 18.
  18. Amtrak National Timetable. Amtrak. April 14, 1996. p. 15.
  19. MacMaster 1999, p. 298.
  20. Coburn, Tom (June 2009). "100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion". United States Senate. pp. 14–15. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2011.

Sources
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