St. Cloud station

St. Cloud is an Amtrak intercity train station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States, on Amtrak's daily Empire Builder service between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon.[Note 1] The next westbound passenger stop is in Staples, Minnesota, and the next eastbound stop is in Saint Paul, Minnesota.)[Note 2]

St. Cloud, MN
Amtrak inter-city rail station
St. Cloud station in May 2017.
Location555 East Saint Germain Street
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56304[1]
United States
Coordinates45°34′04″N 94°08′56″W
Owned byBNSF Railway[2]
Line(s)BNSF Railway Staples Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsMetro Bus
Construction
Parking40 free long term spaces[1]
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeSCD
History
Opened1909
Passengers
201611,457[3]  15.1% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Staples
toward Seattle or Portland
 Empire Builder St. Paul
toward Chicago
Saint Paul–Midway
1979–2014
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Staples
toward Seattle
 North Coast Hiawatha
1971–1979
 Minneapolis
toward Chicago
Preceding station Northern Pacific Railway Following station
Sauk Rapids
toward Seattle or Tacoma
 Main Line Clear Lake
toward St. Paul
Little Falls
toward Winnipeg
 Winnipeg – St. Paul Elk River
toward St. Paul
Location
St. Cloud, MN
Location in Minnesota
St. Cloud, MN
Location in United States

Description

The station is located at 555 East Saint Germain Street and is situated on the east side of the Mississippi River in the middle of a wye that links to the St. Cloud Rail Bridge.[1] The depot is easily accessible from US 10 by taking the SH 23 interchange (toward St. Cloud) and heading southwest on 3rd Street Southeast (SH 23), then north-northwest on Lincoln Avenue Southeast, then southeast on East Saint Germain Street, and finally north-northwest again on the station access road (immediately after crossing the tracks). There is an enclosed waiting room (with restrooms) available daily from 4:00 am to 6:00 am and from 11:30 pm to 1:15 am (early the next morning), with a caretaker opening and closing the depot. While it does not have a ticketing office or counter, it does have a Quik-Trak kiosk. However, no other services are provided at the station (i.e., baggage, lounge, telephone, etc.).[1] The tracks, platform, depot building, and parking lot are all owned by the BNSF Railway.[2]

History

It was built in 1909 by the Northern Pacific Railway.[7] The depot features walls of brown pressed brick with grey granite trim.[2]

The St. Cloud station was served by the North Coast Hiawatha, with service from Chicago to Seattle from 1971 until the train was discontinued in 1979. The next westbound stop for the North Coast Hiawatha was in Staples and the next eastbound stop was in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[8] When the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979, the Empire Builder was rerouted away from Willmar, Minnesota to St. Cloud and has served the station continuously since then.[4][8][9] The next westbound stop for the Empire Builder is also in Staples and the next eastbound stop is in Saint Paul.[4][9] However, in 2014, Amtrak service in Saint Paul was moved from the Midway Station to the Saint Paul Union Depot.[4][10]

Future service

The Northstar commuter rail service was originally planned to originate in Rice, Minnesota and serve the St. Cloud station,[11] but was cut back to Big Lake. On November 8, 2010, it was announced that extension of the line to St. Cloud had been indefinitely delayed, as projected ridership is not sufficient to qualify for federal funding.[12]

Notes
  1. As of 7 May 2014, the Empire Builder westbound trains (Trains 7 & 27) are scheduled to stop at 12:40 am and the eastbound trains (Trains 8 & 28) are scheduled to stop at 4:44 am.[4]
  2. For over twenty-five years prior to 7 May 2014, the next eastbound stop was at the Midway station, located further west of the Saint Paul Union Depot.[5] The Empire Builder was to continue to stop at the Midway station for servicing, but passengers will not be allowed to board or disembark.[6] Amtrak is being encouraged to restore service to the Midway Station in addition to the new service to the Saint Paul Depot.[6]

References
  1. "St. Cloud, MN (SCD)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. "Great American Stations: St. Cloud, MN (SCD)". greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. "Amtrak Sees Spike in Empire Builder Ridership". wjon.com. WJON Radio. Feb 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  4. "Empire Builder" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. 7 May 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 8 Jul 2014.
  5. Melo, Fredrick (7 May 2014). "After 43 years, St. Paul's Union Depot marks return of passenger trains". twincitiespress.com. MediaNews Group. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  6. "What's New". www.allaboardmn.org. All Aboard Minnesota. 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014. Amtrak plans to stop the Empire Builder at Midway each day to water and service the train and add/drop off coaches and private cars.
  7. "Northern Pacific depot". Arcadia Publishing. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  8. Amtrak (29 Oct 1978). "National Train Timetables". timetables.org. The Museum of Railway Timetables. p. 42. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  9. Amtrak (28 Oct 1979). "National Train Timetables". timetables.org. The Museum of Railway Timetables. p. 44. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  10. Bowen, Douglas John (8 May 2014). "Amtrak moves into St. Paul Union Depot". Railway Age. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  11. Cambridge Systematics; Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc.; TKDA (Feb 2009). "Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan (Final Report)" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  12. "Northstar commuter train expansion put on hold". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. 8 Nov 2010. Retrieved 8 Nov 2010.
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