Center to Benefit Bus and Train Passengers

When the Regional Transportation Center opens this summer, Amtrak, Trailways and Greyhound passengers will be among the first to use the facility.

The three companies have leased space in the $15-million center and will move their terminals there from less visible downtown locations.

“There is just no comparison between the new facility and the existing ones,” City Manager Robert C. Bobb said. “Everybody wins.”

Besides passenger trains and interstate buses, the center will serve as a hub for local bus lines, taxis and limousines and airport shuttle service providers.

The 47,000-square-foot building is adjacent the Civic Center on a seven-acre site bordered by Santa Ana Boulevard, Santiago Street and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad tracks.

The center is scheduled to open in late July. Officials said they expect usage of Amtrak and the two big interstate bus lines to increase along with the companies’ added visibility downtown.