Springfield station is a brick railroad depot in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, the

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. It is at mile 185 on

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 intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''Illinois and Missouri Route''. As of 2007, it is served by five daily round trips each way: the daily ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

'', and four daily ''

Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the '' Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Tra ...

'' frequencies. It will be replaced by the Springfield-Sangamon Transportation Center, which is currently under construction, and expected to open in 2027.

History

The station was originally constructed by the Chicago and Alton Railroad in 1895 and is one of three historic railroad stations still existing in the city, along with the

Lincoln Depot Lincoln Depot is located in Springfield, Illinois. It is so called because Abraham Lincoln's bittersweet Abraham Lincoln's Farewell Address, 1861 Farewell Address to Springfield was delivered here as he boarded the train to Washington D.C. at ...

built by the Great Western Railroad in 1852 and Springfield Union Station built by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

in 1898. Prior to the start up of Amtrak on May 1, 1971 it was operated by a successor company, the

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illin ...

, and was served by a variety of named trains, including the ''Alton Limited'', the ''Abraham Lincoln'', and the '' Midnight Special''. Springfield was intended to be the southwestern terminus of the '' State House,'' predecessor of today's ''Lincoln Service.'' However, Amtrak extended this train to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

at its own expense because the Chicago and Alton/GM&O station was not designed to turn trainsets around. The passenger station is decorated with a small

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

. Painted on the wall atop the ticket office, the mural features a route map of the post-1947 Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the state seals of Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The mural is the work of Louis Grell of Chicago. In a 2010–2011 project, authorities supervised the railroad station's comprehensive refurbishment. Overhauled elements included the GM&O mural, trackside landscaping, passenger seating, handicapped accessibility, parking lot repaving and a new station roof. The $714,500 project was financed by the city and Amtrak. Springfield used $571,500 obtained through the Central Area Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district that covers much of the downtown. Other stakeholders involved in the renovation included Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the track and platform, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which reviewed project plans to ensure that the station's historic elements were preserved.

Replacement station

In October 2021, ground was broken on the Springfield-Sangamon Transportation Center, a transit hub that will consolidate Amtrak service and Sangamon Mass Transit District buses. It was originally expected to open in 2025, but in late 2023, the federal Department of Transportation denied a $138 million grant needed to complete the works; this delay pushed the expected opening back to 2027. When complete, the new station will replace the current Amtrak station. The current station could become an activity hub for the projected ''Third Street Greenway'', a 6.0-mile (10 km) urban greenway that will utilize the current Antrak right-of-way through Springfield.

References

External links

More images of Springfield Station at USA Rail Guide (TrainWeb)
{{Amtrak Illinois stations Amtrak stations in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1895 Former Chicago and Alton Railroad stations Buildings and structures in Springfield, Illinois Transportation in Sangamon County, Illinois

History

Replacement station

See also

References

External links