The old Dillon building on the western side of downtown should serve as Raleigh's next train station, a citizens group recommended this morning.
The finding represents a major step in the quest for a Grand Central-style rail hub to accommodate Amtrak and future Southeast high-speed rail.
Members of a passenger rail task force spent months investigating the potential cost of renovations. They also looked at how the building matches up with existing rail lines in the nearby Boylan Wye.
Today. the task force voted unanimously to send a letter endorsing the project to Mayor Nancy McFarlane and the City Council. The group included some stipulations in its endorsement (more on that below).
An earlier plan called for building a new complex in downtown to serve riders on buses, light rail, local streetcars and interstate trains. Called Union Station, the facility would cost at least $150 million.
But the Dillon idea gained traction as Raleigh leaders shifted toward less costly options to meet Raleigh's transportation needs.
With some renovations and a few new elements (benches and a ticket counter, for starters), the vacant building could offer plenty of space for a passenger waiting area, ticket counter, offices and rows of food court-style eateries and shops.
The building, formerly the Dillon Supply steel fabrication shop, would replace the city's current Amtrak station, a cramped depot smaller than its counterparts in Cary, Selma and High Point.
Plenty of questions remain. The city must figure out where to locate bus services for Greyhound, Triangle Transit and local CAT routes. Planners see the need for a parking garage with 1,200 to 1,400 spaces to serve the train station.
There are questions relating to light rail, too. TTA's light rail platform will be on Morgan Street one block west of the rail corridor, so more study will be needed to figure out how to link the Dillon building with the future light rail line.
The initial phase - renovating the building and adding an 800-foot platform for Amtrak - would cost $35.2 million, with track and signal work adding $12.2 million, based on preliminary estimates. A second phase would require $6.5 million to accommodate Southeast high-speed rail.
The city has set aside $3 million for the project, with much of the rest expected to come from the state and federal governments.
The DOT will make a formal report on the project in January.
In its pursuit of federal money, the agency hopes for a favorable response from the Obama administration, which is seeking to modernize the country's aging passenger rail network.
