Williamsburg (Amtrak station)

Infobox Station
style=Amtrak
name=Williamsburg


image_size=
image_caption=The station building.
address=468 North Boundary Street
Williamsburg, VA
line=rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Northeast Regional
other=Greyhound Lines, Hampton Roads Transit, Williamsburg Area Transport
platform=
parking=Yes; free
bicycle=
passengers=41,941
pass_year=2007
pass_percent=10
opened=1935
rebuilt=
ADA=Yes
code=WBG
owned=
zone=
baggage_check=No
services=The Williamsburg Amtrak station is located at 468 North Boundary Street in Williamsburg, Virginia in the intermodal Williamsburg Transportation Center.

More comprehensively than many other U.S. destinations, Williamsburg offers good non-automobile driving alternatives for visitors and citizens, both getting there, and moving around locally. The area has both a central intermodal transportation center and an extensive public transit bus system prepared to serve local users and visitors. The centrally-located public transportation center is located near the Historic Area, the College of William and Mary, and the downtown area. It affords easy access to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center and virtually all types of passenger ground transportation services are located there.

History

The Williamsburg Transportation Center is located in a restored building which was formerly a Chesapeake and Ohio Railway station. Along the railroad line built to connect the Ohio River Valley with the new city of Newport News and the port of Hampton Roads by Collis P. Huntington in 1881, it was originally built in 1935 with funding from John D. Rockefeller Jr. as part of the restoration of the colonial capital which became known worldwide as Colonial Williamsburg. It replaced an earlier structure located about a mile to the east, not far from the rear of the grounds of the Governor's Palace. The brick colonial style building has been restored inside and out.

During the heyday of the railroads, dozens of dignitaries arrived there, including Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill. It remains a preferred conduit for many; in early 2008, the U.S. Democratic caucus traveled between Washington D.C. and their annual gathering at the Kingsmill Resort via Amtrak through the station.

Intercity services: rail, bus

The Williamsburg Transportation Center is served by several Amtrak trains a day, with direct service to Newport News, Richmond, and points along the Northeast Corridor from Washington DC through New York City to Boston. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines (Carolina Trailways) and Hampton Roads Transit (HRT).

Local transportation

The center also offers several modes of local transportation. Williamsburg Area Transport (WAT) uses the center as a transfer hub for its network of handicapped accessible transit bus routes serving the city, James City County, and most portions of York County adjacent to the Williamsburg area, with hourly service 6 days a week during daytime and evening hours. Taxicabs and rental cars are also based at the transportation center. The Virginia Capital Trail to Jamestown and Richmond is located nearby, and all of the WAT transit buses and many of Colonial Williamsburg's "gray buses" have been equipped with bike racks which will help facilitate access for cyclists. [ [http://www.virginiacapitaltrail.org/ Virginia Capital Trail Foundation ] ]

Amtrak routes

*"Northeast Regional"

References

External links

* [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/williamsburg.htm Williamsburg Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)]