Springfield Union Station is a train and bus station in the
Metro Center area of
Springfield,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Constructed in 1926, Springfield Union Station is the fifth-busiest
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
station in the Commonwealth, and the busiest outside of
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
.
A large-scale $94 million
renovation project restored the former station building, and it reopened in late June 2017 as a regional
intermodal transit hub. It features not only Amtrak service, but also serves as the new hub for the
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), along with
Peter Pan Bus Lines
Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.
It operates service to/from to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hamps ...
,
Greyhound Lines, and the
CTrail
CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: ...
Hartford Line
The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachuset ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
. PVTA and intercity bus services began using the renovated station in 2017, and the Hartford Line opened in June 2018. Amtrak moved from a 1994-built structure to the renovated station in June 2019.
History
![Union Station, Springfield, Mass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Union_Station%2C_Springfield%2C_Mass._-_1.jpg)
Springfield's grand Union Station was constructed in 1926 by the
Boston & Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pa ...
to replace an earlier Richardson Romanesque unique dual-station by Shepley Rutan and Coolidge, the successor firm to that of noted American architect,
H. H. Richardson (architect of
Trinity Church in
Copley Square, Boston). Prior to that, an Egyptian Revival structure served the city until the first so-called Union Station was built in 1851.
The 1926 station was built for $5.87 million. The station opened to the public on December 18, 1926.
Springfield is exactly equidistant to both Boston and Albany at from each. The
New York, New Haven & Hartford (including the
Central New England Railway
The Central New England Railway was a railroad from Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, west across northern Connecticut and across the Hudson River on the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Maybrook, New York. It was part of the Poughkee ...
) and
Boston & Maine
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
railroads also utilized the station.
As early as the 1950s, the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
, which had operated the Boston & Albany since 1900, considered Union Station "a white elephant" and wanted to sell it. The opening of the
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
in 1958 was said to have caused a 50% decline in passenger trips to Boston. By 1962, train departures had fallen from a 1920s-30s peak of 97 per day to fewer than 15 per day. The station was sold in 1970 to David Buntzman, a real estate speculator from
Larchmont, New York
Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...
.
Amtrak took over intercity service in 1971. By 1973, there were no longer enough trains calling at Springfield to justify such a large station, and the main station building and baggage building were closed.
A new station would have likely been needed in any event. The building had not been well-maintained in several years, and rehabilitating it was deemed too costly. After this, Amtrak opened a makeshift station at street level within the passenger tunnel, with the sole entrance being from Lyman Street. The connection from the tunnel to the old station was sealed. The city of Springfield bought the station in 1989, but planned restoration efforts were hampered by a fire at the nearby Charles Hotel.
In 1994, Amtrak constructed a station building at track level and sealed off the passenger tunnel except for the Lyman Street entrance and the southernmost stairway and elevator shaft to track level. A modern elevator was installed in the remaining open shaft to connect from street level to the new station building above.
Renovation
In October 2008, the
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority released a redevelopment plan for Union Station. The plan, estimated to cost $65.2 million, called for restoring the 1926 Union Station Terminal building for reuse as an intermodal rail and bus station and fully building out the first floor and main concourse with rentable commercial space and ticketing and waiting areas for both rail and bus. The baggage/railway express building was to be demolished and baggage tunnel sealed. A parking garage and bus bays for both inter-city and regional bus services (which would replace the Peter L. Picknelly Transportation Center a block away) would go on the footprint of the former baggage building. Additionally the pedestrian tunnel to Lyman Street would be restored, and the platforms raised for handicapped accessibility.
The final plan announced in December 2014, at a cost $75.7 million, added restoration and building out the upper floors of the 1926 station building to usable vacant "shell space". This would include only infrastructure and utility work on those floors, with final finishing work to be done by the eventual tenants based on their needs. This space is aimed for use by office or other commercial tenants. By the time the station opened, the full cost had risen to $94 million.
Demolition of the baggage/railway express building began on December 1, 2014, and was completed in early 2015. The only remnant of the baggage facility is a tunnel under the rail viaduct that was used for freight and baggage transport between the warehouse and the trains above. The only remaining entrance to this tunnel (off limits to the public) is a set of doors along the retaining wall in the bus loading area at the location of where the tunnel formerly connected to the warehouse. By February 2016 the parking garage had been assembled and restoration work on the station terminal building had begun, with new windows and roofing installed. The restoration was nearly complete in March 2017 when officials took journalists on a tour and the grand opening occurred on June 24, 2017.
