Union Depot Rehab

I got a call recently from a friend who said she had just gotten a job on the Empire Builder train that runs from Seattle to Chicago. Out and back is 6 days with a brief stop in the Empire Builder's hometown. I mean James J. Hill of course. I think he would approve of the plan to rehab the old Union Depot and get that train stopping in Lowertown instead of the dreary Transfer Road location off of University Avenue. Work to make that happen started January 2011 and the first train should stop in downtown in 2012. The concourse already looks like it is getting new windows while demolition work is still in progress to the area that will be the train platform. The depot will also serve as an end of the line for the LRT and a hub for Jefferson, Greyhound, and local buses. If we can just get through all the construction in downtown in the next few years we will have some great transportation choices other than getting into our cars. I might just make my next trip to Chicago by train.