The Vernon J. Ehlers Station is a train station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States served by Amtrak, the U.S. national railroad passenger system. The station is the terminus of the

Pere Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...

line that connects Chicago's Union Station to Grand Rapids. It opened at its new location on Century Avenue under the Wealthy Street/ US Highway 131 overpass, immediately south of

The Rapid The Interurban Transit Partnership operates a public transit system called The Rapid, which provides bus service to the Grand Rapids, Michigan metropolitan area and beyond. ''The Rapid'' was recognized in 2004 and 2013 by receipt from the Americ ...

's Central Station. It is named in honor of then-Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers. The new central location allows easy connections to twenty local

Rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

buses as well as Greyhound and Indian Trails intercity services. No plans have been announced yet to move Megabus services from their location opposite the old Amtrak station at Wealthy/Market to complete the multimodal transit hub.

History

The earlier Union Station (1900) was demolished, 1958–1959, to make way for US Highway 131 expansion into an freeway. Several companies ran passenger trains through the station: New York Central Railroad,

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

and Pere Marquette Railway later assumed by the

Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to ...

. The previous Amtrak station opened in 1984 at the corner of Wealthy Street and Market Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids. In October 2011, groundbreaking occurred on the new station. It is named in honor of former Michigan Congressman Vern Ehlers. The new station enables fully intermodal transit while allowing for more efficient train turnarounds. It was funded by a US$3.8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration and $850,000 from the City of Grand Rapids. Due to delays in construction from CSX and the City of Grand Rapids, the station construction started in the summer of 2013. The new station opened on October 27, 2014. Like its predecessor, the station has no checked baggage service, and is open one hour before trains arrive. However, a Quik-Trak kiosk is available. A Thruway Motorcoach route runs between this station and Kalamazoo to connect with the '' Wolverine.''

Transit connections

Central Station lies a short distance north of the new Amtrak station.

References

External links

Grand Rapids Station (Michigan Passenger Stations)
{{Grand Rapids, Michigan Amtrak stations in Michigan Railway stations in the United States opened in 1984 Transportation in Grand Rapids, Michigan Buildings and structures in Grand Rapids, Michigan Transportation buildings and structures in Kent County, Michigan