Union Station is a former

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. Since the end of passenger rail service to the city in 1979, it has been repurposed as commercial office space.

History

The station opened in 1914. Through the 1930s, it served as the city's primary arrival and departure point. Railroads including the Frisco, Santa Fe, and Rock Island offered passenger service to and from cities including

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The station closed in 1979 when

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 ...

discontinued its ''

Lone Star Lone Star, Lone Starr, Lone Stars or Lonestar may refer to: Communities in the United States * Lone Star, Arizona, a populated place * Lone Star, Fresno County, California, an unincorporated community * Lone Star, Humboldt County, California ...

'' (Chicago–Houston) line, ending passenger rail access to the city. The nearest inter-city station is in

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

, 25 miles north, which is served by the ''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...

'' (Chicago–Los Angeles). The station terminal and nearby buildings have since been redeveloped as a commercial office and retail campus.

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable), is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services comp ...

used the station as its local headquarters until 2007. In 2013, local commercial real estate company Occidental Management purchased Union Station and began renovations. As of 2017, renovations continue while Occidental has resumed leasing commercial space in the neighboring buildings. The building's restoration was estimated at $54 million. Phase Two included the addition of 150,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space on the property's south side. In recent years, several proposals have been made to bring back Amtrak service back to Wichita. This has predominantly surrounded the plan to extend the

Heartland Flyer The ''Heartland Flyer'' is a daily passenger train that follows a route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begin ...

, which currently runs between

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, north to

Newton, Kansas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 18,602. Newton is located north of Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. The city of North ...

. In June 2021, Amtrak released a plan that would add two more round trips between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth while extending the original round trip to Newton. A timeline for the service has not been determined.

References

External links

*
Historic Images of Union Station
from Special Collections and University Archives at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

{{Amtrak Kansas stations Buildings and structures in Wichita, Kansas Railway stations in the United States opened in 1914 Wichita Wichita Wichita

Former Amtrak stations in Kansas 1914 establishments in Kansas Railway stations in the United States closed in 1979