Carbondale station

Carbondale, IL
Carbondale station in July 2010
Location	401 South Illinois Street, Carbondale, Illinois United States
Coordinates	37°43′27″N 89°12′59″W / 37.7243°N 89.2165°W / 37.7243; -89.2165Coordinates: 37°43′27″N 89°12′59″W / 37.7243°N 89.2165°W / 37.7243; -89.2165
Owned by	Canadian National (Illinois Central)
Line(s)	CN Centralia Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	CDL
History
Opened	July 4, 1854
Rebuilt	1903; 1981
Passengers
2014	129,446[1]  4.7%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Fulton toward New Orleans City of New Orleans Centralia toward Chicago Terminus Illini and Saluki Du Quoin toward Chicago
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station toward New Orleans Main Line toward Chicago Murphysboro toward St. Louis St. Louis – Carbondale Terminus Du Quoin Via Du Quoin toward St. Louis toward Gale – Carbondale
Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Illinois Show map of the United States
Location	111 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois
Area	less than one acre
Built	1903 (1903)
Architect	Bacon, Francis T.
NRHP reference No.	02000457[2]
Added to NRHP	May 9, 2002

Carbondale station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. The southern terminus of Amtrak's Illini and Saluki routes, it is also served by the City of New Orleans. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service between Carbondale and St. Louis, Missouri connects with the City of New Orleans. Carbondale is the southernmost Amtrak station in Illinois.

History[]

Illinois Central Railroad (IC) service to Carbondale began on July 4, 1854, with a wooden passenger depot. A second station was built in 1903 as part of a series of improvements by the railroad in Carbondale, which included a roundhouse, office buildings, and a bandstand and park. Railway architect Francis T. Bacon designed the brick and limestone station.^[3]

Amtrak took over intercity passenger service from most private railroads, including the IC, on May 1, 1971. Initial Amtrak service to Carbondale was by the Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans (renamed Panama Limited that November) and Chicago-Carbondale Shawnee, each with one daily round trip.^[4]: 94 The City of New Orleans name returned in 1981. That year, Amtrak constructed a new station built to a standard design some 800 feet (240 m) to the south.^[3] The Shawnee was merged with the Chicago-Champaign Illini on January 12, 1986; the Illini name was preserved with its terminus extended to Carbondale.^[4]: 101 A second daily Illini round trip, the Saluki, was added on October 30, 2006.^[5] The Saluki was named for the mascot of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.^[6]

The city of Carbondale purchased the former station from the IC in 1989; the exterior was restored in 1992, followed by the interior in 1996.^[3] The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2002 as the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot.^[2] The building now houses the offices of Carbondale Main Street and Carbondale Chamber of Commerce.^[7]

In November 2019, the city was awarded a $14 million federal grant to construct the Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station, which will replace the 1981-built station with a large train and bus depot on the same site.^[8]

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Carbondale station at Wikimedia Commons

• Carbondale, IL – Amtrak
• Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station
• Trainweb USA Rail Guide: Carbondale, IL