Roanoke is a train station in Roanoke, Virginia, served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional line. Built in 2017, it follows several other Roanoke passenger stations that operated from the 1850s to 1979.
The last train from Roanoke south to Winston-Salem on the 'Punkin Vine' was on February 18, 1961. Through sleepers were then still operated between Roanoke and New York on the Pennsylvania Railroad and the N&W. The PRR discontinued service between Harrisburg and Hagerstown on February 25, 1962, and the N&W between Hagerstown and Waynesboro on June 10; the sleepers were rerouted via the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The last sleeper between Roanoke and Waynesboro ran on October 27, 1962, although local service continued until February 1963. This left Roanoke with only east-west passenger service for the first time since 1882. The N&W continued to run trains, including the crack Norfolk-Cincinnati Pocahontas and the local station counterpart on the same route, the Powhatan Arrow. The N&W also operated the north-south Birmingham-Washington Birmingham Special and the Pelican until April 30, 1971. When Amtrak took over most intercity passenger service on May 1, neither train was included in its basic system, and Roanoke ceased to have passenger rail service.
1970s Amtrak service
Service was restored on March 24, 1975, with the introduction of the Mountaineer service between Norfolk and Chicago. Unlike most stations on the route, Amtrak did not reuse the former N&W station. Instead, an asphalt platform was built off Shenandoah Avenue near 4th Street, to the west. The Mountaineer was replaced by the Hilltopper on June 1, 1977. The Hilltopper was discontinued on October 1, 1979, ending rail service to Roanoke for the second time. For the next four decades, Roanoke's only link to the national railroad system was an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach route that connected Roanoke to Lynchburg via the Crescent and later a Northeast Regional frequency.
Current service
From 1996 to 2007, six studies examined the proposed Transdominion Express project, which would have created two intercity rail routes from Bristol to Richmond and Washington, both via Roanoke. The last of these predicted poor ridership and low farebox recovery, and the state government abandoned the idea. But the research also suggested that Amtrak should increase service along Virginia's busiest corridors. One daily Northeast Regional round trip was extended to Lynchburg in October 2009, supplementing the Crescent service. In 2008, Virginia's transportation regulator, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, outlined plans for expanded rail service in the state, including to Roanoke. Following the introduction of state-supported Northeast Regional trains to Lynchburg and Norfolk, the state reached an agreement with the Norfolk Southern Railway in January 2014 to spend about $93 million on infrastructure improvements that would allow passenger service to reach Roanoke. With the former N&W station having been repurposed as the O. Winston Link Museum, a new station had to be built. Railroad construction was slated for 2015, improvements to the station and other facilities in Roanoke in 2016, and service would begin in 2017 with a single round trip departing Roanoke for Washington, D.C., in the morning and returning in the evening. Construction of the Roanoke facilities was delayed; a $4.9 million train storage facility was completed in early February 2017, and work on the $10.9 million station began later in the month, with completion scheduled for the end of the year. On October 31, 2017, after nearly 40 years, passenger service returned to Roanoke. The station consists of a single platform with a heated shelter. It is unstaffed, with no baggage service. All tickets must be purchased in advance; there is no Quik-Trak kiosk at the station.
