Troy Transit Center

File:Front of the Troy Transit Center, Aug 2015.jpg

The transit center is located in the southwest corner of Troy at 1201 Doyle Drive.{{cite web|url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=TRM|title=Troy, MI (TRM)|website=amtrak.com|publisher=Amtrak|accessdate=2 Jan 2015}} It is about {{convert|1200|ft|m}} southwest of the former Birmingham Station and is situated behind the Midtown Square shopping center. The Oakland/Troy Airport is located just a few blocks away, on the east side of Coolidge Highway. The transit center has fairly easy access from both I-75 and Woodward Avenue (M-1).

The Troy Transit Center brings together the services of Amtrak, SMART buses and taxis. Designed by local architectural firm Neumann/Smith, the one story, {{convert|2000|sqfoot|m2|adj=on}} brick building includes a waiting room and restrooms, as well as large expanses of glass that allow natural light to flood the interior. There are 124 spaces for both long and short term free parking.{{cite news|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2014/10/14/troy-transit-center-opens/17242603/|title=Ceremony celebrates Troy Transit Center opening|last1=Bouffard|first1=Karen|last2=Ramirez|first2=Charles|newspaper=The Detroit News|publisher=MediaNews Group|location=Detroit|date=16 Oct 2014|accessdate=2 Jan 2015}} A pedestrian bridge over the tracks allows access to the western platform and protects passengers from inclement weather. There is no ticketing, nor even a Quik-Trak kiosk, and baggage cannot be checked. Station hours are midnight to 2:00 am, 5:00 am to 6:30 am, 10:00 am to 11:30 am, and 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm daily.{{cite web|url=http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/TRM|title=Troy, MI (TRM)|website=greatamericanstations.com|publisher=Amtrak|accessdate=2 Jan 2015}} The station has an elevation of {{convert|750|ft|m}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/troy.htm|title=USA Rail Guide: Troy, Michigan (TRM)|website=trainweb.org|last=Nagasaki|first=Hikki|accessdate=7 Jan 2015}}

There is a bus stand in front of the station and, according to the Troy Chamber of Commerce, there would be an estimated 18,200 SMART passengers stopping adjacent to the new transit center annually (about 50 per day).{{cite web|url=https://www.troymi.gov/Portals/0/Files/TransitCenter/TransitCenterBrochure.pdf|title=Troy Multi-modal Transit Center|website=troymi.gov|publisher=Troy Chamber of Commerce|accessdate=2 Jan 2014}} However, SMART buses were banned from the station in December 2016 as part of a long-running issues with the former owner of the land on which the station sits. A deal was struck in June 2017 allowing SMART to directly access the station again.{{cite news|last1=Laitner|first1=Bill|title=Finally! SMART buses can return to Troy's Amtrak station|url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2017/06/07/troy-transit-center-amtrak-smart-buses-legal-settlement-mass-transit/376031001/|accessdate=7 June 2017|date=6 June 2017}}

Of the 22 Michigan stations regularly served by Amtrak, Troy was the thirteenth-busiest in the Fiscal Year 2015, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 64 passengers daily.{{cite report|url=http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/MICHIGAN15.pdf|title=Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2015, State of Michigan|publisher=Amtrak|date=Nov 2015|accessdate=5 Mar 2016}} Although the Troy Transit Center replaced Birmingham station in early October 2014, the ridership for remained consistent following the change of stations.{{refn|group="Note"|name="data"|The indicated slight increase in the annual ridership for the Troy Transit Center combines the ridership data with the Birmingham station (which the Troy Transit Center replaced within the first two weeks of the Fiscal Year 2015) as if the two stations were one.}}

