Funding for the $12 million project was finalized Wednesday. Construction bids will be solicited by the end of the summer and construction is expected to begin before the end of the year, county planner Chris Neumann told members of the county's Transportation Coordinating Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

Renovations could be complete two years from now, Neumann said.

That couldn't be soon enough for Amtrak riders, who have begun crowding the station due to the rise in gas prices.

Amtrak's Rich Esposito told transportation committee members that ridership at the Lancaster station increased 17 percent in May over the same month last year.

The highest ridership is on early morning commuter trains to Philadelphia. The first two trains - departing Lancaster weekdays at 5:35 and 7:06 a.m. - are now usually at standing room only by the time they reach Philadelphia, Esposito said.

With the station renovations, those commuters will have more spaces to park. The station now has 175 spaces. When renovations are complete, the under-utilized area now used for Amtrak employee parking and materials storage will be used for a 237-space parking lot.

That lot is expected to be filled immediately, Neumann said. Planners are aware that many rail commuters are now parking along streets near the station and in other parking lots, he said.

The renovations also include shop areas on the station's first and second floors, said Neumann. Those areas will likely be leased to coffee shop or newsstand vendors, he said.

The Lancaster County Planning Commission is also doing a redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the northern Lancaster City station. Further neighborhood development may support a future restaurant in the station, he said.

Plans also call for a separate ticketing and waiting area for bus passengers and a separate pickup area for taxis.

Esposito also noted that the plans call for the addition of air conditioning to the station, built in 1929.

He recounted taking an early train during the heat wave earlier this week. It was 91 degrees inside the station with five fans running, he said.

Outside, there will be glass canopies over the station entrance, the train platforms and the Red Rose Transit bus shelter.

Plans for renovations of rail cars into restaurants and for a historical exhibit on Lancaster's rail passenger service have been scrapped, Neumann said.

The project has been a long process, he acknowledged.

The station renovations were first proposed in 1997. A feasibility study was completed the next year, he said. It took until 2003 before architect Cooper-Cary was hired.

The cost of the project - originally $7.5 million - increased due to inflation and the discovery of asbestos, lead and contaminated soils on the site, he said.