Mystic - The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce will cease manning the Visitors Information Center inside Mystic's Amtrak train station after March 15.

Tricia Walsh, president of the Mystic business association, said Wednesday that the decision to cease visitors center operations at the train station was "mutually agreed" to by the chamber and Amtrak. The chamber's lease was up for renewal, she added.

Walsh said she understands Amtrak will be looking for a tenant that is willing to display tourism and train information within the depot space that has served visitors for the past 14 years. In the meanwhile, she said, people arriving by train will be directed down the street to the chamber offices in the Packer Building, which will have brochures on display and staff able to answer questions.

"Staffing during the week was an issue," Walsh said in a phone interview, praising the "fabulous and wonderful" volunteers who put in many hours over the years.

Unfortunately, volunteers were hard to come by, she said, and this winter's miserable weather and illnesses meant coverage at the center had been spotty.

"Amtrak and we in a perfect world would have liked to have seen extended hours," Walsh said.

Visitor center hours were only from 10-1 Monday through Friday and 10-4 on the weekends, but only if volunteers were available on the weekdays and paid staff could make it through the snow on the weekends, she said.

Walsh said the chamber had been looking for more assistance from Amtrak in manning the visitors center, but Mystic was considered an "unmanned station" so the train operator was not willing to help.

Still, she said, there is no animosity between Amtrak and the chamber and Walsh looks forward to working with a new tenant at the depot as a business partner in providing tourist information.

Walsh said she does not know what kind of business Amtrak is hoping to attract to the space, and a message left with the train operator was not returned.

Previously, she said, the space had served as the home for a parcel service and barber shop.

Ed Dombroskas, executive director of the Eastern Connecticut Regional Tourism District, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the chamber vacating its space at the train depot. He pointed out that the chamber office itself used to be at the train station and that when the business association moved out, Amtrak had asked it to continue manning the space as a visitors center.

Dombroskas and Walsh both said they were concerned about the timing of the visitor center withdrawal just as tourism season starts to heat up.

"My concern is if someone is coming by train from New York and is unfamiliar with the area, where are they going to be able to find information," Dombroskas said.

But Walsh said she was hopeful a new tenant would be able to move in quickly and provide the extended hours that will give visitors improved services in the months ahead.

"The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and Amtrak remain committed to serving visitors and passengers to this area and will continue to work together in the months and years to come," the chamber said in a release.

Dombroskas pointed out that another visitors center at the Old Mistick Village Shopping Center, operated year round as a profit-making business, gets the lion's share of tourists seeking information about the area.

Dombroskas added that the visitors center change is unrelated to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget proposal that defunds the local tourism district. Hearings next week in Hartford will give tourism districts statewide a chance to plead their case for reinstatement with the hopes that legislators will restore funding as they have done in years past.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow