There have been four New York Central Railroad stations on Exchange Street in Buffalo. Buffalo's first true railroad passenger station was built in 1848 on Exchange Street. It was a small brick building that was added to or changed at least 5 times during its use. It was built by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. The third station on the site was built in 1880. The biggest issue with the Exchange Street site at the time aside from the station's small size for being the main station in Buffalo was that it was plagued with downtown congestion as the crossings in and out of the area were at grade and therefore had to contend with busy city streets. The station's importance declined after Buffalo Central Terminal which was built to solve the issues at the Exchange Street site opened in 1929. The third Exchange Street station was closed on November 13, 1935, and demolished shortly after.
Fourth station building
Planning for the fourth and final New York Central structure began in 1949. New York heavily funded the station as being part of the Skyway construction. The total cost was $7 million. The station opened on August 2, 1952 as a secondary station to the Buffalo Central Terminal. The station originally served 21 New York Central and Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway trains daily. The double track station had two side platforms connected by an overhead walkway. Soon after the station was built passenger rail service began a steep decline that would eventually lead to the end of private passenger rail service in the United States. As part of the decline and problems within the railroad, in 1961, the New York Central Railroad ceased passenger operations to Niagara Falls, and the station building was closed, though some trains continued to stop at the platforms for a brief time. During this time the overhead walkway that connected the station's two platforms was demolished. On October 29, 1978, Amtrak routed the Niagara Rainbow through Niagara Falls, restoring service to downtown Buffalo and to the station. One old platform was reused immediately; a temporary structure was used for Niagara Rainbow and Empire State Express passengers while the station building was renovated. Exchange Street became one of the two main Buffalo train stations alongside the then-new Buffalo–Depew station when Buffalo Central Terminal closed in 1979. The line was later reduced to single track in the 1980s and the second platform was abandoned. By the 2000s, the Buffalo–Exchange Street station had gained a reputation for being long outdated and in a such a deteriorating condition that it got dubbed as one of the saddest Amtrak stations in America by CityLab in 2015. In September 2016, the station building was temporarily closed due to a partial collapse during heavy rains, further highlighting the need for a new station. The platforms remained open for passengers. Demolition of the 1952 station began on August 22, 2019, to make way for the new station.
Replacement station
Beginning in 2016, there were proposals to replace the station with either a station at Canalside or at Buffalo Central Terminal as part of that building's restoration. The downtown location - close to the current Exchange Street location - was chosen because of its proximity to the central business district, though public opinion strongly favored the Buffalo Central Terminal site. Supporters of the latter site alleged that the selection was made for political favors rather than on the merits of the downtown site. On April 17, 2017, a panel including Buffalo mayor Byron Brown approved the downtown location. The New York State Department of Transportation awarded a $27.7 million design-build contract in December 2018, with completion expected in Fall 2020. Construction of a temporary station began in June 2019. The new station will be and be closer to Exchange Street and higher in elevation so the building is not shadowed by the nearby Interstate 190 viaduct. In addition there will be a lit, covered pedestrian walkway under I-190 to connect the train station to Metro Rail on Main Street. The station will also have a high-level platform, space for a waiting room on the east side of the building, and 14 canopied parking spaces for Greyhound, Trailways and NFTA buses if they are later added. The new Buffalo–Exchange Street station in 2020 comes as part of upgrades being made to the Empire Corridor which also included new stations in Niagara Falls in 2016, Rochester in 2017 and Schenectady in 2018.
