Birmingham station (Alabama)

Birmingham station is a train station in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a service stop for Amtrak's Crescent, which provides daily service between New York City, Atlanta, and New Orleans. The current station is located on the site of another station originally built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1960, although Amtrak did not use the building itself, which was torn down in the 2000s.

Birmingham, AL
General information
Location1819 Morris Avenue
Birmingham, Alabama
United States
Coordinates33°30′44″N 86°48′26″W
Owned byCSX Transportation
Line(s)CSX Boyles Terminal Subdivision
Platforms2 island platforms, 1 in use
Tracks2
Construction
ParkingMore than 100 long term spaces in a nearby City of Birmingham lot
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: BHM
History
Opened2017
Original companyLouisville and Nashville Railroad
Passengers
FY 202221,211[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Tuscaloosa
toward New Orleans
 Crescent Anniston
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Montgomery
toward St. Petersburg or Miami
 Floridian Decatur
toward Chicago
Montgomery
toward Mobile
 Gulf Breeze Terminus
Location

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 until the 1930s. One writer described this new station as "modern in every respect."[2]: 322 

Passenger services in L&N years

Through the 1960s, these long distance Louisville & Nashville trains served the Birmingham station:[3]

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 (shortened to Crescent) began serving the ex-L&N station as well.[4]: 310  Amtrak discontinued the Floridian in October, 1979 but the Crescent has operated uninterrupted ever since. Between 1989 and 1995 Alabama funded a Mobile, Alabama section of the Crescent named the Gulf Breeze.

The Birmingham Intermodal Facility, which opened in 2017, combines several modes of ground transportation in one central location: the MAX bus central station, Greyhound 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.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Alabama" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  2. Herr, Kincaid A. (1960). The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813129567.
  3. Official Guide of the Railways, December 1964, Louisville & Nashville Railroad section, Table 1
  4. Cox, Jim (2011). Rails Across Dixie: A History of Passenger Trains in the American South. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 9780786445288. OCLC 609716000.
  5. "– MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority". Final Intermodal Page. MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

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