Joliet Opens 1st New Train Station In A Century

JOLIET, IL - While most of Joliet was still sound asleep on Wednesday morning, Joliet City Clerk Christa Desiderio was running out picking up donuts. She ordered 400 donuts. City officials began serving free donuts and coffee starting at 4:30 a.m. By 10 a.m., less than two dozen donuts remained. Wednesday marked a milestone event for the city of Joliet. It's been eight years since former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced plans to build a new commuter train station in downtown Joliet. Now, finally, the Joliet Gateway Center is open to the public. The new train depot services commuter lines for Metra and Amtrak.

"It's a great day for Joliet. We have a state of the art train station," remarked Mike Eulitz, the city of Joliet's public assets manager. He believes it's only a matter of time before Amtrak expands its rail services out of downtown Joliet as well.

Kendall Jackson, the city's director of community development, said there was a large contingent of Metra commuters who entered the Joliet Gateway Center around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

On a given day, Jackson said, 1,500 to 1,600 people will use downtown Joliet's new train station. Commuter safety was also a top priority for the city, he said. The city has hired a private security firm to provide concierge services. The Joliet Gateway Center is off Jefferson Street across the street from Route 66 Joliet Stadium, home of the Joliet Slammers.

What was the reaction from Wednesday's commuters?

"Mostly positive," Jackson told Patch. "The commuters seem to like the physical space, the architectural convenience ... it can be their first stop, their first experience to Joliet, so we wanted to make this a first-class facility that commuters would be wanting to use."

Jackson stressed the city is still in the process of making some additional improvements to the Gateway Center. "We want to improve the pedestrian signage," he said.

Here's a couple important facts to know about the Joliet Gateway Center:

• Metra ticket agent hours are from 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Amtrak ticket agent hours are from 5:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, and Saturday and Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"I think Amtrak has plans to expand," Jackson told Joliet Patch. "We hope this develops as truly a regional transportation hub."

The Joliet Herald-News has reported that the Gateway Center was originally projected as a $42 million venture and current expenses were in the neighborhood of $51 million.

For more information about the Gateway Center construction project, visit the city of Joliet website here.

Main image via city of Joliet, other images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor