OH: Amtrak to invest $8M in Cleveland station upgrades to improve accessibility
Amtrak is investing $8 million in its downtown Cleveland station to make it more accessible for passengers.
The project includes building a new 1,200-foot-long concrete platform, along with new walkways and an expanded canopy. The new platform will feature a warning edge, railing, new signage and improved lighting.
Work is expected to start this spring and be completed within 18 months, according to Amtrak.
Train service is not expected to be disrupted during construction.
The improvements are part of a broader effort following a 2020 settlement between Amtrak and the U.S. Department of Justice over the railroad’s failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since then, Amtrak has upgraded stations in more than 100 cities nationwide.
Additional Ohio stations are scheduled for upgrades, including facilities in Elyria, Sandusky and Bryan.
Cleveland’s station, built in 1977 and located at 200 Memorial Shoreway, just south of Huntington Bank Field, is Ohio’s busiest, with 61,685 passengers in 2025. That’s a 5% increase over the year before.
Nationwide, Amtrak served a record 34.5 million passengers in 2025.
The Cleveland station is served by four trains daily, all arriving and departing in the dark. The Lakeshore Limited travels between Chicago and New York City/ Boston, stopping in Cleveland at 4:03 a.m. west bound and 5:38 a.m. east bound.
The Floridian travels from Chicago to Miami, via Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., with stops in Cleveland at 1:45 a.m. east bound and 2:59 a.m. west bound.
Meanwhile, efforts continue to expand passenger rail service in Ohio. Several possible new routes are in the planning stages, including service from Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati and service from Cleveland to Detroit via Toledo.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission, part of the Ohio Department of Transportation, is in the early stages of studying the potential routes for cost, speed and other factors.
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