Elizabethtown 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 ...

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

on the

Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main line, which hosts SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale ...

in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The station is served by Amtrak's ''

Keystone Service Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional rail, regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to ...

'' 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 ...

and

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

, and by the '' Pennsylvanian'' between New York and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The station was built in 1915 by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

to replace another that had been built in 1900. The

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, p ...

was closed in 1977 by Amtrak. The

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

to the building was transferred to the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Elizabethtown in 1998, and it was leased back to Amtrak. From 2009 to 2011, the station underwent a 21-month renovation to make it handicapped-

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

Services and facilities

The Elizabethtown station is located on South Wilson Avenue, off of

Pennsylvania Route 241 Pennsylvania Route 241 (PA 241) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route runs from PA 441 in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, northeast to PA 72 in the city of Lebanon in Lebanon County. The route heads east from P ...

(West High Street). In addition to being used by passengers originating from Elizabethtown and surrounding Lancaster County, residents of nearby Dauphin and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

counties utilize the Elizabethtown station as well. It sees twenty-six arrivals by the ''Keystone Service'' on weekdays, thirteen from both Harrisburg and

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...

, and seven from each on weekends. The ''Pennsylvanian'' arrives once daily from both New York and Pittsburgh Union Station. The station is east of Harrisburg, west of

30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and from New York. The station was the 7th busiest in Pennsylvania with an annual ridership of 22,232 passengers in

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2021, a decrease of 52.2 percent from the previous year. The station is equipped with Amtrak's Quik-Trak ticket machines, public restrooms, information kiosks, and wireless internet. As the Elizabethtown station is unstaffed, all tickets from the station need to be pre-paid, purchased from Quik-Trak, or from a conductor on board the train. Parking is in a 45-vehicle lot located in front of the station and a 100-vehicle "overflow lot ocateddown the street." The Red Rose Transit Authority's Route 18

transit bus Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

provides service between the station, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, and Lancaster.

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by c ...

's campus security drives students to the train station.

History

Because of the construction of an

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

at nearby Bainbridge Street, the

was forced to build a new station at West High Street in 1900. After 15 years, the Pennsylvania replaced the station. The new station was constructed out of

Indiana Limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

in a similar style to the nearby Masonic Homes built by the

Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, officially The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdictions Thereunto Belonging, is the premier masonic organizati ...

. On July 4, 1915, the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

made a stop at the station while being transported to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The Pennsylvania began electrifying its line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in 1937, a task which was completed on January 15, 1938. In 1977, the deteriorating

was closed. Prior to the introduction of the ''Keystone Service'' in 1981, the Elizabethtown station was served by the ''

Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the ''New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...

'', the ''

Silverliner Service Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Ma ...

'', and the '' Keystone''. From 1991 to 1995, the '' Atlantic City Express'' served the station on weekends. The '' Three Rivers'' made stops in Elizabethtown in 1995 and 1996.

Renovations

In August 1998, the station building was leased to Amtrak for 99 years by the

of Elizabethtown for $1 per year after ownership was transferred to the borough; ownership of the platforms and

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

was retained by Amtrak. Renovations began in August 2009 and were funded by $9.3 million from the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

. The station was cited by

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...

as an example of

pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English, and i ...

spending in the stimulus bill. Elevators were built and the station's two platforms were raised, per the requirements of

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

. The platforms were also lengthened to accommodate longer trains. Canopies were erected over the platforms to provide protection from the elements for waiting passengers. The station building was completely remodeled, including restoration of the original wood furnishings, replacement of broken

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

s, and masonry repointing. The completed station was unveiled in a

ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

on May 4, 2011.

Station layout

References

Sources

* *

External links

Elizabethtown Amtrak station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
{{PRR Main Line stations Amtrak stations in Pennsylvania Limestone buildings in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1915 Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations