Birmingham station (Alabama)

Birmingham, AL
Birmingham, AL
	Amtrak inter-city rail station
Location	1819 Morris Avenue; Birmingham, AL; United States
Coordinates	33°30′44″N 86°48′26″W
Owned by	CSX Transportation
Line(s)	CSXT
Platforms	2 island platforms, 1 in use
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	More than 100 long term spaces in a nearby City of Birmingham lot
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak code: BHM
History
Opened	1960
Previous names	1880
Original company	Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Passengers
2019	37,605[1] 7.92%
Services
Former services

Birmingham 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.

History

The L&N built the new station for $500,000, replacing Union Station which it had used since 1887. 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]

- Humming Bird (Cincinnati - New Orleans)
- Pan-American (Cincinnati - New Orleans)
- South Wind (Chicago - St. Petersburg and Miami)

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 1989-1995 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]

References

"Amtrak Fact Sheets - State of Alabama, FY 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-12-06.
Herr, Kincaid A. (1960). The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963. University Press of Kentucky.
Official Guide of the Railways, December 1964, Louisville & Nashville Railroad section, Table 1
Cox, Jim (2011). Rails Across Dixie: A History of Passenger Trains in the American South. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 9780786445288. OCLC 609716000.
"– MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority". Final Intermodal Page. MAX Transit – Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

External links

Media related to Birmingham, Alabama (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] "Amtrak Fact Sheets - State of Alabama, FY 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-12-06.

[herr-2] Herr, Kincaid A. (1960). The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963. University Press of Kentucky.

[3] Official Guide of the Railways, December 1964, Louisville & Nashville Railroad section, Table 1

[cox-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.