St. Cloud station explained

Style:Amtrak
St. Cloud, MN
Country:United States
Coordinates:45.5679°N -94.149°W
Tracks:2
Parking:40 free long term spaces
Bicycle:Yes
Opened:1909
Accessible:Yes
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:rail
Mapframe-Zoom:14

St. Cloud station is an Amtrak intercity train station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It is served by the daily Empire Builder on its route connecting Chicago, Illinois to Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The next stop westbound is while the next stop eastbound is Saint Paul Union Depot.

Description

The station is located at 555 East Saint Germain Street 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. It has neither ticketing office, ticket counter, nor a Quik-Trak kiosk. No other services are provided at the station (i.e., baggage, lounge, pay phone, 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.[3] The depot is constructed 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.[4] 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] [5] The next westbound stop for the Empire Builder is also in Staples and the next eastbound stop is in Saint Paul.[5] However, in 2014, Amtrak service in Saint Paul was moved from the Midway Station to the Saint Paul Union Depot.[6]

The station is one of three in Minnesota and 78 across the Amtrak network listed in a 2021 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over inaccessible facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.[7] New station platforms, walkways, lighting, and other accessibility improvements will be constructed between Amtrak's fiscal year 2024 and 2026.[8]

Future service

The Northstar commuter rail service was originally planned to originate in Rice, Minnesota and serve the St. Cloud station,[9] 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.[10]

The station was considered as a possible endpoint for the Borealis service that started running in 2024, but it began operation with its western terminus in St. Paul.[11] In 2023, $4 million was included in the Minnesota state budget to study a daytime train service between the Twin Cities and Fargo, North Dakota,[12] a service that would include stops at St. Cloud station.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: St. Cloud, MN (SCD). amtrak.com. Amtrak. November 11, 2022.
  2. Web site: Great American Stations: St. Cloud, MN (SCD). greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. November 11, 2022.
  3. Web site: Northern Pacific depot. Arcadia Publishing. February 25, 2015.
  4. Web site: National Train Timetables. timetables.org. Amtrak. Amtrak. The Museum of Railway Timetables. 42. October 29, 1978. May 29, 2014.
  5. Web site: National Train Timetables. timetables.org. Amtrak. Amtrak. The Museum of Railway Timetables. 44. October 28, 1979. May 29, 2014.
  6. Amtrak moves into St. Paul Union Depot. Bowen. Douglas John. Railway Age. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. May 8, 2014. May 29, 2014.
  7. $2.25 Million Fund Available in Justice Department Settlement with Amtrak. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. January 29, 2021. June 15, 2024.
  8. Web site: Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Minnesota. March 2024. Amtrak. June 15, 2024.
  9. Web site: Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan (Final Report). Feb 2009. Cambridge Systematics. Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc.. TKDA. Minnesota Department of Transportation. May 13, 2014.
  10. Web site: Northstar commuter train expansion put on hold. Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. November 8, 2010. November 8, 2010.
  11. Web site: Feasibility Report on Proposed Amtrak Service Chicago-Milwaukee-LaCrosse-Twin Cities-(St. Cloud) . Amtrak.
  12. News: Commuter train from Fargo to St. Paul would include additional stops in Detroit Lakes, Staples. Teigen, Danielle A.. Detroit Lakes Tribune. Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. June 7, 2023. June 15, 2024.