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Restored station in Mineola, TX

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MINEOLA, Texas, June 10, 2006 – Amtrak passengers traveling to or from business, shopping, relaxation and recreation in the "Piney Woods" of East Texas will now have a station in Mineola that is simultaneously modern and historic. A ceremony is set for Saturday, June 10, to rededicate the former Texas and Pacific Railroad station in the community about 80 miles east of Dallas.

From 1974 until 1996, the Amtrak Texas Eagle and its predecessor trains passed through the community of 5,000 without stopping. However, Mineola community leaders convinced Amtrak to make their city a stop, based on creative local marketing and a promise to renovate the train station. The station being rededicated captures the look of the 1906 station that was remodeled and replaced almost exactly nearly 55 years ago, on June 20, 1951.

The city used grants from the Texas Department of Transportation ($550,000), Mineola Development Inc. ($195,820) and the Meredith Foundation ($46,000 for a railroad museum) and raised additional funds ($13,000) to support the project. The 50's-era "modernization" of the building was removed and the building's exterior recreated to the original 1906 design. Site improvements included parking, signage, fencing, landscaping and bicycle racks. Interior restoration included ticket windows, waiting area and a railroad artifacts museum.

The building, at 115 East Front Street, is now part of what is known locally as the Mineola Transportation Plaza. The property is leased from the Union Pacific Railroad, a successor to the Texas and Pacific.

"The renovations are beautiful, the community is enthusiastic and at Amtrak we are grateful for all the work to make this improvement to our facilities," said Richard Phelps, General Superintendent of the Los Angeles-based Amtrak Southwest Division. "More than 4,000 passengers used the Mineola station last fiscal year and we expect this project will entice even more to ride the Texas Eagle."

10 new/renovated stations in 10 years

• San Marcos, TX - new intermodal facility
• San Antonio, TX - new intermodal facility
• Cleburne, TX - new intermodal facility
• Temple, TX - restoration of historic Santa Fe depot
• Marshall, TX - restoration of historic T&P depot
• Maricopa, AZ - historic passenger car repurposed as a station building
• St. Louis, MO - new temporary station, with ground broken for an intermodal facility
• Fort Worth, TX - new intermodal facility
• Arkadelphia, AR - major repairs to station facility
• Mineola, TX - restoration of historic T&P depot

"These projects represent millions of dollars in purely local investment," said Dr. Bill Pollard, chairman of the Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization. "Federal, state and regional funds contributed to construction, but the local effort came first. "We know of no other Amtrak route where so many communities have stepped up to support passenger-train service. These cities run the gamut from major urban centers to small towns. Together they bear witness to the wide-ranging support for a national passenger-train network."

(Portions from Amtrak news release ATK-06-039, courtesy Amtrak Media Relations)