Birmingham station is a train station in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. It is a service stop for
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
'', which provides daily service between
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, and
. The current station is located on the site of another station originally built by the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
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.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...
in 1960, although Amtrak did not use the building itself, which was torn down in the 2000s.
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
The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the bankrupt Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1944 it reporte ...
until the 1930s. One writer described this new station as "modern in every respect."
Passenger services in L&N years
Through the 1960s, these long distance Louisville & Nashville trains served the Birmingham station:
*''
Humming Bird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
'' (Cincinnati - New Orleans)
*''
Pan-American'' (Cincinnati - New Orleans)
*''
South Wind
A south wind is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction.
Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), ghibli (Libya with various spellings), friagem ...
'' (Chicago - St. Petersburg and Miami)
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.
Amtrak discontinued the ''Floridian'' in October, 1979 but the ''Crescent'' has operated uninterrupted ever since. Between 1989 and 1995 Alabama funded a
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
section of the ''Crescent'' named the ''
Gulf Breeze
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,900 in 2020. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensaco ...
''.
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.
See also
*
Birmingham Terminal Station
The Birmingham Terminal Station (or simply Birmingham Terminal), completed in 1909, was the principal railway station for Birmingham, Alabama (United States) until the 1950s. It was demolished in 1969, and its loss still serves as a rallying ima ...
– a separate passenger station in use from 1909 until it was demolished in 1969.
References
External links
Birmingham Amtrak/L&N Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
{{Authority control
Amtrak stations in Alabama
Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1960
Transportation in Birmingham, Alabama
Former Louisville and Nashville Railroad stations
1960 establishments in Alabama
Transportation buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Alabama