 While Union Station was busy from its opening and through World War II , passenger rail service began to dwindle after the war when air and highway travel became more popular . By the 1960s , the New York Central drastically cut service , while the Pennsylvania abandoned service to Erie altogether . Both railroads were merged in 1968 to form Penn Central , and passenger rail was transferred from Penn Central to Amtrak in 1971 . At one point , from 1972 to 1975 , even Amtrak service in Erie was suspended . With reduced demand for train travel , Union Station was largely neglected and allowed to decay until Logistics Plus bought it in 2003 . Since then , it has been restored and portions re @-@ purposed as commercial and retail space . 
