Greyhound Lines intercity buses, and is Jackson's main
city bus station.
History
Train service first came to
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
in 1840, when the Clinton and Vicksburg Railway established a connection. The city became a more prominent rail hub after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
as a stop for what eventually became the
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...
. The modern
Georgian Revival
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...
station was built in 1927 by Illinois Central when the rail lines were rebuilt through downtown.
Passenger trains served in past
This Illinois Central operated trains to these endpoints through the station:
*Chicago and New Orleans (including ''City of New Orleans'' and the all-Pullman ''
Panama Limited
The ''Panama Limited'' was a passenger train operated from 1911 to 1971 between Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana. The flagship train of the Illinois Central Railroad, it took its name from the Panama Canal, which in 1911 was three yea ...
'' and others)
[January 1950 Illinois Central timetable, Tables A, B, D and F]
*Chicago and
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...
*
Shreveport, Louisiana and
Meridian, Mississippi (''
Southwestern Limited'')
Revival
After years of disuse, in 2003 the City of Jackson purchased the building from the
Canadian National Railway, the successor to Illinois Central, with the intention of turning it into a multimodal hub named Union Station. The city undertook a $20 million renovation funded by the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, pronounced ''Ice-Tea'') is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in ...
and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority; Dale and Associates were chosen as architects. The city converted the building into the
Jackson Transit System's primary bus station and added facilities for
Greyhound Lines. The former freighthouse was converted for use by
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 ...
, and other areas of the building were redesigned for commercial use. Dale and Associates received a 2005 Mississippi AIA Merit Award for the completed project.
It is listed as a
Mississippi Landmark.
References
External links
Jackson Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
Amtrak stations in Mississippi
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1927
Former Illinois Central Railroad stations
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
Clock towers in Mississippi
Buildings and structures in Jackson, Mississippi
{{Mississippi-railstation-stub