Answers, Maps Aplenty at the Union Station Information Workshop on August 6.

A TIGER grant of $21 million bucks was awarded to our city for ongoing work towards Union Station. On August 6, the city, NCDOT, and Triangle Transit are having an information session with more information and everyone is invited to the Convention Center to get all their questions answered. The information session is from 5pm-7pm and no formal presentation is planned so show up when you can.

Construction of the new train station is tentatively scheduled to begin in the fall of 2013. The size and location of the current train station cannot accommodate the current passenger demand much less the anticipated growth in passengers that increased train service will bring.

Currently there are four daily round-trip passenger trains that serve the Raleigh Amtrak Station. To meet service demands, two additional daily Raleigh-to-Charlotte round-trip trains are planned for the near future.

Raleigh Union Station Citizens Information Workshop
Ballroom B at the Raleigh Convention Center
August 6 from 5pm-7pm


  1. Didn’t realize how close the proposed station was to the existing site until I watched this.

    The music sounds like it was ripped right from a Lifetime movie.

    On Twitter: @Squirrelchat

  2. This new location must be an iconic looking facility. It will be a first impression of Raleigh for a lot travelers. I can imagine knowing most projects, corners will be cut and this will end up an ugly looking brick rectagle shaper building. Raleigh: Hire an architect who knows what they are doing (no local designers).
    Already cutting corners by not building a brand new facility that is appropriate for this location. Now we have an existing factory and/or warehouse that will feel like a empty brick building after city council cuts corners and takes part of the money for their own agendas

  3. There is a ton of potential for the existing structure. Michael, your conclusions are ridiculous and baseless, and furthermore, the city should hire a local architectural designer for the new station. It’s a structure to be used by community members who live in Raleigh and people from outside the city. We should celebrate and present local talent…ridiculous.

  4. Aaron,

    You are clueless. Local talent1? The local talent designes minimal base line facilities. Look at the convention center, nothing unique or iconic about it. I remember when there was one tall building downtown, do you see any unique designes since that time period? NO
    There is nothing that says “oh that is Raleigh” when you see the skyline. This facility does not need to be iconic, but I guarantee you, this will be a low end design if you use local developers. The have no vision.

  5. Aaron is right. Michael, just because it is not an extraordinarily expensive and new building will not make any less “iconic”. In fact, I tend to think the retrofitting of this neat old warehouse space will make it 10x more iconic, just not on the skyline scale that you seem to want. Here’s a suggestion, go walk through the building and go look at the design before jumping to baseless conclusions.

  6. Meymandi Hall has no “wow factor” either, but I would say that from the perspective of concert-goers, Meymandi is an architectural success. RDU Terminal 2 was more ambitious, but the point to remember is that the RDU Airport Authority had a captive revenue stream to fund a more ambitious project. Their money didn’t come directly from taxpayers.
    At the end of the day, the new train station will inevitably be capital-constrained. I hope that it won’t be too utilitarian in appearance, but this project frankly isn’t about appearance. I just want a train station that is sized for the passenger volume that uses it.

  7. Has anyone actually seen a real site plan? The only thing I’ve seen is a sad drawing that says ‘Raleigh Union Station’ in very bland letters across the front. I’d like to see some actual renderings.

  8. I remember seeing a presentation that showed the renditions through phases but I still have the question of how the are going to handle parking and the other modes of transportation. Where is the parking lot/deck gonna be? Where is the bus and cab stands? Where will the light rail connect? How many pax will the building be expected to accommodate inside/outside? What kind of amenities will it offer (fast food? Sit down restaurant? Shopping? Gift shop? Conference rooms? Bar? Information counter? Anything unique?)

    Just questions that should be asked if answers are unknown. I know the train station won’t serve as many pax as an airport, but in my opinion, it has the ability to serve similar functions if marketed correctly..

  9. Light rail? No. Amenities? No. This project essentially replaces the existing station which has no amenities, has very little parking, and can’t hold two trains in the station at once. Basics first. Before T2 at RDU, there was a utilitarian T1 (or what was originally called Terminal A). If a “real” Union Station is ever built, it will feature all the things you’re asking about.

  10. I was under the impression that the Dillon Supply building was just supposed to be the waiting area, the platform for the Amtrak going to be across the WYE. There is a fair amount of room for a parking deck, and I can’t see why they won’t be able to put buses nearby. I’m not sure about taxis, since Raleigh has so few, but I think the best case scenario is that the Enterprise rental car service relocates from its current location to the Union Station area.

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