Carbondale station is an

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 ...

intercity train station in Carbondale,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. The southern terminus of Amtrak's routes, it is also served by the .

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

service between Carbondale and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

connects with the ''City of New Orleans''. Carbondale is the southernmost Amtrak station in Illinois.

History

First station building

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

(IC) service to Carbondale began on July 4, 1854, with a wooden passenger depot.

Second station building

A new station building was built in 1903 as part of a series of improvements by the railroad in Carbondale, which included a roundhouse, office buildings, and a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

and park. Railway architect Francis T. Bacon designed the brick and limestone station. The city of Carbondale purchased the former station from the IC in 1989; the exterior was restored in 1992, followed by the interior in 1996. The depot was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on May 9, 2002 as the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot. The building now houses the offices of Carbondale Main Street and Carbondale Chamber of Commerce.

Current Amtrak station building

took over intercity passenger service from most private railroads, including the IC, on May 1, 1971. Initial Amtrak service to Carbondale was by the Chicago-New Orleans (renamed that November) and Chicago-Carbondale , each with one daily round trip. The ''City of New Orleans'' name returned in 1981. That year, Amtrak constructed a new station some to the south. The current station shares characteristics with the standard designs of the

Amtrak Standard Stations Program The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was an effort by Amtrak to create a standardized station design." The railroad launched the effort in 1978 to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image. Background When Amtrak was fou ...

. The ''Shawnee'' was merged with the Chicago-Champaign '' Illini'' on January 12, 1986; the ''Illini'' name was preserved with its terminus extended to Carbondale. A second daily ''Illini'' round trip, the ''Saluki'', was added on October 30, 2006. The ''Saluki'' was named for the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in Carbondale.

Planned new station building

In November 2019, the city was awarded a $14 million federal grant to construct the Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station, which will replace the 1981-built station with a large train and bus depot on the same site. As of March 2022, it was claimed that 60% of the construction documents for the project had been completed, as had most approvals needed to construct a new facility (including approval by the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

). On March 22m 2022, it was also decided by the Carbondale City Council to name the new station the "Southern Illinois Multimodal Station". Early on, plans had called for a two-story structure, with the second floor being home to space for a work program. The work program space was moved to the first floor in design revisions which saw the plans change to a one story structure. The design for the planned new station building has its main entrance at its southwest corner, accented by a structural tower. There will also a south entrance for easy access from the parking lot, and a west entrance fronting Illinois Avenue. There will also be a further entrance at the center of the building's west face, along Illinois Avenue. Features of the station will include a ticket desk and a baggage claim area. Per Amtrak's request, the station will also include a small fenced-in dog walking area near the train tracks for the convenience of those traveling on Amtrak with their pet dogs. The south side of the planned new facility will be the location for mass transit bus services. The northern side of the building will be occupied by offices for the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, Carbondale Main Street, and a work program. The new station building is also planned to be home to

's welcome center and the offices of the Carbondale Tourism agency. The new station building has been designed with an aim of achieving

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Silver certification. The new station building is planned to feature

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...

flooring in its station areas. This flooring is planned to include a compass motif in the building's western vestibule and a two-dimensional representation of a

geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic dom ...

at the southwest entrance as a tribute to the work of famous onetime Carbondale resident

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

. As a further tribute to Fuller, the eastern interior wall of the station facility will be adorned with Fuller's quote, "... to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offences or disadvantage of anyone." The station is also intended to include displays related to Fuller provided by the R. Buckminster Fuller Dome Not-For-Profit, including photographs, paintings, and artifacts.

References

External links

Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station
*Trainweb USA Rail Guide

{{Amtrak Illinois stations Amtrak stations in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1988 Transportation buildings and structures in Jackson County, Illinois Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1903 Railway stations closed in 1982 Former Illinois Central Railroad stations National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1854