Railfanning at new E Lansing Amtrak Station

[NS8Q]

Has anybody been able to successfully railfan at the new East Kansing Amtrak Station? I was reviewing the corporate rules on photography and videography, and they say unless you are a ticketed passenger, the train platforms are a restricted area. That is how I interpret them. There are very few videos online from there, so I’m wondering if they crack down on that kind of thing.

[NS3322]

Has anybody been able to successfully railfan at the new East Kansing Amtrak Station? I was reviewing the corporate rules on photography and videography, and they say unless you are a ticketed passenger, the train platforms are a restricted area. That is how I interpret them. There are very few videos online from there, so I’m wondering if they crack down on that kind of thing.

I visited shortly after the new station opened and no one was there! (It was a Sunday). I think someone was in the office, but he never made his presence known.

[MiRailProductions]

Has anybody been able to successfully railfan at the new East Kansing Amtrak Station? I was reviewing the corporate rules on photography and videography, and they say unless you are a ticketed passenger, the train platforms are a restricted area. That is how I interpret them. There are very few videos online from there, so I’m wondering if they crack down on that kind of thing.

I've been there for a few hours once, nobody said anything to us.

[NS8Q]

Sounds good...do you pay for parking there? It used to be free at the old station.

[MiRailProductions]

Sounds good...do you pay for parking there? It used to be free at the old station.

You do have to pay nowadays, it's not a hefty fee but I wasn't too happy when I saw that.

[MiddleMI]

Sounds good...do you pay for parking there? It used to be free at the old station.

I...feel you knew this and decided to stir.

Here's a solution: park over in the shopping center lot on the north side of Trowbridge, and walk the block down to the station property. Easy as pie. And there is a great cupcake shop in the plaza, now, and a Tim Horton's in the gas station if you're looking for some coffee to keep you warm.

[Stinger4me]

Is Amtrak protecting the passengers or protecting railfans from themselves? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Is Amtrak protecting the passengers or protecting railfans from themselves? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

Probably neither. Previous posts about the station have alluded to its use by transients as shelter. Supposedly the benches are far less comfortable now, so as to discourage people from sleeping on them, especially people who aren't ticketed passengers. Declaring the area as "restricted" gives Amtrak and the local authorities greater ability to respond to any problems that pop up, especially where non-customers are concerned, with a heavier hand than if the area wasn't "restricted".

[jrgerber]

As someone who has called the East Lansing Amtrak station his railfanning home for over 21 years I feel somewhat compelled to put all of this in perspective. I've had zero problems railfanning at the East Lansing Amtrak station either in its previous incarnation or now. There was never I repeat never a serious problem with homeless people either at the old station or the new station. It is true when they converted the old Amtrak station to a bus station there were passengers and potential problems as well. Yes CATA spent thousands of dollars of taxpayer money building slated seats and those all been replaced at a cost of thousands of dollars but still have the "rail bars" on them. Again it was a solution in search of a problem. Of course there are many many questions about CATA and its stewardship of taxpayer monies just look at the stories in the Lansing State Journal over the past 12 months. As a taxpayer I find it repugnant that CATA can charge for parking when not once cent of CATA money was spent building the parking lot or the station. I'm glad Amtrak changed its hours to serve the late arriving train. That was a positive move. This latest designation of "restricted" is not necessary and again CATA overkill. If anyone or anything needs to be restricted its the incompetence of CATA management and their mystery accounting schemes.

Railfanning in East Lansing has died a slow death. Several reasons for this. The biggest one is the lack of CSX traffic and the loss of the CP traffic on the Plymouth Sub. The neighborhood has changed as well with the loss of Goodrich's Quality Dairy. One key railfan died within the past two years, he held the group together. Some have drifted off to Durand and others have just stopped coming out. I haven't been out much this winter due to health issues and the bitter cold. However I will continue to call East Lansing my railfan home and am looking forward to warmer weather and will likely bring my new puppy out for walk with me. The East Lansing railfan group was made up of State of Michigan and GM employees far from being driftless vagrants that others would have you believe. When my 19 year old son died several came to the viewing and I will always always consider them some of the finest people I've had the pleasure of meeting and being with on this earth. I do miss the good old days but who knows there maybe better days ahead.

[PatAzo]

Is Amtrak protecting the passengers or protecting railfans from themselves? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

I suspect it originated in the post 9/11 paranoia that anyone with a camera was a terrorist gathering intel. The policy and signage restricting platforms to ticketed passengers appeared about the same time. Ten years or so ago Amtrak, some of the east coast commuter lines and their zealous police forces were taking a lot of flak for detaining and arresting photographers This was mostly New York and New Jersey. They eased off on photographers once a couple cases headed to the courts.

[Todd_F]

THEY HAVE RULES!?!?

I've shot there a LOT during and after the new structure went up (2016/2017) and spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours there with no issues. I usually park in the quick pick-up/drop off loop and haven't been harangued or even side glanced by the depot agent or ticket cops who frequents the pay lot.

Shoot it from the front.
Shoot it from the back.
Shoot it from the inside.
Shoot it from across the tracks.
Shoot it from across the road.
Shoot all afternoon or night.
Just shoot it!

[NSSD70ACe]

Railfanned there back in September. First time out in East Lansing with the camera, didn't have any issues. My one complaint was the fact that I missed the one CSX local that came through


As long as you're not acting like you're one of the nuts on my floor (i.e. stupid, buzzed, etc.) you should be fine.