Dedication ceremony slated for Joliet train station

The city will hold a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the Joliet Gateway Center train station.

The event will include speakers from the public-private partnership that helped make the station a reality, the city said in a news release.

The 10,000-square-foot station opened April 11.

The two-story station includes Metra and Amtrak offices, indoor waiting areas on both floors, and elevator and stair access to the new Metra platforms.

Station hours are 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The station also has space for a coffee shop, which is expected to open in the coming weeks.

The station is part of a larger Gateway Center project that included realignment of railroad tracks to eliminate a downtown bottleneck for freight traffic and increase passenger safety.

New boarding platforms for the Metra Rock Island and Heritage Corridor lines were built.

The train station is a stop on the high-speed rail corridor that runs from Chicago to St. Louis.

The project also includes plans for a new bus station, which would be built if the city obtains funding.

The former Union Station was closed for commuters as the city moved boarding platforms to the east side of the tracks. But the MyGrain Brewing Co. opened its brewpub in Union Station, which also is home to a banquet facility run by the Mistwood Golf Club.