The towering structure, which features massive arched windows of green-and-blue glass and a clock tower that stands out on the old industrial-city skyline, has become an island of activity in a downtown still struggling to overcome its drab demeanor.

Patrons who like the station mention the elevated platforms, which mean they no longer must scramble over tracks and hoist their baggage up into the cars. Train buffs and parents with small children routinely pass the time in the glass-enclosed walkway, which spans the tracks and provides a bird's-eye view of trains as they arrive and depart.

When riders do complain, the most common gripe is about parking.

A day of parking in the attached garage costs $6 a day. On days like Tuesday, when the garage is full, some travelers must park in the lots next to the old station, where it costs $3 or $4, depending on the location, and haul luggage to the station in the rain.

"This is 45 pounds," said Mary Ann Sonnenfroh of Rotterdam, pointing to the suitcase her daughter, Misty LaPorte, is taking on a two-week trip to India. "I'm glad it has wheels. Thank God we only had one."

The cramped 23,000-square-foot station that the new building replaced was a dreary 1970s-style relic opened in 1983.

"This is a major improvement," said David Bowers of Albany, a state Education Department employee, as he perused a newspaper in the coffee shop and awaited a late-running train to Poughkeepsie. "This brings travel by train into the 21st century. It's such a pleasant atmosphere. It almost feels like I'm at the airport."

Scott Bassinson of Delmar, an environmental lawyer with the state attorney general's office, was preparing to board a train to Penn Station in Manhattan.

"It's much better than the old station. It's comfortable, it's updated. There's better coffee," he said with a smile, raising his cup from the Coffee Beanery.

Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the station's grand opening. During that time, passenger traffic has picked up. In the year ending Aug. 31, 627,800 train trips began or concluded in Rensselaer, a 1.4 percent increase over the previous 12-month period.

The numbers suggest a slight rebound in ridership through Rensselaer, which grew through 2000, but dropped the next two years.

"I'm sure that some of it is attributable to the new station," Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said of the increased traffic. "We've found that when there's investment in passenger rail, the customers respond."

The 72,000-square-foot station, which Amtrak lists as Albany/Rensselaer, remains the 14th busiest in the nation and a major business-travel link to New York City.

Despite the popularity of its Empire routes in New York, however, Amtrak's operations are again overshadowed this fall by uncertainty over the federal budget battle for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Amtrak President David Gunn says the railroad needs $1.8 billion to avoid sharp cuts in service and to repair infrastructure, but the Bush administration has asked Congress for only half that amount. Employees have threatened a one-day strike on Oct. 3.

For the Capital District Transportation Authority, which was at the center of outrage over soaring costs and delays during construction of the station, operating it has turned out to be a welcome calm after the storm. CDTA spokesman Carm Basile described the first year as a time when the authority, which spent more than three years building the station, finally became "comfortable" with its new role.

Despite concerns immediately before the station opened that the revenue, which includes lease payments from Amtrak and other tenants, might not cover operating costs, Basile said it is running in the black. Thanks in large part to $360,000 in parking revenue, the station posted $534,000 in revenue during the first five months of a fiscal year that began April 1, Basile said. Expenses were roughly $468,000.

Because construction was funded largely by state and federal grants, there is no construction debt on the station.

One major goal that remains unfulfilled is leasing 2,900 square feet of office space on the mezzanine, which had been expected to generate up to $49,000 a year.

"We're disappointed, but not discouraged," Basile said. "It is proving to be a very difficult market."

Unexpectedly, the station has turned into something of a community center for Rensselaer locals. The Friar Tuck bookstore and newsstand is one of just a handful of shops in the city, and local customers have warmed to the Coffee Beanery, as well.

Last week, the Rensselaer post office moved in from its long-ago-outgrown home on Broadway. A postal store is to open later, and there is more room and convenience for postal box customers. "Having a 24-hour lobby, I'm sure, is a plus," because customers can pick up their mail at any time, Postmaster Jim Foley said.

Mayor Mark Pratt said there's been an increase in activity around the station, which makes him optimistic that the station will boost economic development efforts in the city.

He noted that the station project included reconstruction of the Herrick Street Bridge, restoring a popular route between Broadway and Washington Street.

"The impact has been subtle, but there has been an impact," Pratt said. "We're using the train station as a centerpiece for revitalizing the downtown."