Midway (Saint Paul/Minneapolis) is a former

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 ...

intercity

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

in the Midway neighborhood of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. It was last served by Amtrak's daily ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

'', with service from

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. When the station opened March 1, 1978, it was also served briefly by the long-distance ''

North Coast Hiawatha The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. The train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's '' North Coast Limited'' and '' Mainstreeter'' ...

'' (with service from Chicago to Seattle), and the ''

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

'' (Chicago to St. Paul) and ''

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

'' (Duluth to St. Paul), the latter combined as the ''

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

'' (thru service from Chicago to Duluth) later that year. It was one of the first new stations, designated as a "Type 300A" design, built under the

Amtrak Standard Stations Program The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was an effort by Amtrak to create a standardized station design. The railroad launched the effort in 1978 to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its Corporate identity, corporate image. These station ...

in 1978. The only other station constructed to "Type 300A" design, Miami station, opened three months later and remains in operation today. The Midway station was closed for passenger service on May 7, 2014, with passenger service being moved to the restored

Saint Paul Union Depot Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services. It is the eastern terminus ...

. For a time after its closure the station was still used to service the ''Empire Builder'' but was later abandoned. Midway had been a station stop for every Amtrak route in Minnesota until May 2024, when the '' Borealis'' began service using Saint Paul Union Depot.

Description

The Midway station is located at 730 Transfer Road and is named after the Midway area of Saint Paul. Its Amtrak

station code A station code is a brief, standardised abbreviation, or alphanumeric code, used by railways to identify a train station, railway station uniquely (within a country or region). Codes are mostly used internally but can be seen on railway traffic s ...

was MSP and from 1978 to 2014 it served as the only

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

train station for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

. The station can be easily accessed from I‑94/ US‑12/ US‑52. The station has an elevation of . Prior to closing for passenger service, the station offered an indoor waiting area, ticketing service and a Quik-Trak kiosk, restrooms,

payphone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone or public phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or tel ...

s, baggage assistance, and checked baggage. Free long and short parking was also available. Station hours were from 6:00 am to 11:45 pm daily. The station is located next to tracks owned by the Minnesota Commercial Railway and marks a division point between running on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(former

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

tracks between Chicago and St. Paul) and the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

(former Great Northern Railway tracks between Minneapolis and Seattle.) There are two platforms at the station, though the ''Empire Builder'' only used the side platform nearest the station building. There is a second island platform that serves two tracks, but it was rarely used. There are also two spurs behind the main platform which are used for storage and display of historic train cars. Of the six Minnesota stations served by Amtrak, Midway was the busiest for the

Fiscal Year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

2013 (its last full year of service), boarding or detraining an average of approximately 321 passengers daily (more than twice the ridership all other Minnesota stations combined).

History

When it opened on March 1, 1978, Midway station replaced

Minneapolis Great Northern Depot The Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, also known as Great Northern Station, was a passenger railroad station which served Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It was built in 1913 and demolished in 1978. It was located on Hennepin Avenue next to the He ...

as the sole intercity station in the Twin Cities. Amtrak had opted to consolidate all of its Twin Cities services in Minneapolis when it began operation in 1971, shuttering the

. The Great Northern Depot was later demolished. The primary rail service at this station for most of its existence was the ''

'', named to honor Saint Paul-based mogul

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

who constructed the Great Northern Railway, and whose nickname was "The Empire Builder". Westbound trains head for

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

(and then split before continuing on to either

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

) while eastbound trains head for Chicago. There were several intermittent stops between. The next westbound stop for the ''Empire Builder'' was in St. Cloud and the next eastbound stop was in Red Wing, both in Minnesota. About one-eighth of ''Empire Builder'' passengers boarded or arrived at this station. After opening in 1978, the station briefly served the ''

'' until that service ended in 1979. The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' ran three times per week from Chicago to Seattle with the next westbound stop having also been in St. Cloud and the next eastbound stop having also been in Red Wing. The station was also served by the ''

'' with services to Chicago and

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, with the stop having been in

Cambridge, Minnesota Cambridge is a city in Isanti County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Minnesota State Highways 65 and 95. The population was 9,611 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Isanti County. It is located along the Ru ...

and the next southbound stop having been in Red Wing until serviced was truncated from Chicago to this station in 1981. After the ''North Star'' was discontinued in 1985, Amtrak continued service to Duluth with its

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

service until 2022. On May 7, 2014, Amtrak moved its Twin Cities-area stop to the renovated and reopened Saint Paul Union Depot. After a short time of Midway station being closed to the public, but still serving as a service stop for the ''Empire Builder,'' the building was abandoned, ending up on St. Paul's vacant property listings.

Future

As part of the TCMC project (the ''Borealis'' service) the station was noted as being a potential improvement if deemed necessary by Amtrak. Under the proposal the station would be converted to a layover facility, serving as a crew base, light equipment servicing, cleaning, and kitchen. The ''Borealis'' started service on May 21, 2024 without using the station.

Gallery

File:Two trains at Midway station, May 20, 1978.jpg, Westbound ''

'' (left) and eastbound ''

'' (right) meet at Midway station, May 1978 File:Minneapolis St. Paul - Amtrak Station (6251527662).jpg, Switching cars en route for the ''Empire Builder'' File:Minneapolis St. Paul - Amtrak Station (6250985811).jpg,

Private railroad car A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad Passenger railroad car, passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car cou ...

s were conveniently stored on sidings at the station File:Amtrak (52660469832).jpg, Interior of the abandoned station

Notes

References

External links

Amtrak – Stations – St. Paul, MN – Minneapolis
archived page on web.archive.org (10 Feb 2014)
St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN (MSP)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
archived page on web.archive.org (2 Nov 2012)

* ttp://subwaynut.com/amtrak/stpaul/index.html Minneapolis-St. Paul's Midway Station on subwaynut.com
March 2004 Photo by Greg Smith
(Amtrak Photo Archives) {{DEFAULTSORT:Midway (Amtrak station) Railway stations in Saint Paul, Minnesota Former Amtrak stations in Minnesota Railway stations in the United States opened in 1978 Railway stations in the United States closed in 2014