Birmingham station is a train station in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. It is a service stop for

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 ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

'', which provides daily service between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The current station is located on the site of another station originally built by the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

in 1960, although Amtrak did not use the building itself, which was torn down in the 2000s.

History

The L&N built the new station for $500,000, replacing Union Station which it had used since 1887. Union Station was also served by the

Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the bankrupt Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1944 it reporte ...

until the 1930s. One writer described this new station as "modern in every respect."

Passenger services in L&N years

Through the 1960s, these long distance Louisville & Nashville trains served the Birmingham station: *''

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'' (Cincinnati - New Orleans) *''

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'' (Cincinnati - New Orleans) *''

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'' (Chicago - St. Petersburg and Miami)

Since 1971

When Amtrak assumed control of most inter-city passenger service on May 1, 1971, its '' Floridian'' continued to use the L&N station. The Southern Railway, which had declined to join Amtrak, continued to use its own station several blocks to the northeast. On February 1, 1979, the Southern Railway conveyed its passenger service to Amtrak and the ''

Southern Crescent The ''Crescent'' is a daily Long-distance Amtrak routes, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and New Orleans (the "Crescent City"). The route connects the Northeastern United States, Northeast to the Gulf C ...

'' (shortened to Crescent) began serving the ex-L&N station as well. Amtrak discontinued the ''Floridian'' in October 1979 but the ''Crescent'' has operated uninterrupted ever since. Between 1989 and 1995 Alabama funded a

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

section of the ''Crescent'' named the ''

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''. The Birmingham Intermodal Facility, which opened in 2017, combines several modes of ground transportation in one central location: the MAX bus central station,

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bus service, Megabus service, Amtrak passenger rail and the city's Zyp bike program. The $32 million facility also includes a Birmingham Police substation, a food service area, a retail space and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority's corporate offices.

References

External links

Birmingham Amtrak/L&N Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
Amtrak stations in Alabama Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama Railway stations in the United States opened in 1960 Transportation in Birmingham, Alabama Former Louisville and Nashville Railroad stations 1960 establishments in Alabama Transportation buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Alabama Railway stations in the United States opened in 2017 {{Alabama-railstation-stub

History

Passenger services in L&N years

Since 1971

See also

References

External links