Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, also known as East Lansing station, is an intermodal transit station in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

. Operated by the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA), it is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's passenger train, local buses, and intercity buses. It opened in 2015 to replace a nearby Amtrak and bus station operating since 1974.

Description

The station building includes a public waiting area, concessions, Amtrak and intercity bus ticket counters, and public restrooms. There are also three internal vestibules which can be accessed by users during the time the station is unstaffed and closed for the day. Outside are separate covered waiting areas for Amtrak and intercity bus riders, a bike storage area, a customer pick-up and drop-off area, and 150 long-term parking spaces.

Services

Amtrak's '' Blue Water'' provides a single daily round-trip between

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

provides a connection to long-distance trains in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. Indian Trails, in partnership with

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

, offers long-distance bus service to various destinations in Michigan. Megabus served the station from 2013 to 2016. Local CATA bus routes 20, 35, 39 stop at the station, and the facility also offers

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

and bike-sharing. The property also has space on its south end of the site along the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Plymouth Subdivision to construct an additional platform for future passenger rail services if needed.

History

Historically, the major railroad depots in the Lansing metropolitan area were the

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

and the Grand Trunk Western Station, both in Lansing. With the establishment of

in 1971, both stations lost their train service. Amtrak subsequently took over a building in

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

to serve as a station for its planned '' Blue Water'' train. This building had been built as a storage facility for

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1971. The ''Blue Water'' began servicing this facility on September 15, 1974. The service was renamed the ''Blue Water Limited'' on October 26, 1975, and became the '' International Limited'' on October 31, 1982, when the eastern terminus was extended to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The ''International Limited'' was operated jointly by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

and

until it was discontinued in 2004 and replaced with the modern ''Blue Water'' line. Plans for the new station complex, the Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, were announced in 2010, and originally included a new parking structure and improved bus facilities as well as bicycle parking. The project was intended to replace the older Amtrak station with updated facilities, and to consolidated rail and bus service into one intermodal transit station. The project was awarded a $6.3 million grant in July 2012 by the U.S. Department of Transportation's

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

, and by then the parking structure had been dropped from the plan. In addition to the construction costs, CATA paid a $3.2 million long-term lease for the site. The station property also included facilities for intercity bus service. Site work began in late July 2014, and included demolition of the old Michigan State University Surplus Store and Printing Services buildings on-site. Last train at old East Lansing station

The original station closed after the last train departed on January 25, 2016, and operations moved to the newly built station located a few yards to the west.">Station closed https://www.freep.com/story/travel/2016/01/22/amtrak-move-terminal-east-lansing/79173586/

Passenger statistics

Notable places nearby

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

* Union Depot

References

External links

East Lansing-Lansing Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Trains Web)
{{East Lansing, Michigan Amtrak stations in Michigan Buildings and structures in East Lansing, Michigan Michigan State University Transportation in Lansing, Michigan Transit centers in the United States