Sen. Brown pulls for rail at Elyria center

ELYRIA — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is pulling for Mayor Holly Brinda’s plan to bring two railroad giants together to possibly bring rail service back to the Lorain County Transportation and Community Center.

On the heels of letters Brinda fired off in late October to Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, Brown, D-Avon, offered his own pleas to the transportation titans, asking for better cooperation so a plan can be forged to bring improvements to the old train depot on East Avenue.

The letters are meant to change Amtrak plans, which include a proposed $1 million improvement project to the current station on East Bridge Street.

The improvements to the platform will bring the company into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, Brinda would like to see those improvements moved down the line and incorporated into the county’s transportation center, which is an old train station that underwent a $5 million renovation but largely sits empty.

Brown echoed those sentiments.

“Moving Amtrak service to the Lorain County Transit Center would be a tremendous step forward in our efforts to revitalize downtown Elyria and provide a common sense solution to the problems posed by the current station, which has no amenities and very little space,” Brown wrote in a letter to Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.

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Sen. Brown pulls for rail at Elyria center »