Saint Paul Union Depot

[Ottergoose]

Getting back on topic, Trains Magazine ran a story this week (paywalled) on a new railfan park being built on the edge of SPUD's property; here's a photo of it from earlier today:



Looks like a great addition, especially for families with little kids who like watching trains - not too many other good venues in the Twin Cities for relaxing and watching the trains with children, and the vast majority of rail traffic coming through the Metro is funneled through here.

[Moderato]

Strib SPUD artwork story:

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/230298091.html

[FISHMANPET]

I know I've seen elsewhere that this stretch of track is pretty busy. How does that translate into frequency? As in, how many minutes between trains?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[MSPtoMKE]

View of the new track connection from inside the depot:

Union Depot Tracks by MSPdude, on Flickr

And outside:

Union Depot Track Construction by MSPdude, on Flickr

And an artsy fartsy view of some of the new artwork:

Twin Waves by MSPdude, on Flickr

[Ottergoose]

I know I've seen elsewhere that this stretch of track is pretty busy. How does that translate into frequency? As in, how many minutes between trains?

I'd guess 4-5 trains / hour, give or take. The frequency is really variable though.

[mulad]

The Union Depot folks put up a photo this morning showing the railfan park with fresh sod in place.

[mulad]

According to the RCRRA board agenda, lease and operating agreements with Amtrak are expected to be approved next Tuesday (Nov. 12th).

[commissioner]

Is there any way to get to the railfan park without having to pay for parking?

[talindsay]

Sure, you can walk or take the bus, or in the near future, take a train.

[orangevening]

Bike too.....although Nice Ride is done for the season. I wonder how Nice Ride would do if they just had a few weather protected stations and bikes (fenders and such) at the most popular spots. We Minnesotans are hard-core and some people would still ride them (especially to watch trains at SPUD to get back on topic).

[THERAT]

1st quarter of 2014 - according to the PP and RCR. We'll see.

http://www.twincities.com/breakingnews/ ... rive-early

[mulad]

I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. A few weeks back, I heard through the grapevine that BNSF was unwilling to tie the new Union Depot signals into the CTC system that controls the whole area until after the holidays, but I got really optimistic after seeing the switches and signal heads get installed. And of course the ground starts freezing up at this time of year, so it'll be nice and solid once January rolls around and they work on those final connections. Well, maybe those final bits can be done inside some utility shed somewhere...

Well, this is a busy time of year for the freights and Amtrak, as well as their employees. Unfortunately that couldn't help matters.

[seanrichardryan]

From the strib-

http://m.startribune.com/local/?id=231677151&c=y

[holmstar]

Apparently now targeting March:
http://finance-commerce.com/transit/201 ... ion-depot/

[Mdcastle]

Given that I'll never use intercity trains, I don't care where the depot is, but I'm curious why are they moving to Union Depot? Is the city of St. Paul making them? Do they expect more passengers or think it's more convenient for existing passengers? Is it cheaper to rent than to own their own depot? Does the Midway depot need renovation or replacement?

[mattaudio]

There's nothing at Midway station... users have to hoof a half mile through an industrial park and then get on the 16 to get anywhere in towns. Train stations are best where people want to go.

[HiawathaGuy]

Not to mention righting a wrong, which was building that ugly ass Amtrak building in Midway to begin with...

[Mdcastle]

So Amtrak agrees that train service belongs at the depot, and they volunteered to move because of that?

[talindsay]

So Amtrak agrees that train service belongs at the depot, and they volunteered to move because of that?

They agreed to move, yes. "Volunteered", well none of us were sitting in the negotiating rooms. Amtrak has a vested interest in making rail travel more desirable, and nice spaces are obviously going to help accomplish that. Midway is not a nice space.

[uptowncarag]

I am curious about the parking. I don't mind paying but I usually leave my car at Midway when I take the Empire Builder to Chicago for the weekend.