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Columbia council approves first-reading of Amtrak station lease amendment after resident urges future daytime service
Summary
City council voted unanimously on first reading to authorize a third amendment to the lease for the Amtrak station on Pulaski Street; a resident urged the council and staff to pursue daytime passenger-rail service and noted the station handled about 27,000 riders last year.
The Columbia City Council on April 1, 2025, approved on first reading Ordinance No. 2025-018 authorizing execution of a third amendment to the lease for the Amtrak station on Pulaski Street.
The measure, carried as an ordinance on first reading, passed unanimously in a roll-call vote after one member of the public, resident Reagan Freeman, spoke during the public-input period to thank the council for renewing the lease and to urge attention to broader passenger-rail opportunities.
Freeman told council members she met with “Assistant Manager Simons” and said the station served “27,000 people used that station last year,” noting that trains currently depart Columbia as early as 4 a.m. and as late as midnight. “I think there's something there,” Freeman said, arguing the city is well positioned to pursue future daytime passenger connections to nearby cities.
Council did not discuss specifics of the lease amendment during the meeting; the ordinance was introduced as an item authorizing a third amendment to the existing lease and moved directly to a vote. The first-reading vote was recorded as unanimous: Councilmembers Bailey, Brown, Herbert, Bussell, Brennan, McDowell and Mayor Daniel J. Rickman all voted “aye.”
The ordinance text and the exact commercial or term changes contained in the third amendment were not described on the public record at the meeting. The city clerk read the ordinance number and title before the roll call; no mover or seconder names were recorded in the audio transcript.
The item had surfaced on the agenda after public comment praising the station’s connectivity; Freeman noted ongoing South Carolina Department of Transportation and regional planning discussions about passenger-rail feasibility between Columbia and Charlotte and Raleigh, but said those studies are separate from the lease action before council.
Council approved the ordinance on first reading; additional readings or administrative steps required to finalize the amended lease were not specified during the meeting.
