Wilmington, DE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 100 South French Street Wilmington, Delaware United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 39°44′12″N75°33′04″W / 39.736759°N 75.551093°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Amtrak Northeast Corridor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms, 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections |
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Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | Paid parking nearby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | 20 rack spaces [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | Amtrak: WIL SEPTA: 90203 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IATA code | ZWI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 4 (SEPTA) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1908 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrified | 1928 [3] (toward Philadelphia) 1935 [4] (toward Washington D.C) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous names | French Street Wilmington Pennsylvania Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FY 2023 | 625,373 [5] (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017 | 878 boardings,632 alightings (weekday average) [6] (SEPTA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 19 of 146 (SEPTA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wilmington Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Area | 2 buildings and 1 structure on 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architect | Furness, Evans & Co. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NRHP reference No. | 76000581 [7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Added to NRHP | November 21, 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wilmington station, also known as the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station, is a passenger rail station in Wilmington, Delaware. It serves nine Amtrak train routes and is part of the Northeast Corridor. It also serves SEPTA Regional Rail commuter trains on the Wilmington/Newark Line as well as DART First State local buses and Greyhound Lines intercity buses.
Built in 1907 as Pennsylvania Station, the station was renamed in 2011 for then-Vice President (now President) Joe Biden, an advocate for passenger rail who routinely took the train from Wilmington to Washington, D.C. during his time as a Senator from 1973 to 2009. [8] In 1987, Biden formally announced his ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination at this station. Located on Front Street between French and Walnut Streets in downtown Wilmington, the station has one inside level with stores, a cafe/newsstand, Amtrak and SEPTA ticket offices, a car rental office, and restrooms. Passengers board their trains on the second-story train platforms.
The station replaced an earlier station erected by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. [9]
It was built in 1907 for $300,000 by the PW&B successor, the Pennsylvania Railroad. [10] It was designed by renowned architect Frank Furness, who also designed the adjacent Pennsylvania Railroad Building (which housed the offices for the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad) and the nearby Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Water Street Station. The Pennsylvania Railroad Building has since been renovated; as of 2014, it holds the offices of ING Direct United States. [10]
Admired for his use of new and innovative materials and his forceful architectural statements, Furness chose to have the trains move right through the second floor of the station, with room for a ticketing and retail concourse at ground level underneath the tracks. [9] This unconventional arrangement celebrated the power of the locomotive and America's industrial strength. The north end of the station has a four-faced rectangular clock tower that rises an extra story above the main roof. It is decorated with stone and terra cotta work that is repeated in plainer form throughout the station. [9]
Wilmington Station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. [11] A renovation project was conducted in 1984. [10] The National Register added the adjacent railroad viaduct in 1999. SEPTA has been running to Wilmington since 1989. [12]
In 2009, the station began a two-year restoration; about two-thirds of the $37.7 million in funding came from United States government stimulus funds. [8] [10] During construction, customer operations, including platform access, were moved to a temporary station next door. [10] The station reopened on December 6, 2010, and final work was completed in March 2011. [8] [13]
On March 19, 2011, the station's name was changed from Wilmington Station to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station. The ceremony honored U.S. Vice President (now President) Joe Biden, who took over 7,000 round trips from the station to Washington, D.C. during his U.S. Senate career and was noted as an advocate for Amtrak and passenger rail more generally. [8] [14] On January 20, 2017, within an hour after completing his tenure as vice president, Biden boarded an Amtrak Acela train in Washington, D.C. bound for his namesake station. [15]
The adjacent Wilmington Transit Center for DART First State bus service opened in May 2020. [16] A $11.6 million renovation of the station, which included two new escalators, was completed in October 2023. [17]
The station is served by Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela trains along the Northeast Corridor going south to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and going north to Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. It is also served by several long-distance trains including the Cardinal to Chicago, the Carolinian to Charlotte, the Crescent to New Orleans, the Palmetto to Savannah, the Silver Meteor to Miami, and the Vermonter to St. Albans, Vermont. Amtrak Thruway service is provided through the station to Dover, Delaware and Salisbury, Maryland via Greyhound Lines.
