Ashland Transportation Center is an

intermodal transit Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...

station in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West ...

. Jointly operated by the City of Ashland and

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

, it currently serves

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 ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

'' train as well as the

Ashland Bus System Ashland Bus System (ABS) provides the municipal bus service in the City of Ashland, Kentucky and its nearby suburbs. Unlike many such services, it is operated by the city government itself. Its routes also reach the suburbs, including Ceredo, W ...

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

, and regional shuttles. It is located at 99 15th Street near downtown Ashland.

History

Chesapeake and Ohio era

The station is located in a former

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 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 Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

freight house originally built in the 1890s. Railway services formerly operated out of the Chesapeake and Ohio passenger station nearby (currently a

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the District of Columbia, ...

branch). In the early 1960s the following named trains served the station daily: ''

Fast Flying Virginian The ''Fast Flying Virginian'' (''FFV'') was a named passenger train of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The ''FFV'' was inaugurated on May 11, 1889, and ran until May 12, 1968; this was the longest running C&O named passenger train. The train ope ...

'' (west to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and sections east to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...

), ''

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

'' (sections west to Cincinnati and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, and sections east to Washington, D.C., and Newport News) and the '' Sportsman'' (northwest to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and sections east to Washington, D.C., and Newport News). Prior to the 1971 shift of long-distance passenger train services from private companies to Amtrak, the C&O's ''George Washington'' had a main section going north to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

and

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, a section running west from Ashland to Louisville, and east-bound sections going to Washington, D.C., and Newport News.

Amtrak era

In 1975, Amtrak abandoned the original station (which served the daily ''

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

'' train) in favor of nearby Tri-State Station in Catlettsburg. The city purchased the former freight house in 1997 using more than $500,000 in federal funds obtained through the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act of 1991 in order to restore it as an

station serving rail as well as buses. Amtrak moved rail services to the restored facility on March 11, 1998. The station is jointly owned by the City of Ashland and

and is operated in co-operation with the city, Amtrak,

and the

. The station has an enclosed waiting area with restrooms and water fountains, but no Amtrak station services area available. There is a Greyhound ticket agent available at specified times. The station serves Amtrak's ''

'', trains 50 and 51. The tracks at the station are currently owned by CSX Transportation. Mor'Trans, Sandy Valley Transportation Services and Northeast Kentucky Community Action Agency provide connections to Ashland from surrounding counties.

References

External links

Ashland, Kentucky Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
{{Amtrak Kentucky stations Amtrak stations in Kentucky Ashland, Kentucky Buildings and structures in Boyd County, Kentucky Transportation in Boyd County, Kentucky Former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1998 1998 establishments in Kentucky Railway stations in the United States closed in 1975