![Union Station Rededication Plaque June 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Union_Station_Rededication_Plaque_June_2017.jpg)
The PVTA was the first transportation operator to use the renovated station; it began operations there on June 24, 2017, leasing 18 bus berths. Peter Pan and Greyhound buses began operating out of Union Station on September 6, 2017. The companies ended a two-decade revenue sharing agreement and began operating competing services three weeks later. The CTrail Hartford Line commuter rail service began operating out of the renovated terminal in June 2018.
Amtrak relocated ticketing and the passenger waiting area to the main concourse of Union Station in June 2019, returning intercity rail to the main station building for the first time in 45 years.
The new platform designated Platform C was installed with direct stairwell and elevator access to the passenger tunnel below. The design was finalized in March 2018. The platform design process had been delayed due to insufficient space between the stairwell head house and the platform edge. The Federal Railroad Administration denied a waiver from the clearance requirement, preventing the design from being finished before the revitalization of the historic station building itself. The project was awarded to a construction contractor in May 2018 and construction began in August 2018. The -long high-level Platform C opened on January 23, 2020, with a final cost of $10 million. Platform C retains some historic elements of the former low-level platform it replaced, including the existing overhead canopy steel structure.
Services
![Valley_Flyer_Amtrak_train_471_at_SPG_24_Jan_2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Valley_Flyer_Amtrak_train_471_at_SPG_24_Jan_2020.jpg)
Amtrak
The primary passenger rail service at Springfield Union Station are the trains connecting Springfield to the Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor trains in New Haven. An additional 1–2 daily round trips start or terminate their service at Springfield.
The station is also served by the ''
Vermonter'' and trains. The ''Vermonter'' currently uses the north-south
Connecticut River Line
The Connecticut River Line (colloquially known as the Conn River Line) is a railroad line owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), that serves the "Knowledge Corridor" between Springfield and East Northfield, Massachuse ...
to Connecticut and Vermont, while the ''Lake Shore Limited'' makes use of the east–west Boston Line platforms as it continues to and from
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
.
In the past a single ''Northeast Regional'' round trip (usually trains 142 and 145) would travel between New Haven and Boston via the so-called "
Inland Route" via Springfield and the Boston Line, as opposed to the faster, electrified Northeast Corridor. In 2003, a problem pulled the ''
Acela Express
The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, inclu ...
'' trainsets out of service and in an effort to find substitute
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
, Amtrak first curtailed the inland round trip to a three-car shuttle between Boston and New Haven before canceling it completely. Today, all normally scheduled ''Regional'' trains using the Inland Route only use the portion between Springfield and New Haven; in the event of a service disruption on the Northeast Corridor, trains may be scheduled to run via the complete Inland Route. One such occasion was the replacement of the
Thames River Bridge movable span in June 2008, when Amtrak scheduled three round trips per day over the Inland Route to substitute for the complete suspension of regular Northeast Corridor service.
In 1991, Amtrak extended one daily
Atlantic City Express round trip to Springfield, which served other destinations such as
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
. The service was discontinued in 1995 due to low ridership.
Hartford Line
Springfield's renovated Union Station is the northern terminus for the
CTrail
CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: ...
Hartford Line
The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachuset ...
, a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
service which began operating out of Union Station on June 16, 2018. On July 24, 2017 the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced that a joint partnership between
TransitAmerica Services
TransitAmerica Services, Inc. is an American commuter rail corporation headquartered in St Joseph, Missouri.
Corporate history
In November 2002, Herzog Contracting Corp. and Stagecoach Group announced a corporate partnership to form TransitAme ...
and Alternate Concepts Inc. was chosen as the operator for the new service. This partnership operates similar commuter services in other markets. Amtrak continues its present intercity service on the line and will continue to own and maintain the infrastructure on the rail line between New Haven and Springfield. The expanded service to Springfield Union Station from New Haven includes a total of seven additional roundtrips, four of which are commuter trains operated by the new CT''rail'' operator, and the other three of which are additional Amtrak ''Shuttles'' which brings the service to eight Amtrak round trips and four CT''rail'' round trips. In September 2019, Amtrak ceased using the ''Shuttle'' brand name for the 400 series trains and adopted CTDOT's ''Hartford Line'' designation. All Amtrak and CTrail trains that terminate and originate at Springfield (or Hartford) now utilize the ''Hartford Line'' designation. On August 30, 2019, Amtrak extended two daily round trips (branded as ''
Valley Flyer'') to Greenfield as a pilot program.
Bus operations
Union Station serves as the region's bus hub. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, which operates local buses serving Springfield and surrounding towns and cities, occupies 18 bus berths at the station. Springfield-based
Peter Pan Bus Lines
Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.
