Amtrak is taking the lead on the next phase of renovations at the Lancaster (Pa.) train station, which serves Amtrak’s Keystone Service (Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York) and Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh – Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York).

The Capstone project will address the much anticipated rehabilitation of the passenger areas, including interior work to the waiting room, concourse, restrooms and hallways, and exterior work to stairways and platforms.

“Amtrak, PennDOT, Lancaster County Planning Commission and Lancaster County Transportation Authority are dedicated to seeing that the necessary improvements to the station — interior and exterior — are made for the benefit of our passengers and the community as a whole,” said Amtrak Sr. Director, Major Project Partnerships, Marilyn Jamison.

Amtrak intends to release detailed information, including the project scope and timeline, in mid-January as the first phase of the station renovation nears completion. An important goal is to seamlessly move forward from one phase to the next and to start Capstone construction work as soon as possible without losing substantial time.

Amtrak engineering forces, utilizing data gathered from the Capstone report commissioned by PennDOT, have identified a three-phased approach to completing the station renovation and rehabilitation project. The three phases are short term work that can be completed by Amtrak forces, long-term work that will require a standard design-bid-build project delivery method and work to be completed under the Amtrak Accessible Stations Development Program. The Capstone project builds upon the major station infrastructure improvements completed during the first phase of the project.

For fiscal year 2011, 539,338 passengers arrived or departed from the Lancaster station, making it the third busiest Amtrak station in Pennsylvania and the 22nd busiest station in the Amtrak national network.