Dunkirk’s planning and development director has asked the city to set aside $20,000 for a feasibility study on a new Amtrak station.

Vince DeJoy made the proposal during a presentation at a meeting of the council’s Economic Development Committee. DeJoy said he recently met about an Amtrak station with SUNY Fredonia President Stephen Kolison, Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, Kolison’s special assistant Kevin Kearns and representatives of Stone Consulting, a Warren, Pa., firm specializing in railroad affairs.

“We’re in the very infant stages of looking at the feasibility of it,” he said.

SUNY Fredonia has a deep interest in the project because it sees an Amtrak station as something that can attract, and transport, students from points both east and west of here, DeJoy said.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer also expressed support for an Amtrak station in Dunkirk during a conference call Monday, DeJoy said.

The station is envisioned as an “intermodal hub” — in other words, it would not only handle Amtrak trains, but things such as buses and ride sharing services. The old station at Third and Main streets, currently used by the CSX freight line, appears to be a non-starter.

DeJoy said a 2001 study considered renovating the station. “It was very expensive and cost-prohibitive and the configuration wouldn’t work,” he said.

Randy Gustafson of Stone Consulting said the city should site a new station on the north side of the tracks, so CSX trains wouldn’t interfere with Amtrak. “I think this is worth pursuing,” he said. “We have to talk to Amtrak and make sure they want a stop. We can’t assume they will.”

DeJoy later said, “There are several potential locations on the north side. Nothing absolute yet.”

Roy Davis, a longtime railroad industry veteran and enthusiast, was asked to speak by DeJoy. He said it is a great time to seek funding for passenger rail projects, as the state Department of Transportation is making it a priority. An example of that is the new station recently constructed in Buffalo, he said.

Davis offered information about the “Connects US” program Amtrak proposed in April, an ambitious expansion of its service.

He noted the plan includes a possible new service between New York and Cleveland, in addition to the Lake Shore Limited that currently runs between New York and Chicago.

A look at Amtrak’s map of proposed additions in the Northeast also shows a new station in Chautauqua County — in Westfield, not Dunkirk.

The map is available at www.amtrakconnectsus.com