File:Troy Transit Center interior, Aug 2015.jpg

In 2000 a real estate developer, Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC, gave the city of Troy title to {{convert|2.7|acres|ha}} land on which to build a new station near the former Birmingham station.The land was part of an overall {{convert|77|acres|ha|disp=sqbr}} development which included the Midtown Square shopping center. However, title to the land was given with the express provision that funding for a transit center be secured within not more than ten years.{{cite news|url=http://www.candgnews.com/news/city-sues-title-transit-center-land|title=City sues for title to transit center land|last=Oparka|first=Terry|website=candgnews.com|publisher=C & G Newspapers|date=16 Jul 2014|accessdate=2 Nov 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2014/09/23/troy-transit-center-amtrak/16120483/|title=Troy council approves transit center lease with Amtrak|last=Hicks|first=Mark|newspaper=The Detroit News|publisher=MediaNews Group|location=Detroit|date=23 Sep 2014|accessdate=2 Nov 2014}}

In 2011, the cities of Birmingham and Troy were awarded a federal grant to assist in replacing the station with a new, multimodal transit center across the tracks in Troy. However, the city of Birmingham backed out of the project in 2008 and the mayor of Troy, Janice Daniels, rejected the funding on ideological grounds, thus terminating the project.{{cite web|url=http://subwaynut.com/amtrak/birmingham_mi/|title=Birmingham, MI|last=Cox|first=Jeremiah|website=subwaynut.com|date=Dec 2011|accessdate=2 Jan 2015}} The $6.3 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|6.3|2012|r=2}} million in {{currentyear}}) project was resurrected by a subsequent Troy city administration, with a groundbreaking on November 27, 2012 and final completion in October 2013.{{cite press release|url=http://www.troymi.gov/Resources/PressReleases/TroyBreaksGroundonNewTransitCenter.aspx|title=City of Troy Breaks Ground on Multi-Modal Transit Facility|accessdate=22 Jul 2013}} However, a legal dispute over title to the land under the transit center kept it from opening for another year. In late September 2014, a settlement by Troy to acquire the land was reached, allowing it to lease the site over the next twenty years to Amtrak. As part of the settlement the City of Troy was ordered to pay $1.05 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1.05|2012|r=2}} million in {{currentyear}}) to Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC for the land in dispute. After 14 years of effort, the station finally opened on October 14, 2014,{{Cite web |date=2014-10-13 |title=Michigan's Railroad History 1825 - 2014 |url=https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Travel/Mobility/Rail/Michigan-Railroad-History.pdf?rev=0e687838f8a540ae823113f2648e9015 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Michigan Department of Transportation}} with the nearby Birmingham station having permanently closed the day before.{{cite web|url=http://www.greatamericanstations.com/news-events/new-transit-center-opens-in-troy-michigan|title=New Transit Center Opens in Troy, Michigan|website=greatamericanstations.com|publisher=Amtrak|accessdate=3 Nov 2014}} Notwithstanding, the initial settlement to acquire the land, it took nearly another year before a final settlement was reached between the City of Troy and Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC. The final settlement required an additional payment of $3.1 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|3.1|2015|r=2}} million in {{currentyear}}) to Grand/Sakwa Properties, LLC.{{cite news|url=http://www.candgnews.com/news/troy-grand-sakwa-settle-suit-transit-center-property-cost-86198|title=Troy, Grand Sakwa settle suit on transit center property cost|last=Oparka|first=Terry|website=candgnews.com|publisher=C & G Newspapers|date=15 Sep 2015|accessdate=6 Mar 2016}}

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{{commons category|Troy Transit Center}}

{{amtrak web|TRM|Troy, MI}}

• [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/troy.htm Troy Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide - Train Web)]
• [https://www.troymi.gov/TransitCenter.aspx Official webpage by Troy, Michigan]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110923231328/http://www.smartbus.org/Pages/default.aspx Official SMART Website]
• {{YouTube|id=jsMwrLtc8JA|title=Troy Transit Center. Amtrak and Station Tour. 4K}}
• {{vimeo|id=145900460|title=Troy Transit Center}}

{{Amtrak Michigan stations}}

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Category:Amtrak stations in Michigan

Category:Buildings and structures in Troy, Michigan

Category:Transportation in Oakland County, Michigan

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 2014