21 replies to this topic

[Lightning]

New video and slide shows from SeaTrans. Starting to take shape. Looks very nice.

[Lightning]

More photos, new videos and slideshows here.

[Lightning]

Recent updates.

[Lightning]

The time draws nigh. Grand re-opening set for April 24!
From SDOT.

[Lightning]

Well, I finally found myself in one of the pictures, though in the shadows. No matter, it was a great event, and, as you can see, the station looks fantastic, light years away from the sham it had become when "modernized" to look more like a bus station, fifty years ago. Now it's 1906 all over again (though the rest rooms are the latest). The original ticket office was on the side of--but within--the main waiting room; it has been pushed off to the interior leaving the waiting room all the more spacious.

From SeaTrans.

[Sloan]

The $55-million King Street Station project in Seattle, Wash., which received $32.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, has opened.

http://www.rtands.co...tml?channel=286

[KevinKorell]

Here comes the dedication ceremony, which is something different than whatever took place in April.....

The formal celebration to Seattle's King Street Station restored waiting room

King St. Station and Platforms
Saturday, July 27th 10am-5pm

Brief Event Overview:

Amtrak is celebrating the return to the restored space in King Street Station, the Amtrak Exhibit train, the region's advancements in rail transportation with our partners, City of Seattle, WSDOT, ODOT, Sound Transit, BNSF, and Talgo. Additionally we want to showcase our transportation partners Operation Lifesaver, Trails and Rails/National Parks, All Aboard Washington, AORTA, and Transportation Choices.

Amtrak will have the Amtrak Exhibit Train at King Street station for self guided tours of the train, and working with ODOT, we hope to have one of the new Amtrak Cascades Series 8 trains manufactured by Talgo.

More details will be forthcoming in future newsletters. Just save the date!

[Lightning]

Large file, but an interesting before-after set of great pictures. From SeaTrans.

[Lightning]

When in KSS today, I noticed a digital screen on a stand--not attached to the wall, but against a pillar.  It was not yet connected to any displays.  I asked in the ticket office if this was the long-awaited arrivals/departures board.  KSS is the only large station I know of without such an obvious and frankly necessary amenity.  The city of Seattle, which bought the station from BNSF for all of $10.00 (was supposed to be $1.00 but that amount was rejected by the computer as too small a figure) supposedly does not want any signs, displays, or anything else attached to the walls.  The person I spoke to in the office didn't seem to know for sure, but I'm hoping it is.  If so, will photograph for future posting.  BTW, as magnificent as the restored station is, the acoustics are horrendous.  I, for one, can't understand what is being broadcast for the life of me   .

[KevinKorell]

Thanks Mark for the update.  I agree that announcements are useless if nobody can understand them.  In a cavernous space there probably isn't a decent solution to that problem.  In a place like Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, the ushers are experienced at making the announcements and pausing where necessary to avoid feedback and the reverberations of their words confusing passengers.