BUFFALO, N.Y. — A New York State panel has decided that Buffalo’s new train station should be built downtown. In an 11-4 vote, panel members were in favor of a downtown facility and not the former New York Central, Central Terminal statio...
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/04/24-buffalo-to-get-new-downtown-station
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
It's a disappointment but understandable. I really can't imagine that traffic was that heavy that it justified such a huge building in the first place but I could be wrong. But wasn't traffic already declining by the time the building was finished?
Wasn't Buffalo also kind of a gateway to the resort area of Niagra Falls, NY as well as Canada? If it was I could understand why they built such a large terminal. Though I think the tower should have probably been a hotel instead of general offices.
During the world war 2, the building handled a huge amount traffic. The post war decline in passenger trains thru the 50's, hurt the terminal like the rest of the industry.
By 1957, NYC decided it was going to exit the business and many trains were discontinued or combined. In1966-67 NYC work out a deal with new York state that more or less said, the state would not stand in the way of the rail road efforts to discontinue most of its long distance trains thru the state as long as it created the empire service we have today between NYC and western NY.
Thus the empire service was born, and the 20 the century Ltd and many of her sisters died. Buffalo central terminal began her death spiral. A huge station with far to little trains.
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