Houston 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

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas.

History

The present Houston station, which opened on October 26, 1959, was built by the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

to replace Grand Central Station, which was just east of the present station. That station operated from September 1, 1934 until the property was sold to the U.S. Government in 1959 to become the site of the Houston main post office. Grand Central Station had replaced the original Houston & Texas Central depot of 1886. When Amtrak was created it was one of two stations in Houston that served Amtrak trains, the other being

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

, now part of

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...

. All Amtrak trains moved to Southern Pacific Station by the end of July 1974, and all trains were canceled or rerouted out of Houston except the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

''. The station continued to be owned and operated by the

after the creation of Amtrak, and it has been owned and operated by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, who bought out Southern Pacific. A third station, the

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railway was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch, it came to serve an extensive ra ...

Depot, was at the top of the Main Street viaduct, next to the campus of the (UHD). It was no longer an active passenger station by the end of 1958 and never served Amtrak. It was demolished, save for a section of platform under the Main Street viaduct.

Intermodal Transit Center

Whenever the funding would become available, the current Amtrak station was to be replaced by the Houston Intermodal Transit Center, just north of downtown, on the Union Pacific main line. It was planned to be a much larger facility with the tracks on a lower level, similar to

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

in New York. The project was cancelled in 2010.

Connections

Amtrak Thruway 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, transi ...

motorcoach connection to the

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

Longview station Longview station is a train station in Longview, Texas, United States. It is served by Amtrak and was originally built by the Texas & Pacific Railway. The Longview station also serves as the train-bus transfer point for passengers destined to ...

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (stylized as METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service ...

(METRO) bus service *Connections to

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

service http://www.greyhound.com/scripts/en/TicketCenter/locations.asp?state=tx

References

External links

Houston Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
{{Amtrak Texas stations Amtrak stations in Texas Railway stations in Houston Railway stations in the United States opened in 1959 Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations Economy of Houston Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in Texas Railway stations in Harris County, Texas

History

Intermodal Transit Center

Connections

See also

References

External links