Cleveland Amtrak station project centers on accessibility

Cleveland Amtrak station upgrades will bring $8 million in accessibility improvements to the downtown station used by Amtrak passengers in the city.

Cleveland Amtrak station upgrades and project scope

According to Cleveland.com, the project will include a new 1,200-foot-long concrete platform, new walkways and an expanded canopy. Also, the platform will feature a warning edge, railing, new signage and improved lighting.

Meanwhile, construction is expected to start this spring and be completed within 18 months. Train service is not expected to be disrupted while the project is underway.

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The improvements are part of a broader effort. That effort followed a 2020 settlement between Amtrak and the U.S. Department of Justice. The settlement addressed the railroad’s failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since that settlement, Amtrak has upgraded stations in more than 100 cities nationwide.

Other Ohio stations scheduled for upgrades

In addition, other Ohio stations are also scheduled for upgrades, including those in Elyria, Sandusky and Bryan.

Cleveland’s station was built in 1977. It is at 200 Memorial Shoreway, just south of Huntington Bank Field. It is the busiest in Ohio.

It handled 61,685 passengers in 2025, up 5% from the year before. Amtrak served a record 34.5 million passengers nationwide in 2025.

Passenger rail expansion plans in Ohio

Cleveland station is served by four trains each day. All of them arrive and depart in the dark.

The Lakeshore Limited runs between Chicago and New York City or Boston. It stops in Cleveland at 4:03 a.m. westbound and 5:38 a.m. eastbound.

The Floridian operates between Chicago and Miami via Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. It stops in Cleveland at 1:45 a.m. eastbound and 2:59 a.m. westbound.

At the same time, efforts continue to expand passenger rail service in Ohio. Possible new routes are in the planning stages. They include service from Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. They also include service from Cleveland to Detroit via Toledo, as Railway Supply reported.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission is part of the Ohio Department of Transportation. It is in the early stages of studying those potential routes for cost, speed and other factors.

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