Middletown station (Pennsylvania)

Middletown
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Location Union and Mill Streets
Middletown, Pennsylvania
United States
Coordinates 40°11′33.5″N 76°43′52″W / 40.192639°N 76.73111°W / 40.192639; -76.73111Coordinates: 40°11′33.5″N 76°43′52″W / 40.192639°N 76.73111°W / 40.192639; -76.73111
Owned by Amtrak
Line(s)
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 3
Connections CAT: 7
Construction
Parking Yes
Other information
Station code MID
History
Opened 1990 (1990)
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 68,484[1]Increase 1.5%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Terminus
Keystone Service
  Former services  
Pennsylvania Railroad
toward Chicago
Main Line

Middletown is an Amtrak train station on the Keystone Corridor in Middletown, Dauphin County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The station is served by Amtrak's Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg. The current station was built in 1990, but a planned relocation of the station is expected to be completed in 2015.

Services and facilities

The Middletown station is located on Mill Street, off of Pennsylvania Route 441 (South Union Street). In addition to being used by residents of Middletown, the station is also popular with commuters heading to Harrisburg and Philadelphia who utilize its free parking.[2] It sees twenty-three arrivals by the Keystone Service on weekdays—twelve from New York Penn Station and eleven from Harrisburg. Only eight trains from New York on Saturday and seven on Sunday; one fewer trains serve the station come from Harrisburg.[3] The station is 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Harrisburg, 94 miles (151 km) west of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and 185 miles (298 km) from New York.[3] In fiscal year 2014, the station saw a ridership of 67,475 passengers, an derease of 16.7 percent from 2013.[4][5]

The station consists of only a platform and a shelter. As the Middletown station is unstaffed, all tickets from the station need to be pre-paid, or purchased from a conductor on board the train.[6] Capital Area Transit's Route 7 transit bus passes near the station on Union Street between Middletown, Harrisburg International Airport, and downtown Harrisburg.[7]

History

A railroad was first laid through Middletown in 1836 by the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad, which was taken over by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1850.[8] A brick station was built in 1902, but was demolished in the 1970s.[8] Prior to the introduction of the Keystone Service in 1981, Middletown was served by the Big Apple, the Silverliner Service, and the Keystone.[9] A shelter and concrete platform was built in 1990 by Amtrak.[8] From 1991 to 1995, the Atlantic City Express served the station on weekends.[10][11]

Relocation

The Middletown station is in need of being relocated because it is currently on a superelevated curve and does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well.[12] It is to be moved to a location at Ann Street and Pennsylvania Route 230, between the current station and Harrisburg International Airport.[13] The new station will also have a connection Harrisburg International Airport. It is expected to be completed by 2015 and estimated to cost $32 million. Funding would be provided by the Federal Transit Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).[13]

See also

References

  1. "Amtrak State Fact Sheet, FY2015, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. Miller, Barbara (Oct 31, 2010). "Train riders await decision on Middletown Amtrak station". The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). Retrieved Sep 3, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Keystone Service" (PDF). Amtrak. Nov 7, 2011. Retrieved Jan 6, 2012.
  4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2014, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. Nov 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. Nov 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  6. "Middletown, PA (MID)". Amtrak. Retrieved Sep 3, 2011.
  7. "Route 7: Middletown" (PDF). Capital Area Transit. May 19, 2014. Retrieved Aug 11, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Kagen, David Ira; Sunbery, Edward William (2009). Middletown Borough. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-7385-6472-2.
  9. Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. Apr 26 – Oct 24, 1981. pp. 22–23.
  10. Amtrak System Train Timetables. Amtrak. Apr 7 – Oct 26, 1991. p. 29.
  11. Amtrak Northeast Timetable. Amtrak. Oct 30, 1994. p. 27.
  12. Zimmerman, Phyllis (Sep 4, 2011). "PennDOT creates plan to complete Middletown Amtrak station by 2013". The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). Retrieved Jan 6, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Malawskey, Nick (Oct 24, 2013). "Middletown train station project moving at full steam". The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). Retrieved Aug 11, 2014.

External links

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