City Hall Philadelphia is one of the most beautiful buildings in the country and is already connected underground to SEPTA's Suburban Station. With Amtrak service at Suburban and Market East Stations, we would improve access to such important destinations as the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Reading Terminal Market, Independence Mall, the museums of the Ben Franklin Parkway, the Kimmel Center, Academy of Music, and the Comcast Center.
To support this concept, imagine if we changed the name of 'Suburban Station' (which means absolutely nothing to anyone outside the Delaware Valley) to 'City Hall Station.' The Greater Philadelphia Marketing and Tourism Board, which has done a marvelous job of promoting tourism in our region, would have a field day selling the Amtrak service with the back drop of City Hall in its marketing materials.
For years, New York has dreamed of connecting Grand Central and Penn Station to allow Amtrak and other commuter lines to access both stations, but it can't afford it. London on the other hand has made a bigger commitment to rail by spending billions of British Pounds, and has completed 'Thameslink', a north/south connection in Central London between St. Pancras and London Bridge stations, and is now constructing 'Crossrail' an east/west link between Paddington and Liverpool Street stations, and is planning a third project 'Crossrail 2' from Victoria to Euston Stations. ... Read more at PBJ.com.
