The new $27.7 million Exchange Street Train Station is looking a little violet these days. The former brick bunker of a station has been torn down and the new facility is being constructed in its place. A temporary structure is serving as a station until the new building opens in September.

The station is an important stop along the Niagara Branch of the Empire Corridor, linking Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Toronto. Approximately 38,000 passengers use the station annually.

Seating capacity at the facility will increase from 20 to 40 persons, while the image of a Buffalo will also be featured at the center of the station’s Terrazzo floor. The existing station’s low-level platform will be replaced by a new train-level platform for easier boarding.

A planned second phase of the project will expand the station further to accommodate intercity bus service and additional train routes, creating an intermodal transit center.