Kelso's first train station was built for the Northern Pacific Railroad. The first small depot was a wooden structure in the 100 block of Front or First Avenue. By 1906 the citizens of Kelso petitioned the Northern Pacific Railroad for a better passenger and freight depot. This was granted and a new, brick passenger and a wood freight depot was built. A grand opening reception was held February 12, 1912. The line was also operated by passenger trains by the Great Northern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad under a joint service agreement. In 1970 the Northern Pacific Railway merged with several other railroads to create the Burlington Northern Railroad. The station remained in active freight service until the early 1980s when Burlington Northern suspended freight service there and transferred that service to the Portland, Oregon hub. Amtrak service to Kelso began on July 12, 1971, a few months after the company took over national passenger rail service. The station was manned by a ticketing agent until the 1990s when the station was locked up due to vandalism. In the mid-1990s the station underwent extensive remodeling to make it look like the passenger stations of a bygone era. The station's interior and exterior received face-lifts and rebuilds, and a clock tower was constructed outside the station. The refurbished station was formally dedicated on September 23, 1995.
Service
Although the Amtrak Cascades runs between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, there is no train that starts at one terminus and ends at the other. However, each day eight Amtrak Cascades trains stop at the Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center. The Coast Starlight has runs one train daily in each direction between Los Angeles, California and Seattle. The next northbound stop on both Amtrak trains is in Centralia and the next southbound stop is in Vancouver. The intermodal center is also served by intercity Greyhound buses from Portland and Seattle, as well as local buses operated by RiverCities Transit, the local transit authority.
Boardings and alightings
Historical events
November 1993 accident
A head-on crash between a Burlington Northern and Union Pacific train occurred just south of Kelso on November 11, 1993. Five crew were killed in the accident and subsequent fire, which was fueled by approximately of diesel fuel on board the trains. The double track corridor in the area served around 60 passenger and freight trains per day, making it one of the busiest rail corridors in the United States at the time of the accident. The Kelso station was used as a staging area for Burlington Northern's Incident Response Unit.
Station remodel
In 1994 and 1995, the station was inundated with water damage when the nearby Cowlitz River peaked over the dike at and flooded the basement and platform area, which ultimately led to the approval of the remodel. Greyhound service to the depot was temporarily disrupted from 2006 to 2007 after a dispute with the city over maintenance costs.
Other events
In 1993, a special Burlington Northern train made a stop at the station while it was carrying the company's CEO and board members on an inspection of the system. Numerous special events are held at the station each year, the most notable of which is the Kelso Christmas Celebration at which the mayor lights the Christmas tree that adorns the clock tower and Santa Claus makes a visit via the Amtrak Cascades train. Between 1999 and 2004, the Kelso City Council held its meetings in the station's basement, because City Hall had been torn down to make way for a new bridge spanning the Cowlitz River.
