The Troy Transit Center is an unstaffed

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, that 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 ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'', which runs thrice daily between

Chicago 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

, Michigan (via

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan). It is also served by

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is the public transit operator serving the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Beginning operations in 1967 as the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMT ...

(SMART). The transit center replaced the nearby Birmingham Amtrak station in October 2014.

Description

The transit center is located in the southwest corner of Troy at 1201 Doyle Drive. It is about southwest of the former Birmingham Station and is situated behind the Midtown Square

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

. The

Oakland/Troy Airport Oakland/Troy Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located east of the central business district of Troy, a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of ...

is located just a few blocks away, on the east side of Coolidge Highway. The transit center has fairly easy access from both

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

and Woodward Avenue ( M-1). The Troy Transit Center brings together the services of Amtrak, SMART buses and taxis. Designed by local architectural firm Neumann/Smith, the one story, brick building includes a waiting room and restrooms, as well as large expanses of glass that allow natural light to flood the interior. There are 124 spaces for both long and short term free parking. A pedestrian bridge over the tracks allows access to the western platform and protects passengers from inclement weather. There is no ticketing, nor even a Quik-Trak kiosk, and baggage cannot be checked. Station hours are midnight to 2:00 am, 5:00 am to 6:30 am, 10:00 am to 11:30 am, and 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm daily. The station has an elevation of . There is a

bus stand A bus stand, also called a bus bay, or bus stance, is a designated parking location where a bus or coach waits out of service between scheduled public transport services. 'Bus stand' is also often an alternative name for specific bus stops inside ...

in front of the station and, according to the Troy Chamber of Commerce, there would be an estimated 18,200 SMART passengers stopping adjacent to the new transit center annually (about 50 per day). However, SMART buses were banned from the station in December 2016 as part of a long-running issues with the former owner of the land on which the station sits. A deal was struck in June 2017 allowing SMART to directly access the station again. Of the 22 Michigan stations regularly served by Amtrak, Troy was the thirteenth-busiest in the

Fiscal Year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

2015, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 64 passengers daily. Although the Troy Transit Center replaced Birmingham station in early October 2014, the ridership for remained consistent following the change of stations.

History

In 2000 a

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

, Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC, gave the city of Troy title to land on which to build a new station near the former Birmingham station.The land was part of an overall development which included the Midtown Square shopping center. However, title to the land was given with the express provision that funding for a transit center be secured within not more than ten years. In 2011, the cities of Birmingham and Troy were awarded a federal grant to assist in replacing the station with a new, multimodal transit center across the tracks in Troy. However, the city of Birmingham backed out of the project in 2008 and the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Troy, Janice Daniels, rejected the funding on ideological grounds, thus terminating the project. The $6.3 million (equivalent to $ million in ) project was resurrected by a subsequent Troy city administration, with a

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

on November 27, 2012 and final completion in October 2013. However, a legal dispute over title to the land under the transit center kept it from opening for another year. In late September 2014, a settlement by Troy to acquire the land was reached, allowing it to lease the site over the next twenty years to Amtrak. As part of the settlement the City of Troy was ordered to pay $1.05 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC for the land in dispute. After 14 years of effort, the station finally opened on October 14, 2014, with the nearby Birmingham station having permanently closed the day before. Notwithstanding, the initial settlement to acquire the land, it took nearly another year before a final settlement was reached between the City of Troy and Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC. The final settlement required an ''additional'' payment of $3.1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC.

Notes

References

External links

Troy Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide - Train Web)

Official webpage by Troy, Michigan

Official SMART Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Michigan (Amtrak station) Amtrak stations in Michigan Buildings and structures in Troy, Michigan Transportation in Oakland County, Michigan Railway stations in the United States opened in 2014