New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
Viewed from Loyola Avenue, 2007
Station statistics
Address	1001 Loyola Ave. New Orleans, LA 70113
Coordinates	29°56′46″N 90°04′43″W / 29.9462°N 90.0786°W / 29.9462; -90.0786Coordinates: 29°56′46″N 90°04′43″W / 29.9462°N 90.0786°W / 29.9462; -90.0786
Lines	City of New Orleans   Crescent   Sunset Limited
Platforms	4 Active
Tracks	6 Active
Other information
Opened	1954
Rebuilt	2005 Renovation
Accessible
Code	NOL
Owned by	The City of New Orleans;New Orleans Building Corporation
Traffic
Passengers (FY2010)	200,249[1]  27% (Amtrak)
Services
Bus, train, retail and office space Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Terminus City of New Orleans Hammond toward Chicago Crescent Slidell toward New York City Schriever toward Los Angeles Sunset Limited Terminus Sunset Limited service suspended Bay St. Louis toward Orlando

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) is the main train station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is served by Amtrak passenger trains, and played a role in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

History

The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT, located at 1001 Loyola Avenue), was designed by the New Orleans architectural firms of Wogan and Bernard, Jules K. de la Vergne, and August Perez and Associates in 1949. The structure opened in 1954 to consolidate passenger rail operations from the city's other railroad stations.^[2] It was considered an ultramodern facility - completed just at the time that air travel was taking off at the expense of rail travel. The station was constructed just to the west of the older New Orleans Union Station.

The stub-end terminal consists of a modern waiting hall, featuring a 120-foot (37 m)-long mural of Louisiana and New Orleans history, painted by Conrad A. Albrizio with the assistance of James Fisher^[3] (restored post-Katrina), and covered platforms. The freight and express houses are now the domain of the New Orleans Arena and Main Post Office.

The station is the major Southern hub for Amtrak, with three trains (Sunset Limited, City of New Orleans and Crescent) serving the city. Amtrak also operates a coach and engine yard near the terminal.

In the 1970s, parts of two platforms were shortened to allow for Greyhound Lines to build an intercity bus terminal, sharing the terminal with Amtrak and creating an intermodal facility.

NOUPT was built next to the old Union Station. Parts of the station property also are over what once was the turning basin for the New Basin Canal. The main lead track to the terminal follows the path of the old canal (which was filled in) and the Pontchartrain Expressway/I-10.

Hurricane Katrina affected NOUPT - at one point, the terminal was used as a temporary jail - however, it was spared from major damage. Amtrak provided the first commercial transportation after the storm out of New Orleans.

Ridership

Of the seven Louisiana stations served by Amtrak, New Orleans was the busiest in FY2010, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 550 passengers daily.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of Louisiana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/LOUISIANA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
2. ^ * "Centralization in the Crescent City". Classic Trains Magazine (Winter 2010) (Kalmbach) 11 (4). 2010. 
3. ^ > Crescent City Choo Choo exhibit
4. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of Louisiana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/LOUISIANA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – New Orleans, LA
• New Orleans Amtrak and Streetcar Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• New Orleans Regional Transit Authority
• Southern High-Speed Rail Commission
• The Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries
• Photographs of Albrizio mural on Flickr
• Article on restoration of Albrizio mural