Rochester (Amtrak station)

Rochester
The new station under construction in April, 2017.
Location	320 Central Avenue Rochester, NY 14605
Coordinates	43°09′49″N 77°36′30″W / 43.1635°N 77.6082°W / 43.1635; -77.6082Coordinates: 43°09′49″N 77°36′30″W / 43.1635°N 77.6082°W / 43.1635; -77.6082
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Empire Corridor (Rochester Subdivision)
Platforms	1 side platform (1 island platform under construction) (formerly had 3 island platforms)
Tracks	4 (formerly 8)
Bus operators	routes 37/37x Clinton and 41/41X Joseph Greyhound lines (planned) New York Trailways (planned)
Construction
Parking	Yes; free
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak code: ROC
History
Opened	Original depot: 1914 Amtrak facility: 1978
Rebuilt	2017 (Expected)
Traffic
Passengers (2016)	124,901  8.7%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Buffalo–Depew toward Niagara Falls, NY Empire Service Syracuse toward New York–Penn or New York–Grand Central New York State Fair (Open only during the New York State Fair) toward New York–Penn or New York–Grand Central Buffalo–Depew toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Syracuse toward New York City or Boston South Station Buffalo–Depew toward Toronto Maple Leaf Syracuse toward New York–Penn New York State Fair (Open only during the New York State Fair) toward New York–Penn   Former services   New York Central Railroad Cold Water toward Chicago Water Level Route East Rochester toward New York City Otis toward Niagara Falls Niagara Falls – Rochester Terminus Elmgrove toward Niagara Falls Falls Road Terminus Rochester – Oswego Otis toward Oswego Auburn Road Brighton toward Syracuse Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Buffalo Central Terminal toward Chicago Lake Shore 1971-1972 Syracuse toward New York–Penn

Rochester is a station on the Empire Corridor (Empire Service) Amtrak line, located in Rochester, New York.

All trains currently use a temporary platform adjacent to the station building, meaning both eastbound and westbound trains must switch to the southern track. This can cause conflicts with other passenger and freight trains and lead to delays. The current station building in place is a temporary station until the new station is completed in 2017. The current temporary station does not have high-level platforms, meaning passengers must climb several steps to board trains.

Rochester is served by two trains daily on the *Lake Shore Limited, four trains daily of the Empire Service, and two trains daily on the Maple Leaf.

Rochester has a long history of train stations. The first major Rochester station was built in 1845 by the New York Central Railroad on Mill Street by High Falls.

In the 1880s the railroad tracks were elevated (having previously been at grade) and the station was relocated to the east side of the Genesee River close to the modern site on Central Avenue at St. Paul Street.

That station would be demolished and replaced in 1914 at the modern site by the more famous New York Central station designed by Claude Fayette Bragdon. At the time the city of Rochester had four major train stations, The New York Central station, the since demolished Erie Railroad Depot, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station that currently houses Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and the Rochester terminal of the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway which currently houses Nick Tahou Hots. The station often referred to as Bragdon Station was four storeys with three high arching windows reminiscent of train driving wheels and a main room that was reminiscent of New York’s Grand Central Terminal complete with arched ceilings and a lunch counter. The station was seen as one of Bragdon's greatest architectural accomplishments. As was the case with several large union stations of the era with falling revenues and high maintenance costs and taxes of such a large facility the station was sold by the New York Central Railroad in 1959 to a private owner.