From The Grand Rapids Press:

Dignitaries gather and toss dirt for the ground breaking ceremony for the new Amtrak station, including Mayor Hartwell and former congressman Vern Ehlers.

The project is funded through a $3.8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. Last year, the DDA approved an $850,000 request to help the Rapid and M-DOT buy the land and leverage the federal earmark.

The new station and platform will be adjacent to the existing Rapid station and is intended to cut commute times on Amtrak’s Pere Marquette line between Grand Rapids and Chicago.

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/10/officials_break_ground_on_amtr.html