Despite being just 25 miles south of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, the third-busiest Amtrak station in the country, Wilmington Station is a major Amtrak station in its own right. It is the seventh-busiest Amtrak station in the Mid-Atlantic region (behind New York Penn, Washington Union, 30th Street, Baltimore Penn, Albany-Rensselaer and BWI) and the 13th-busiest nationwide.
It is also served by SEPTA Regional Rail's Wilmington/Newark Line with service to Center City Philadelphia and Newark, Delaware. Like all stations in Delaware, SEPTA service is provided under contract and funded through DART First State, which also provides extensive local bus service as they have since 1994.
Greyhound Lines intercity buses stop at the Wilmington Bus Station adjacent to the Wilmington station at 101 North French Street. The bus terminal is attached to the station's parking garage. Greyhound Lines provides direct, one-seat ride service from the bus terminal to various cities including Baltimore, New York City, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. [18]
DART First State bus routes serving Wilmington station include 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 28, 33, 35, 37, 40, 52, 301, and 305 (seasonally). Most buses stop at the Wilmington Transit Center adjacent to the station.
The Wilmington Transit Center was built as a DART First State bus hub adjacent to Wilmington station. A groundbreaking ceremony for the transit center was held on November 19, 2018, with Governor John Carney, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, and DART First State CEO John Sisson in attendance. The Wilmington Transit Center serves most DART First State bus routes in Wilmington and includes a covered waiting area with seats, real-time bus displays, a ticket sales office, restrooms, vending machines, bicycle racks, and parking. Construction of the transit center cost $19 million and opened on May 17, 2020. [19] [20] [21]
Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Claymont was 9,895.
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Sharon Hill station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania. It serves the Wilmington/Newark Line, with southbound service to Wilmington and Newark, Delaware and northbound service to Philadelphia. This station is about 1⁄2-mile (0.80 km) away from the Sharon Hill terminus of the stop on the Media–Sharon Hill LineRoute 102 trolley, although no direct connection exists between the two stations. It is not a staffed station and has no ticket machines. The historic station building, which was originally built in 1872, is abandoned and is to be restored. It is located at Sharon & Woodland Avenues. Amtrak trains pass through but do not stop.
The Chester Transportation Center is a SEPTA bus and train station in Chester, Pennsylvania. The outside portion of the ground level serves SEPTA City Transit Division Route 37, and Suburban Transit Division Routes 109, 113, 114, 117, 118, and 119.
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Norwood station is a SEPTA train station on the Wilmington/Newark Line. While on tracks owned by the company, Amtrak trains do not stop here, as it is served only by SEPTA. The line offers southbound service to Marcus Hook, Wilmington and Newark, Delaware and northbound service to Philadelphia and points beyond. The station, located at Winona & Welcome Avenues in Norwood, Pennsylvania, includes a 62-space parking lot on its outbound platform side. Pedestrian walkways and staircases connect the inbound and outbound platforms via the Amosland Road Bridge, which overpasses the tracks. Opposite the tracks from the SEPTA designated parking lot is metered street and lot parking.
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Marcus Hook station is a station along the SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Amtrak does not stop here; the station is only served by SEPTA. Many locals continue on to Wilmington and Newark. However, some trains terminate at this station. Located at 12th & Washington Streets, the station has a 147-space parking lot. The line offers southbound service to Wilmington and Newark, Delaware and northbound service to Philadelphia.
Claymont station is a station on the Northeast Corridor in Claymont, Delaware. Claymont has two high-level side platforms with a pedestrian bridge over the tracks. It is served by SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line local service; Amtrak intercity services bypass the station via the inner tracks. The station is the northernmost stop in Delaware, continuing towards Wilmington and Newark. It has a parking garage with 464 spaces and an outdoor parking lot with 343 spaces.
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