Waiting room restored

A new departure point for the Creston Amtrak station was opened to the public Aug. 1 at the Creston Restored Depot.

From the Creston depot, Amtrak passengers may now arrive to, and depart from town, as those who traveled by rail many years ago. The new station was the result of a 10 year negotiation between the City of Creston and Amtrak to restore the stop and to ensure it would be functional. After a decade, Amtrak finally agreed to pay for all renovations in exchange for a 40 year lease of the space to be used as a stop.

The renovations included brand new family restrooms, handicap accessible entrances and exits, and handicap accessible ramps at entrances and exits.

“The benefit of having this stop is that we are able to keep train transportation to essentially anywhere in the country from Creston,” said City Administrator Mike Taylor.

Future additions to be added will include a functioning platform on the exterior of the depot for the purpose of boarding and exiting the train.