A Presidential Rail Visit?

This Thursday, President Obama will travel to this blog author's hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. on his Main Street listening tour. According to reports in the Buffalo News, the president will visit Industrial Support, Inc., a manufacturing firm on the city's East Side. If he indeed heads there for a visit, he'll be within motorcade distance of one of the nation's largest, but most threatened passenger rail facilities: Buffalo Central Terminal.

The story of Central Terminal is recounted in numerous places, but perhaps you'll check out RAIL Magazine's Making Up for Lost Time from our 21st Edition for a full background. In much abbreviation, Central Terminal was built to the highest standards and largess by the New York Central Railroad before the Great Depression, and then was battered to the extreme both by the downturn in passenger rail traffic and Buffalo's nosediving economy. By sheer luck, none of the succession of owners who paid a pittance for the terminal managed to successfully tear the structure down, although they did manage to strip all of its valuable materials, including the famous stuffed buffalo and its four-faced clock.

Today, the station has found its way into the hands of the non-profit community organization, the Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC), which has gradually repatriated the grand facility into an increasingly vibrant community destination. However, the costs associated with a proper restoration are massive and no viable ideas have emerged to fill the humongous space, although a combination of high-speed rail, hotel rooms, areas for community groups and events and other components could produce a cohesive approach.

This is where a visit from the president could do enormous good. The first round of TIGER grants made possible under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) supported redevelopment of transportation centers elsewhere, and Central Terminal would be a perfect candidate for similar investment in the future if the program is continued. As a president that has expressed knowledge of and interest in projects made real by the work of dedicated community groups and leaders, along with tangible investment in our nation's infrastructure, the recent work done by the CTRC is worthy of Obama's attention.