Petersburg station (also known as Ettrick 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 located at 3516 South Street in
Ettrick, Virginia
Ettrick is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,241. The town is home to Virginia State University and the Petersburg Amtrak train station.
Most of Ettrick h ...
just outside the city of
Petersburg
Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to:
Places Australia
*Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia
Canada
* Petersburg, Ontario
Russia
*Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg
United States
*Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...
. However, like most of Ettrick, it has a Petersburg address. The station was built in 1955 by the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
(ACL) and services nearby
Virginia State University
Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...
and its home field,
Rogers Stadium, both a short walk from the station.
History
In the 1970s Amtrak also served
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 ...
in Petersburg until ''
Mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
'' service east–west across Virginia ended in 1977.
In the 2010s a replacement station was proposed in
Colonial Heights to serve the
Tri-Cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and
Hopewell. Those plans were shelved as of July 2019, when the
Commonwealth Transportation Board The Commonwealth Transportation Board, formerly the State Highway and Transportation Board, regulates and funds transportation in Virginia. It oversees the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Membership
The Board consists of seventeen members:
* ...
reported that $5.7 million had been secured for modernizing the station including replacement of the passenger platform and connecting ramps, as well as improving the parking lot, access road, and signs on
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
.
In 2019 bus service began to the multi-modal station in downtown Petersburg, with a park-and-ride lot under construction.
An additional daily ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...
'' round trip was added on July 11, 2022, increasing Norfolk service through Petersburg to three weekday round trips and two weekend round trips.
Proposed future
Petersburg's role as a passenger rail transfer station would grow under the
Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor
The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend high-speed passenger rail services from Washington, D.C. south through Richmond, Petersburg with a spur ...
project, which includes high-speed service to both
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, and
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
. A shorter route to Raleigh is in the works, with the acquisition of
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
abandoned right-of-way and underused trackage.
Services
Petersburg station is served by five
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 ...
routes: ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...
'', ''
Carolinian'', ''
Palmetto'', ''
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
'', and ''
Silver Meteor
The ''Silver Meteor'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line ...
''.
References
External links
Great American Stations (Amtrak)
Transportation in Petersburg, Virginia
Amtrak stations in Virginia
P
Buildings and structures in Chesterfield County, Virginia
{{Virginia-railstation-stub