Charlottesville Union Station

Charlottesville
Station statistics
Address	810 West Main Street Charlottesville, VA
Coordinates	38°1′53″N 78°29′31.6″W / 38.03139°N 78.492111°W / 38.03139; -78.492111Coordinates: 38°1′53″N 78°29′31.6″W / 38.03139°N 78.492111°W / 38.03139; -78.492111
Lines	Cardinal   Crescent   Northeast Regional
Platforms	2
Tracks	6
Parking	Yes
Other information
Opened	1885
Rebuilt	1915, Mid-1990s
Accessible
Code	CVS
Owned by	Union Station Partners LLC
Traffic
Passengers (FY2010)	91,707[1]  75% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Staunton toward Chicago Cardinal Culpeper toward New York City Lynchburg toward New Orleans Crescent Lynchburg Terminus Northeast Regional Culpeper toward Boston South Station or Springfield

The Charlottesville Union Station, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, the county seat Albemarle County, is served by Amtrak's Cardinal, Crescent, and daily Northeast Regional passenger trains. The station is within walking distance of the University of Virginia, which is the major employer in the area.

The original Union Station was built in 1885 to jointly serve the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad, the Virginia Midland Railway, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Major renovations in 1915 included the construction of a baggage handling facility.

Since 1999, the former baggage handling facility is home to the Amtrak ticket office and waiting area. The main facility has been privately developed into a commercial restaurant. Plans coincident with the redevelopment to create a transportation hub at Union Station were not realized. Instead in 2007 Charlottesville completed the Downtown Transit Center one mile across town.^[2]

However, the station does serve as a intermodal transportation nexus, with connecting motorcoach service on site, a 200+ space parking lot, and access to a full-service Greyhound Lines bus station down the street. Such services allow Charlottesville travelers to reach various airports in the region.^[3] The Charlottesville Free Trolley stops just north of the station, and connects Downtown and the University of Virginia.

Out of the 19 Virginia stations, Charlottesville is the fifth busiest in the state according to the FY2010 ridership.

Routes

• Cardinal
• Crescent
• Northeast Regional ^[4]

Gallery

• 

  A westbound Cardinal at Charlottesville in 2008. A GE Genesis is leading three Amfleet coaches, an Amfleet cafe, and a Viewliner sleeper.

• 

  Train interior view of either passengers or visitors wait in the parking lot at the station.

References

1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/VIRGINIA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
2. ^ Charlottesville Tomorrow, Transportation Matrix. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
3. ^ Hawes Spencer (2007-06-22). "Riding the rails: It's the only way to fly". The Hook (newspaper) (Charlottesville). http://www.readthehook.com/66989/essay-riding-rails-its-only-way-fly. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 
4. ^ "Amtrak Virginia announces new Northeast Regional service". http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1189639711179&ssid=180. 

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – Charlottesville, VA
• Charlottesville (CVS) Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Charlottesville Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)