A few weeks ago, I asked for information on this facility and didn’t receive a lot of information, so when I had a chance to get up to Indy for the weekend, I checked it out. FYI, 10 of the 12 tracks (above the station) have been torn out, along with the platform covers and made into a parking lot. The two tracks left have a new platform cover (very classy) and serve Amtrak’s Cardinal and Hoosier State. And, yes, the trains still rumble the station when they pull in. over the waiting area.
Finally, I was amazed how many passengers boarded the train to Chicago at 5:30 a.m. Made me wonder what type of traffic Amtrak could generate if the train left at a more reasonable 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. But then, it would be more convenient for the public and could border on success so Amtrak has to keep it in the wee hours, I suppose.
Tharmeni: Are the upper floors converted into a shopping mall? I think I was in that building years ago.
They were, but the shopping center has since closed. The place is pretty empty - a bar and a restaurant were still open and that’s about all I saw…except for the Amtrak/Greyhound station.
I was also told there’s a hotel in the station, but I did not see one. I’m sort of flying blind here, and hope there is someone from Indianapolis on the forum who can help me out. I also heard that this is the oldest union station in the country. Is that true? Or is the oldest operating union station? It is, nonetheless, one impressive building.
That’s the place I believe. I was there about 20 years ago. The place was mostly full of little “shoppe” 's and food places. None looked too busy. It seemed a shame to do that to a big old building. My friends had to board a bus there a couple of years ago, in the middle of the night. Someone pickpocketed my friends purse, in a big crowd of bus passengers. She screamed at the top of her lungs untill the purse re-appeared. Sad, what so many stations have turned into.