{"id":13963,"date":"2024-02-22T10:36:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T00:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=13963"},"modified":"2024-02-22T10:36:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T00:36:37","slug":"amtrak-completes-upgrades-at-selma-smithfield-union-depot-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=13963","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak completes upgrades at Selma-Smithfield Union Depot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a>, Selma town officials and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncdot.gov\/\">North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)<\/a> are excited to announce renovations at the Selma-Smithfield Union Depot are now complete. The $2.5 million project to improve the station is part of the ongoing and companywide commitment at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a> to ensure a safe, efficient, and comfortable travel experience for customers.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a>\u00a0<em>Carolinian<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Palmetto<\/em>\u00a0provide daily service to the depot at 500 East Railroad St. The\u00a0<em>Carolinian\u00a0<\/em>service is sponsored by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncdot.gov\/\">NCDOT<\/a> and operated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak <\/a>and paid for through state funding and passenger fares and operates between New York and Charlotte. The\u00a0<em>Palmetto\u00a0<\/em>travels between New York and Savannah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProviding an accessible travel experience is a priority and we\u2019re actively advancing construction, renovation, repair, and upgrade projects at stations across our national network,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a> Vice President Dr. David Handera said. \u201cWe are pleased we delivered these improvements to the Selma-Smithfield Union Depot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the depot, customers can access a new 325-foot-long concrete platform featuring additional lighting, guardrails, and signage. The platform provides customers with a more accessible, sturdier surface, which includes a detectable warning system along the edge of the platform. The system is a hazard warning to alert customers who are blind or have low vision if they are close to the platform. The lighting also provides a brighter environment as customers board on and off the train.<\/p>\n<p>Additional improvements include the creation of accessible pathways extending from the parking lot to the station and platform, and accessible parking spaces along Railroad Street and adjacent to the station for customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is exciting to see the investments being made in our North Carolina rail system.\u00a0 The Town of Selma is thankful to see these ADA enhancements at out Historic Train Depot and the impressive visual improvements that have been made to this busy boarding platform,\u201d Selma Mayor Byron McAllister said. \u201cThank you, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a>, for continuing to invest in and maintain this important piece of nationwide public transit.\u00a0 We look forward to upgraded and increased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a> service through the Town of Selma!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a> has invested more than $800 million since 2011 in accessibility upgrades and improvement projects at 117 stations across the national network to ensure a safe, efficient, and comfortable travel experience for customers with disabilities. The improvements include repairs and upgrades to platforms, ramps and sidewalks, and renovations to entranceways and restrooms, with 20 stations brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act last year. Another 35 stations are targeted for completion this fiscal year at a forecasted investment of $165 million.<\/p>\n<p>The program is advancing 137 station designs and 43 station construction projects as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak\u2019s<\/a> ongoing commitment to providing accessibility by working toward 100% completion by 2029.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorking with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amtrak.com\/home\">Amtrak<\/a> and local partners to ensure stations have the facilities and amenities needed to support success and growth is key,\u201d said Jason Orthner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncdot.gov\/\">NCDOT<\/a> Rail Division director. \u201cUpgrades like these at the Selma-Smithfield Station promote safe, accessible and convenient travel that further enhance the passenger rail experience in N.C.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"box\">\n<p><strong>More Like This<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/163848\/draft-rail\/\">Ministers set out blueprint through Draft Rail Reform Bill<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/163689\/siemens-mobility-railpool\/\">Siemens Mobility signs framework agreement with Railpool<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalrailwayreview.com\/news\/163504\/amtrak-spring-flash-sale\/\">Amtrak spring travel flash sale offers big savings across the country<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amtrak, Selma town officials and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are excited to announce renovations at the Selma-Smithfield Union Depot are now complete. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,47,488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-opinion","category-rail-news","category-railway-stations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}