— Johnstown’s train station has new owners with plans to inject new life into the once-bustling transportation hub.

A local ownership group has donated the Walnut Street building to Johnstown Area Heritage Association, and association administrators plan to establish a visitors center in the spacious but long-vacant former waiting room.

Amtrak service will continue, but the association’s plans also may include shuttle-bus service to local landmarks. And there likely won’t be much turnaround time for planned improvements, said Richard Burkert, association president.

“There are some maintenance issues, but generally it’s in pretty good condition,” Burkert said Thursday. “What we hope to do is have it open for visitors in 2011.”

Johnstown’s station dates to 1915-16. At the time, the steel-making city was an increasingly important stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s main line.

The ornate structure was designed by an architect named Kenneth Murchison.

“Architecturally, it’s quite magnificent,” Burkert said.

But use has declined, and Amtrak now stops only one train eastbound and westbound each day in Johnstown. As part of a renovation in the mid-1990s, Amtrak functions were moved to a separate part of the building.

The structure’s most-impressive feature – its spacious, high-ceilinged waiting room – sits vacant.

“It’s a vastly underutilized space,” Burkert said.

Heritage association administrators plan to change that.

As early as 1991, a study suggested that the train station could serve as a visitors center for a proposed network of historical sites in the city.

That’s now called Johnstown Discovery Network, and it includes sites such as the Inclined Plane, Johnstown Flood Museum and Heritage Discovery Center. Relatively recent additions include the Wagner-Ritter House and Garden and two Discovery Center amenities – Johnstown Children’s Museum and the Mystery of Steel theater and exhibit.

Other aspects of the network still are developing:

• A Civil War-era blacksmith shop in the former Cambria Iron Works complex has undergone renovations with the idea of installing a working smithy that also could attract tourists.

• An effort is under way to renovate and light the historic Stone Bridge over the Conemaugh River and Route 56.

• In the shadow of that bridge – and near the train station – is Festival Park, which has hosted the annual gathering now known as Flood City Music Festival since 2004.

Association leaders plan to soon begin large-scale park upgrades including renovation of the “oil house” and installation of a 600-seat pavilion.

In that context, Burkert believes the need for a “central hub” for the network is clear. And that’s where the train station comes in.

“I think it’s all going to fit together quite nicely,” he said.

Along with installation of a visitors center at the station, Burkert also envisions a shuttle for those traveling to nearby attractions. Eventually, that could extend to a “transportation link” to more distant sites such as the Johnstown Flood National Memorial in the South Fork area.

That’s not to say that anyone is dismissing the building’s use as a passenger-rail station; Burkert said he would like to encourage visitors to Johnstown to use Amtrak service.

And while Amtrak has limited its city stops, local ridership actually has been increasing in recent years. Amtrak statistics show 17,368 riders at the Johnstown station in fiscal year 2007; 19,206 riders in fiscal 2008; and 20,485 in fiscal 2009.

Nonetheless, Burkert said those involved in S.F.B. Co. – the station’s former owners – decided that they no longer wanted the property for various reasons.

“We’ve been talking to them for over a year to negotiate the transfer,” Burkert said.

The donation includes the station’s parking lot and an area stretching to the nearby Borco building. In a statement issued through the heritage association, S.F.B. administrators said they were “pleased to assist in developing the Johnstown Discovery Network.”

“The train station is an integral part of

Johnstown history and heritage, and the SFB partners believe that giving the building to JAHA for the benefit of visitors will ensure its long-term legacy,” the statement said.