Amtrak Improvements at Effingham Station to be Celebrated Tuesday

Effingham and Amtrak officials will celebrate the completion of a $2.5 million improvement of the local Amtrak station with a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday afternoon, August 9.

Amtrak has to date completed 171 ADA related projects as part of the ADA Stations Program. Another 29 stations are targeted for completion this fiscal year at a cost of $113 million. Since 2011, Amtrak has invested more than $489 million in accessibility upgrades throughout the country.

Effingham is served by Amtrak's Illini and Saluki trains, with service to and from Chicago and Carbondale, via Champaign and Mattoon, and the City of New Orleans to Chicago and to New Orleans, and will be restored to daily service in October.

The ribbon cutting is set for 1pm Tuesday at the station, located at 401 West National Avenue in Effingham.

Dedicated in 1924, the Effingham station provides a passenger waiting area for Amtrak services sponsored by IDOT. The exterior improvements include a new 700-foot boarding platform with new station signage, a mobile lift enclosure, energy efficient LED lighting, and guardrails. New accessible pathways provide improved connections from the waiting area to the platform and various access points to the station. Improvements performed simultaneously in the interior were two new powered entry doors, rehanging interior doors, signage, companion seating, and removal of protruding objects to address work from a previous station interior ADA project.