Birmingham station (Alabama)

Last updated
Birmingham, AL
Birmingham Depot.jpg
The Amtrak Crescent train at Birmingham station in February 2009
General information
Location1819 Morris Avenue
Birmingham, Alabama
United States
Coordinates 33°30′44″N86°48′26″W / 33.51222°N 86.80722°W / 33.51222; -86.80722
Owned by CSX Transportation
Line(s) CSX Boyles Terminal Subdivision
Platforms2 island platforms, 1 in use
Tracks2
Construction
ParkingMore than 100 long term spaces in a nearby City of Birmingham lot
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station code Amtrak: BHM
History
Opened2017
Original company Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Passengers
FY 202332,738 [1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Tuscaloosa
toward New Orleans
Crescent Anniston
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Montgomery Floridian Decatur
toward Chicago
Montgomery
toward Mobile
Gulf Breeze Terminus
Location
Birmingham station (Alabama)

Birmingham station is a train station in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a service stop for Amtrak's Crescent , which provides daily service between New York City, Atlanta, and New Orleans. The current station is located on the site of another station originally built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1960, although Amtrak did not use the building itself, which was torn down in the 2000s.

Contents

History

The L&N built the new station for $500,000, replacing Union Station which it had used since 1887. Union Station was also served by the Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad until the 1930s. One writer described this new station as "modern in every respect." [2] :322

Passenger services in L&N years

Through the 1960s, these long distance Louisville & Nashville trains served the Birmingham station: [3]

Since 1971

When Amtrak assumed control of most inter-city passenger service on May 1, 1971, its Floridian continued to use the L&N station. The Southern Railway, which had declined to join Amtrak, continued to use its own station several blocks to the northeast. On February 1, 1979, the Southern Railway conveyed its passenger service to Amtrak and the Southern Crescent (shortened to Crescent) began serving the ex-L&N station as well. [4] :310 Amtrak discontinued the Floridian in October 1979 but the Crescent has operated uninterrupted ever since. Between 1989 and 1995 Alabama funded a Mobile, Alabama section of the Crescent named the Gulf Breeze .

The Birmingham Intermodal Facility, which opened in 2017, combines several modes of ground transportation in one central location: the MAX bus central station, Greyhound bus service, Megabus service, Amtrak passenger rail and the city's Zyp bike program. The $32 million facility also includes a Birmingham Police substation, a food service area, a retail space and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority's corporate offices. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Crescent</i> (train) Amtrak service between New York and New Orleans

The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and New Orleans. The 1,377-mile (2,216 km) route connects the Northeast to the Gulf Coast via the Appalachian Piedmont, with major stops in Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railway (U.S.)</span> Defunct United States railroad

The Southern Railway was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1982, when it merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) to form the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railroad was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.

<i>Pan-American</i> (train) Cincinnati-New Orleans passenger rail service

The Pan-American was a passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) between Cincinnati, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1921 until 1971. From 1921 to 1965 a section served Memphis, Tennessee via Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pan-American was the L&N's flagship train until the introduction of the Humming Bird in 1946. Its name honored the substantial traffic the L&N carried to and from the seaports on the Gulf of Mexico. The Pan-American was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971.

<i>Floridian</i> (Amtrak train, 1971–1979) Former Amtrak train between Chicago and Florida

The Floridian was a train operated by Amtrak from 1971 to 1979 that ran between Chicago and Florida, with two branches south of Jacksonville terminating at Miami and St. Petersburg. For its Nashville to Montgomery segment, its route followed that of several former Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) passenger trains, including the Pan-American and the Humming Bird. Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana; Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Decatur, Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama; and Thomasville, Valdosta and Waycross, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (Louisville)</span> Railroad station in Louisville, Kentucky

