Richmond Staples Mill Road station

The Richmond Staples Mill Road Amtrak station is located in unincorporated Henrico County, about 5 miles (8 km) north of downtown Richmond. The station was designed by David Volkert and Associates, and was built in 1975 as a replacement for Main Street Station in downtown Richmond, which had been heavily damaged by flooding from Hurricane Agnes.[2] At its opening, it also inherited trains that had called at Richmond's other former union station, Broad Street Station. Although limited Amtrak service returned to Main Street Station in 2003, Staples Mill Road remains the primary rail station for the Richmond area with only the Newport News-terminating branch of Amtrak's Northeast Regional service currently serving Main Street.

This article is about the train station in suburban Richmond, Virginia. For the train station in downtown Richmond, see Richmond Main Street Station. For the nearby GRTC bus rapid transit station, see Staples Mill station (GRTC).
Richmond – Staples Mill Road
Staples Mill Road station from the parking lot
Location7519 Staples Mill Road
Henrico, Virginia 23228
Coordinates37.6178°N 77.4969°W / 37.6178; -77.4969
Owned byAmtrak
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks5
Connections Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
GRTC: 18
Construction
ParkingYes; paid
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeRVR
History
Opened1975
Passengers
2017373,832 annually[1]  4.95% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Richmond–Main Street
toward Newport News
 Northeast Regional Ashland
toward Boston South or Springfield
Petersburg
toward Norfolk
Petersburg
toward Savannah
 Palmetto Alexandria
toward New York
Petersburg
toward Miami
 Silver Star
Silver Meteor Fredericksburg
toward New York
Petersburg
toward Charlotte
 Carolinian

The station has an indoor waiting room with restrooms, a snack bar, and a teller window.

Richmond Staples Mill Road station platform entrance

Nearby modes of transportation

There are pedestrian sidewalks along Staples Mill Road, but the area surrounding the train station is a suburban sprawl area built in the 1970s. A designated line-up area for taxicabs is onsite next to the train station parking lot. GRTC bus service is available (via the Henrico County Government Center Shuttle 18). There are a few rental car agencies within a couple of miles of the station. The payment for parking is through a set of self-service ticketing kiosks. Parking at the station is less than $10/day. The station formerly held 274 spots.[3] As a part of a multi-phase project, additional spots were added by June 2018, bringing the total to 589.[4]

Train service

As of 2017, the station is served by nine routes for a total of 18 trains daily, all of which continue north to Washington Union Station and New York Pennsylvania Station (some continuing as far north as Boston's South Station):[5]

As of 2018, Staples Mill Road is the busiest Amtrak station in Virginia, and the busiest in the Southeast, with 373,800 boardings and detrainings yearly.[6] This is mainly due to the large number of passengers traveling to and from Washington and points north.

Rail service Major Destinations
Carolinian Alexandria, Baltimore, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Washington, D.C.
Northeast Regional Alexandria, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Newark, Newport News, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Springfield, Washington, D.C.
Palmetto Alexandria, Baltimore, Charleston, New York City, Philadelphia, Savannah, Washington, D.C.
Silver Meteor Alexandria, Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Savannah, Washington, D.C.
Silver Star Alexandria, Baltimore, Columbia, Jacksonville, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Raleigh, Philadelphia, Savannah, Tampa, Washington, D.C.
Thruway Connector Charlottesville, Virginia Beach

Future transportation plans in Richmond

Henrico County began pursuing the development of a new multi-mode transportation system, served by both rail and bus lines; under this proposal, Staples Mill Road Station became the site of a new express bus station and received significant improvements to the station building and platforms. The parking lots were expanded and new taxi/ride-sharing zones were established. The work was completed in 2018.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. "RICHMOND - STAPLES MILL ROAD STATION, VA (RVR)". Great American Stations (Amtrak). Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  3. "Staples Mill Amtrak station debuts new parking expansion". WWBT-TV. June 28, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  4. Cline, Alexandria (June 28, 2018). "Amtrak announces completion of parking expansion at Staples Mill Road station". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  5. "Virginia Service" (PDF). Amtrak.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  6. Amtrak fact sheet for Virginia

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