The Kalamazoo Transportation Center is an Intermodal train and bus station in downtown

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. It is the second-busiest Amtrak station in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, after

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. The Kalamazoo Transportation Center serves as the main hub for Kalamazoo Metro local buses, and also serves intercity buses operated by

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

and

Indian Trails Indian Trails is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of Michigan, with routes also serving Wisconsin and Minnesota. Indian Trails is based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus, East Lansing, and Kalamazoo. His ...

. The railroad station was built in 1887 by the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. An expansion project in 2005 and 2006 renovated the original station building and added a bus station for local and intercity buses. The station is served by Amtrak's and trains, as part of Amtrak's

Michigan Services ''Michigan Services'' are three Amtrak passenger rail routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and Pontiac, and stations en route. The group falls under the Amtrak Midwest brand and is a compo ...

brand. The station was formerly served by the , a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

–

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

service which operated from 1982 to 2004 as a partnership between

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

History

Kalamazoo Transportation Center bus plaza and main entrance

The original depot was built in 1887 by the

, to a design by architect Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, replacing an earlier structure. Regular passenger rail service between Kalamazoo and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

had commenced in 1846. In the main part of its history in the latter 19th century and early 20th century, the depot hosted trains for the

Michigan Central Michigan Central Station (MCS, also known as Michigan Central Depot) is the historic former main intercity passenger rail station in Detroit, Michigan. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detro ...

and the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

. Major NYC named trains passing through the station included the ''

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

'' (east to Detroit and Toronto), the '' Chicago Mercury'' (east to Detroit) and the ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'' (east to New York via Detroit and southwestern Canada, in contrast to the modern train). It was added to the

on July 11, 1975. The station was rebuilt as a multi-modal facility in 2005. The project was a collaboration between local, state, and federal authorities, with the Department of Transportation awarding a $3.8 million grant.

Description

The original Kalamazoo depot is a single-story Romanesque structure with a high hip-roofed central mass, and smaller hip-roofed sections on each end. A gable-roofed porch with a Syrian arch protrudes on one side of the central mass. The main structure has strong horizontal lines, counterbalanced by brick chimneys and an octagonal cupola that extend vertically from the roof. A conical turret and rock-faced masonry arches in the facade provide the Romanesque feel.

References

External links

Kalamazoo Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
on the

Kalamazoo Transportation Center (Michigan Passenger Stations)
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Amtrak stations in Michigan Bus stations in Michigan Michigan Line 1887 establishments in Michigan Railway stations in the United States opened in 1887 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Transit centers in the United States Transportation in Kalamazoo County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Kalamazoo, Michigan Former Michigan Central Railroad stations

History

Description

References

Further reading

External links