Birmingham station (Alabama)


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."

Passenger services in L&N years

Through the 1960s, these long distance Louisville & Nashville trains served the Birmingham station:
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 began serving the ex-L&N station as well. 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.