It operates service to/from to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hamps ...
uses seven bus berths for intercity buses, and
Greyhound Lines uses the remaining two for its intercity service.
Possible future rail service
The
Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the
Vermont Agency of Transportation
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridges, sta ...
have completed a study to examine the opportunities and impacts of more frequent and higher speed intercity passenger rail service between Boston and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. The Boston to Montreal corridor runs from Boston to Springfield Union Station. From Springfield, the rail corridor follows the route of the ''Vermonter'' northerly through , , and , Massachusetts, and , , (Burlington), and , Vermont. From St. Albans, the corridor continues to the Canada–US border and onward to
Montreal Central Station
Montreal Central Station (french: Gare centrale de Montréal) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-bu ...
in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. This study has been designated the Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative. This would mark the first Boston-Montreal rail service since the
Boston & Maine
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
discontinued the ''
Alouette'' in 1965, which operated via a direct route through
Concord, New Hampshire.
Station layout
The Union Station building, bus bays, and parking garage are located on the north side of the rail viaduct adjacent to Frank B. Murray Street. The stairwells and elevators to the boarding platforms is located on the south side of the viaduct next to Lyman Street. A tunnel leads under the viaduct, allowing Union Station to be accessed from Lyman Street. The main hall in Union Station includes a waiting area for rail passengers, restaurants, retail spaces, and ticket windows for rail and intercity bus services; a PVTA local bus waiting area and an intercity bus waiting area are located in an adjacent room. Commercial space is located on the second and third floors.
The rail viaduct holds six tracks, which are numbered 1, 2, 2a, 4, 6, and 8 from north to south. Tracks 1 and 2 are primarily used by
CSX Transportation for freight service on their
Berkshire Subdivision
The Berkshire Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and New York. The line runs from near Springfield, Massachusetts west to Schodack, New York, (near Albany) along a former New York Cen ...
and are served by platforms A and B - track 2 is also used for boarding and disembarking of the daily Lake Shore Limited train. Track 2a, which connects with both the New Haven-Springfield Line and the CSX tracks, is owned by Amtrak is used mainly for storing train equipment and is not normally used for boarding. Tracks 4 through 8 (serving platforms C and D) are currently used for most Amtrak service; they connect directly to the
New Haven–Springfield Line
The New Haven–Springfield Line is a railroad line owned by Amtrak from New Haven, Connecticut, north to Springfield, Massachusetts. As a branch of the Northeast Corridor just north of New Haven State Street station, it is served by approximate ...
west of the station, but only connect to the CSX tracks east of the station. (The ''Lake Shore Limited'' uses the CSX tracks for this reason.) West of the station, the New Haven–Springfield Line curves to the south while the Berkshire Subdivision continues on to cross the
Connecticut River on a twin
truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
. The
Connecticut River Line
The Connecticut River Line (colloquially known as the Conn River Line) is a railroad line owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), that serves the "Knowledge Corridor" between Springfield and East Northfield, Massachuse ...
connects to both lines west of the station, although it requires a backup move to reach tracks 4 though 8.
The four current platforms were once all
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s, with stairways to the under-track tunnel and cargo elevators to a separate tunnel serving the baggage/railway express building. Platform C, between tracks 4 and 6, was demolished and rebuilt as a high-level boarding platform. Platform C is served by its own elevator and stairwell from the passenger tunnel. Platform D, which serves track 8 and is adjacent to the former 1994 station building, is accessed from the older elevator and stairwell closest to the Lyman Street entrance. Platform B/track 2 is accessed via a paved walkway from the west end of platform D that crosses tracks 2A, 4, 6, and 8.
Station services
The station offers a Commuter Variety newsstand that sells quick necessities,
Dunkin' Donuts and
Subway restaurants.
On June 6, 2017, Dietz & Company Architects, the largest architecture firm in the region, announced they would be occupying approximately on the second floor.
On November 20, 2017, Peter Pan Bus Lines announced the signing of a lease for of office space at Union Station for the company's corporate headquarters. The company will occupy the entire third floor of the building.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Springfield Union Station – Springfield Redevelopment AuthoritySpringfield Union Station – Hartford LineSpringfield – GreyhoundSpringfield – Peter Pan
{{Hartford Line stations navbox
Amtrak stations in Massachusetts
Stations on the New Haven–Springfield Line
Union stations in the United States
Stations along New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines
Stations along Central New England Railway lines
Former Boston and Albany Railroad stations
Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines
Economy of Springfield, Massachusetts
Railway stations in Hampden County, Massachusetts
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1926