The Union Station of Louisville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station that serves as offices for the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 million. It was one of at least five union stations in Kentucky, amongst others located in Lexington, Covington, Paducah and Owensboro. It was one of three stations serving Louisville, the others being Central Station and Southern Railway Station. It superseded previous, smaller, railroad depots located in Louisville, most notably one located at Tenth and Maple in 1868–1869, and another L&N station built in 1858. The station was formally opened on September 7, 1891, by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. There was a claim made at the time that it was the largest railroad station in the Southern United States, covering forty acres. The other major station in Louisville was Central Station, serving the Baltimore and Ohio, the Illinois Central and other railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal</span> Rail station in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) is an intermodal facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, US. Located at 1001 Loyola Avenue, it is served by Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, Megabus, and NORTA with direct connections to the Rampart–St. Claude Streetcar Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Union Station</span>

Montgomery Union Station and Trainshed is a historic former train station in Montgomery, Alabama. Built in 1898 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, rail service to the station ended in 1979 and it has since been adapted for use by the Montgomery Area Visitor Center and commercial tenants. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (Jackson, Mississippi)</span> Intermodal transit station in Jackson, Mississippi

Union Station is an intermodal transit station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is operated by the Jackson Transit System and serves Amtrak's City of New Orleans and later proposed Crescent Texas section rail line, Greyhound Lines intercity buses, and is Jackson's main city bus station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biloxi station</span>

Biloxi station is a closed and unstaffed Amtrak intercity train station in Biloxi, Mississippi. There is no station building; there is only a covered platform. The station is across the street from the Biloxi Transit Center, which serves Coast Transit Authority and Greyhound buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile station (Amtrak)</span>

Mobile station was a train station in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in 1956 and demolished in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascagoula station</span> Closed train station in Pascagoula, Mississippi, US

Pascagoula station is a closed intercity train station in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States. It originally the served the Louisville and Nashville Railroad but was most recently a stop for Amtrak. The station is on the National Register of Historic Places as the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot, and was designated a Mississippi Landmark by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. In addition, the station serves as an art gallery owned by the Singing River Art Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulfport station</span> Closed Amtrak intercity train station in Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport station is a closed Amtrak intercity train station in Gulfport, Mississippi, United States. Gulfport is a former union station that served the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.

<i>Southerner</i> (U.S. train)

The Southerner was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the United States between New York City and New Orleans via Charlotte, Atlanta and Birmingham. It operated from 1941 to 1970.

<i>Humming Bird</i> (train)

The Humming Bird was a named train of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). The train, inaugurated in 1946, originally ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile and later via a connection at Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Memphis, Tennessee. A connection to Chicago was provided by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Railpark and Train Museum (Bowling Green, Kentucky)</span> Former railway station in Bowling Green, Kentucky

The Historic Railpark and Train Museum, formerly the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is located in the historic railroad station. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979. Opened in 1925, the standing depot is the third Louisville & Nashville Railroad depot that served Bowling Green.

The South Wind was a named passenger train equipped and operated jointly by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the Florida East Coast Railway. The South Wind began operations in December 1940, providing streamliner service between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. This was one of three new seven-car, all-coach streamliners operating in coordination every third day along different routes between Chicago and Miami. The other two longest enduring Chicago-Florida trains were the City of Miami and the Dixie Flagler. The South Wind remained in service through the creation of Amtrak in 1971.

The Gulf Coast Limited was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It ran daily between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, with stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The route first operated in 1984–1985, and again in 1996–1997.

<i>Piedmont Limited</i>

The Piedmont Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York—New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous Crescent Limited. The Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited in 1967, though reused the name Piedmont a few years later for an Atlanta–Washington service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railway Depot (Decatur, Alabama)</span>

The Southern Railway Depot is a historic building in Decatur, Alabama. The depot was built in 1904–05 along the Southern Railway line. Decatur had become a transportation hub of North Alabama by the 1870s, with its connections to the Tennessee River, the east–west Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad, and the north–south Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

References

  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Alabama" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  2. Herr, Kincaid A. (1960). The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN   0813129567.
  3. Official Guide of the Railways, December 1964, Louisville & Nashville Railroad section, Table 1
  4. Cox, Jim (2011). Rails Across Dixie: A History of Passenger Trains in the American South. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN   9780786445288. OCLC   609716000.
  5. "– MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority". Final Intermodal Page. MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Birmingham, Alabama (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons