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Petersburg station

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Coordinates: 37°14′31″N 77°25′43″W / 37.2419°N 77.4287°W / 37.2419; -77.4287
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Petersburg, VA
A passenger train stopped at a side platform. A brick modernist station building is at right.
The Silver Star at Petersburg station in August 2010
General information
Location3516 South Street
Ettrick, Virginia
United States
Coordinates37°14′31″N 77°25′43″W / 37.2419°N 77.4287°W / 37.2419; -77.4287
Owned byCSX Transportation
Line(s)CSX North End Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Petersburg Area Transit
Construction
ParkingYes; free
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: PTB
History
OpenedMarch 15, 1942
RebuiltMay 16, 1955
Passengers
FY 202346,274[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Rocky Mount
toward Charlotte
 Carolinian Richmond Staples Mill Road
toward New York
Rocky Mount
toward Savannah
 Palmetto
Rocky Mount
toward Miami
 Silver Meteor
Floridian Richmond Staples Mill Road
toward Chicago
Norfolk
Terminus
 Northeast Regional Richmond Staples Mill Road
toward Boston South or Springfield
     Auto Train does not stop here
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Rocky Mount
toward Miami
 Silver Star
Until 2024
 Richmond Staples Mill Road
toward New York
Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station
Carson
toward Tampa
 Main Line Chester
toward Richmond
Location
Map

Petersburg station (also known as Ettrick station) is an Amtrak railroad station located in Ettrick, Virginia, just outside the city of Petersburg. The station, adjacent to the campus of Virginia State University, is served by five Amtrak routes: the Carolinian, Floridian, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, and Silver Meteor. It has a brick station building and a single side platform adjacent to the two-track North End Subdivision.

Predecessors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) originally had a station on West Washington Street in downtown Petersburg. The ACL built a new station a block west in 1903. Some ACL trains began using the new Union Station when it opened in 1910, and the West Washington Street station closed around 1918. In 1942, the ACL opened a new station in Ettrick on a line that bypassed downtown Petersburg. It was replaced at the same site in 1955 by the current structure.

Service passed to the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967. Former Seaboard Air Line Railroad trains began using the station in 1970. Amtrak took over service in 1971; service varied in the 1970s and gradually increased thereafter. Relocation of the station to nearby Colonial Heights was proposed in 2017 as part of the Southeast High Speed Rail project. The move was shelved in 2019 in favor of a renovation of the existing station.

Design and services

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Petersburg station is located in Ettrick, about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) northwest of downtown Petersburg.[2]: 49  The one-story brick station building is 260 feet (79 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide.[3][4] The passenger waiting room is located in the southern part of the station; the northern part is unoccupied.[3] A single 1,200-foot (370 m)-long side platform serves the eastern track of the two-track CSX North End Subdivision.[5][6]: 12  A wheelchair lift provides accessibility.[3]

As of 2024, Petersburg station is served by five Amtrak routes with a total of six to seven daily round trips. The Carolinian, Floridian, Palmetto, and Silver Meteor each have one daily round trip. The Northeast Regional has three weekday round trips and two weekend round trips.[7]

History

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Previous stations

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A postcard showing a two-story brick train station on an urban street
Early-20th-century postcard of the 1903-built ACL station

The Petersburg Railroad (opened 1833) and Richmond and Petersburg Railroad (opened 1838) ran north–south on a winding route through Petersburg. The two lines merged in 1898 and became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1900.[8] By the 1890s, the ACL station was located on West Washington Street on the east side of Union Street in downtown Petersburg.[9] In 1894–95, the ACL built a "belt line" west of downtown Petersburg.[10][11] It was straighter and largely double-tracked, allowing through freight and passenger trains to bypass the congested main line, which had street running on West Washington Street.[12]

In 1902–03, the ACL built a larger freight depot; a new passenger station was built on the west side of Union Street.[13][14] The Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) opened its Union Station near the junction with the ACL in May 1910.[15] It included a platform for ACL trains.[16][17] The ACL referred to it as "Appomattox station" to distinguish it from the West Washington Street station.[18]

Around 1918, under the control of the wartime United States Railroad Administration, the West Washington Street station was closed to passengers and all trains used Union Station.[19][20] By 1938, ACL service at Union Station included four daily Richmond–Petersburg round trips and three to four long distance trains in each direction (including the Havana Special and the southbound New Palmetto Limited). Four long-distance trains in each direction bypassed Petersburg via the belt line.[21]

Ettrick station

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A single-story brick train station in disrepair
The 1942-built station in 2010

In the late 1930s, city officials and the chamber of commerce began agitating for the ACL to remove its tracks from Washington Street and to build a new station on the belt line.[22] Construction of a new union station for the ACL, N&W, and Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) west of downtown Petersburg was considered in 1940 after flooding of the Appomattox River affected Union Station.[23]

In November 1941, the ACL began construction of a new brick station at Ettrick on the belt line.[24][25] That station opened on March 15, 1942, removing passenger trains from Washington Street, though the Richmond–Petersburg trains continued to terminate at Union Station until at least 1958.[26][27]

In mid-1954, the ACL began construction of a combination passenger and freight station in Ettrick, just north of the 1942-built station. The structure cost $125,000 to build, with most of the interior space for freight.[4] Freight service was temporarily moved to the former West Washington Street station on June 1, 1954, allowing the freight house and station to be demolished for new development.[28][a]

Freight service was moved to the new combination station around April 1955, removing trains from the West Washington Street tracks; the belt line became the mainline. Passenger service moved to the new station on May 16, 1955; the older station there was converted to a warehouse.[30] It remained extant until at least 2012.[31] In 2010, a bus station for Petersburg Area Transit and intercity buses opened where the West Washington Street station once stood.[32]

The ACL and SAL merged in 1967 to become the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.[33] All former SAL passenger service was rerouted over the ACL through Petersburg on June 1, 1970.[34] By December 1970, Petersburg was served by six daily round trips – the Champion, Everglades, Gulf Coast Special, Palmland, Silver Meteor, and Silver Star – and bypassed only by the Florida Special.[35]

Amtrak era

[edit]
Truck loading docks on a brick train station building
Loading docks at the 1955-built station

Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971. It retained three Seaboard Coast Line trains through Petersburg – the Champion, Silver Meteor, and Silver Star.[36] The Silver Meteor only served Petersburg intermittently from 1971 to 1976, but regularly thereafter.[37]: 73  Amtrak also operated several seasonal trains in its first decade. Winter trains serving Florida[b] did not stop at Petersburg, but the Carolina Coast (summer 1972) and Carolina Special (summer 1973) did.[38][39]

The Palmetto was introduced on June 15, 1976, giving Petersburg three year-round daily trains.[40][37]: 80  After being combined during the off-season with the Silver Meteor for much of the decade, the Champion was fully merged into the Silver Meteor in 1979.[37]: 78  Some interior renovations, including expansion of the waiting room, took place in the late 1980s.[3] The Carolinian was added on May 12, 1990, giving Petersburg a fourth daily round trip.[37]: 89 

Passenger service on the N&W, which had been discontinued in 1971, resumed on March 24, 1975, with the Mountaineer.[41] It stopped in Petersburg at Union Station.[42] On June 1, 1977, it was replaced with the Hilltopper, which stopped at Fleet Street west of downtown and used the ex-ACL route north of Union Station.[41][43] The Hilltopper was discontinued on September 30, 1979, again leaving Petersburg with a single train station.[41][37]: 254 

On December 12, 2012, one daily Northeast Regional round trip was extended from Richmond to Norfolk, stopping at Petersburg.[44] A new connecting track was built south of Petersburg to allow the train to switch from the ex-ACL main line (now the North End Subdivision) to an ex-N&W line (the Norfolk District).[31][45][c] A second weekday Northeast Regional round trip was added on March 4, 2019, and an additional daily round trip on July 11, 2022.[47][48] Petersburg Area Transit began local bus service to the station in 2019.[49] On November 10, 2024, the Silver Star was merged with the Capitol Limited as the Floridian.[50]

Southeast High Speed Rail

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A low-level train station platform
The non-accessible platform, which is planned for replacement

The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) project is planned to reactivate the ex-SAL mainline (Norlina Subdivision) between Petersburg and Raleigh, North Carolina, for passenger service.[51] Planning for the project considered reactivation of portions of the ex-SAL route or the original ACL route through Petersburg, but they were deemed inferior to the existing route.[2]: 41–45 [52] The Burgess Connector, a connecting line south of Petersburg (originally built after the ACL/SAL merger) will be reopened to allow trains to reach the ex-SAL line.[53]: 2–22 [2]: 1  As of 2023, the Virginia portion of the reactivated line is expected to open after 2030.[54]

The 2010 Tier 2 Draft Environmental Impact Statement noted four potential sites for a station to serve the Tri-Cities (Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell): Colonial Heights, the existing Ettrick station, Washington Street west of downtown Petersburg, and Collier south of downtown Petersburg.[2]: 49  That report, a 2012 recommendation report, and the 2015 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) all deferred selection of the station site to a locally-focused study.[2]: 49 [55][53]: 2–19  The FEIS called for a third track to be built through Petersburg.[5]

In 2017, the Federal Railroad Administration study recommended a site at Boulevard (U.S. Route 1/301) in Colonial Heights.[56][6]: ES-12  The decision proved controversial; in 2019, the agency suspended environmental work on the station project due to a "lack of consensus" about the site.[57] That July, the state announced plans to spend $5.7 million to modernize the station and make it fully accessible.[58] In June 2022, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) was awarded a $6.4 million federal grant for the $10.6 million renovation project. It will include a new 850 feet (260 m)-long platform with a new canopy, interior renovations, and modifications to the parking lot.[59] As of August 2024, construction is expected to start in 2025. The VPRA was awarded $1 million in 2024 for a study to determine longer-term plans for the station.[60]

Notes

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  1. ^ Several nearby buildings were later listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Commercial and Industrial Historic District.[29]
  2. ^ The Florida Special in 1971–72, the Vacationer in 1972–73 and 1973–74, and Miamian in 1974–75[38]
  3. ^ The ex-N&W line was built around 1910 as a freight bypass for the downtown N&W line, similar to the ACL belt line.[46]

References

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  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Chapter 2: Alternatives" (PDF). Southeast High Speed Rail Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. May 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "Petersburg, VA (PTB)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Contract Awarded By ACL For N. Petersburg Bldg". The Progress-Index. May 26, 1954. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Appendix E: Track Charts". Tier II Final Environmental Impact Statement And Final Section 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. August 2015.
  6. ^ a b Federal Railroad Administration; Crater Planning District Commission (January 2017). Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Statement for the Tri-Cities Multimodal Station (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Amtrak's Richmond and Hampton Roads" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. November 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Willoughby, Laura E. (2006). Petersburg. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 100–103. ISBN 0-7385-4285-7.
  9. ^ "Plate 10" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Petersburg, Independent Cities, Virginia. Sanborn Map Company. June 1897.
  10. ^ "In Petersburg". The Norfolk Virginian. June 12, 1894. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "The Belt Line Used". Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 26, 1895. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Contract Awarded". Richmond Dispatch. May 27, 1894. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Plate 10" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Petersburg, Independent Cities, Virginia. 1:600. Sanborn Map Company. April 1903.
  14. ^
  15. ^ "New N. & W. Station At Petersburg". The Roanoke Times. May 3, 1910. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Thirty-One Liquor Licenses Granted". Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 30, 1910. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Plate 4" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Petersburg, Independent Cities, Virginia. Sanborn Map Company. 1915.
  18. ^ "Zimmer to Make Race for Senate". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 25, 1911. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Notes of Interest". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 6, 1918. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Annual Report of the Regional Director for the Pocahontas Region to the Director General of Railroads. United States Railroad Administration. December 31, 1918. p. 10.
  21. ^ Time Tables: Winter Seasons 1937–1938. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. January 3, 1938. pp. 11–12, 23–24, 37 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  22. ^
  23. ^ "New Station For Railroads Is Sought". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 23, 1940. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Petersburg Chamber Approves Station". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 7, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Construction Started On Ettrick Station". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 8, 1941. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "New Station to Open". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 14, 1942. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^
  28. ^ "Work Is Progressing On ACL Station In Ettrick". The Progress-Index. July 27, 1954. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Ashley Neville; Anne Barrett; John Salmon_&_Kimberly M. Chen (March 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Commercial and Industrial Historic District". National Park Service.
  30. ^ "ACL Passenger Service to Start at New Depot". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. May 13, 1955. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  31. ^ a b "A Rail Revival". The Progress-Index. December 16, 2012. pp. A1, A7 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Transit center to finally get rolling". The Progress-Index. March 14, 2010. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Seaboard Coast Line To 'Start' July 1". The Indianapolis News. AP. April 14, 1967. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (June 18, 1970). "Notice". Suffolk News-Herald. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Passenger Schedules. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. December 11, 1970 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  36. ^ National Railroad Passenger Corporation Train Schedules. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. May 1, 1971 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  37. ^ a b c d e Warner, David C.; Goldberg, Bruce (2021). Fifty Years of Amtrak Trains: A Comprehensive Survey of Amtrak Routes: 1971–2021. Bucklin, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN 978-1-932804-70-6.
  38. ^ a b
  39. ^
  40. ^ National Train Timetables. Amtrak. June 15, 1976. p. 42.
  41. ^ a b c Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 71–74. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  42. ^ All-America Schedules. Amtrak. November 30, 1975. p. 39.
  43. ^ National Train Timetables. Amtrak. April 30, 1978. p. 34.
  44. ^ "Governor McDonnell Announces Amtrak Virginia to Norfolk to Start December 12". Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  45. ^ "Virginia and Norfolk Southern Sign Landmark Agreement for Passenger Rail Service" (Press release). Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. December 20, 2010. Archived from the original on January 5, 2011.
  46. ^ "Contract For Cut-Off Awarded". The Roanoke Times. February 16, 1910. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ Lazo, Luz (July 9, 2022). "Virginia expands train service with two new Amtrak round trips". Washington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  48. ^ "Amtrak Increases Daily Service to Norfolk" (Press release). Amtrak. June 21, 2022.
  49. ^ Atkinson, Bill (September 11, 2019). "Petersburg expands bus service to train station". The Progress-Index. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019.
  50. ^ "Amtrak Launching the Floridian, with Daily Service Between Chicago and Miami" (Press release). Amtrak. September 23, 2024. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  51. ^ "Biden Administration Awards NC Historic $1.09 Billion Grant for S-Line, Faster Raleigh-Richmond Passenger Rail" (Press release). North Carolina Office of the Governor. December 8, 2023.
  52. ^ "Appendix G: Federal Railroad Administration Decision Brief" (PDF). Southeast High Speed Rail Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. May 2010.
  53. ^ a b Tier II Final Environmental Impact Statement And Final Section 4(f) Evaluation (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. August 2015.
  54. ^ Stewart, Ian M. (December 21, 2023). "Virginia's railways are getting an upgrade". VPM. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  55. ^ "Recommendation Report". Southeast High Speed Rail Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation (PDF). Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation; North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division. April 2012. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2016.
  56. ^ Buettner, Michael (May 17, 2017). "Feds propose moving Amtrak station out of Ettrick". The Progress-Index. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019.
  57. ^ Gorman, Sean (July 26, 2019). "Ettrick train station, village mainstay for decades, is spared for now as federal agency backs off review of replacement station". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on November 28, 2024.
  58. ^ Atkinson, Bill (July 6, 2019). "Ettrick's Amtrak future appears back on track". Virginian-Pilot. The (Petersburg) Progress-Index. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019.
  59. ^ "VPRA Awarded Federal Grant for Petersburg Station Upgrades" (Press release). Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. June 7, 2022.
  60. ^ Martz, Michael (August 26, 2024). "McClellan delivers check for Ettrick train station to look south to Raleigh". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024.
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Media related to Petersburg station at Wikimedia Commons

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