Roanoke station is a train station in Roanoke, Virginia, the current terminus of Amtrak's '' Northeast Regional'' line. Built in 2017, it follows several other Roanoke passenger stations that operated from the 1850s to 1979. The unstaffed station consists of a single high-level platform with no station building or waiting room available for passengers. All tickets must be purchased in advance; there is no Quik-Trak kiosk at the station.

History

Early history

By the time of its 1852 incorporation, the town of Big Lick was already established as a transportation hub for western Virginia, thanks to its position on the Great Wagon Road and the

Wilderness Trail The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other (mo ...

. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was completed from Lynchburg to Big Lick that same year, and on to Bristol in 1856. The Virginia and Tennessee became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1870, which itself emerged from bankruptcy and was renamed as the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

(N&W) in 1882. The Shenandoah Valley Railroad was completed to the town (newly renamed Roanoke) from

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

, in 1882, and acquired by the N&W in 1890. Its unbuilt southern section was eventually completed as the Roanoke and Southern Railroad (the "Punkin Vine") in 1892 and immediately leased to the N&W. In 1905, the N&W constructed a station to replace the half-century-old depot. Roanoke station 1950s postcard

The Virginian Railway was completed in 1909; a competitor to the N&W, it ran along a separate route along the Roanoke River. The Virginian's Roanoke station, located south of the N&W station, served until the end of passenger service in 1956.

End of service

The last train from Roanoke south (#11, and #12 northbound) to Winston-Salem on the "Punkin Vine" was on February 18, 1961. The "Punkin Vine" service was timed to connect with '' Powhatan Arrow'' trains to and from Norfolk. Through sleepers were then still operated on the N&W's #1/#2 Shenandoah Valley train between Roanoke and New York (via Hagerstown and Harrisburg) on the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) and the N&W. The PRR discontinued service between Harrisburg and Hagerstown on February 25, 1962, and the N&W between Hagerstown and Waynesboro on June 10; the sleepers were rerouted via the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The last sleeper between Roanoke and Waynesboro ran on October 27, 1962, although local service continued until February 1963. This left Roanoke with only east-west passenger service for the first time since 1882. The N&W continued to run trains, including the express Norfolk-Cincinnati '' Pocahontas'' and the local train on the same route, the ''Powhatan Arrow.'' The N&W also operated the north-south Birmingham-Washington ''

Birmingham Special The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...

'' (unnamed after February 1970 and cut back to Bristol in August 1970) and the ''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

'' (discontinued, 1970) until April 30, 1971. The N&W operated the last east-west train, the ''Pocahantas,'' up to the same date. When Amtrak took over most intercity passenger service on May 1, none of the last three trains were included in its basic system, and Roanoke ceased to have passenger rail service.

1970s Amtrak service

Amtrak Mountaineer at Roanoke station, May 1977

Service was restored on March 24, 1975, with the introduction of the '' Mountaineer'' service between Norfolk and Chicago. Unlike most stations on the route, Amtrak did not reuse the former N&W station. Instead, an asphalt platform was built off Shenandoah Avenue near 4th Street, to the west. The ''Mountaineer'' was replaced by the '' Hilltopper'' on June 1, 1977. The ''Hilltopper'' was discontinued on October 1, 1979, ending rail service to Roanoke for the second time. For the next four decades, Roanoke's only link to the national railroad system was an

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach 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, transit ...

route that connected Roanoke to Lynchburg via the '' Crescent'' and later a '' Northeast Regional'' frequency.

Current service

From 1996 to 2007, six studies examined the proposed Transdominion Express project, which would have created two intercity rail routes from Bristol to Richmond and Washington, both via Roanoke. The last of these predicted poor ridership and low farebox recovery, and the state government abandoned the idea. But the research also suggested that Amtrak should increase service along Virginia's busiest corridors. One daily '' Northeast Regional'' round trip was extended to Lynchburg in October 2009, supplementing the '' Crescent'' service. In 2008, Virginia's transportation regulator, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, outlined plans for expanded rail service in the state, including to Roanoke. Following the introduction of state-supported ''Northeast Regional'' trains to Lynchburg and Norfolk, the state reached an agreement with the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

in January 2014 to spend about $93 million on infrastructure improvements that would allow passenger service to reach Roanoke. With the former N&W station having been repurposed as the

O. Winston Link Museum The O. Winston Link Museum is a museum dedicated to the photography of O. Winston Link, the 20th-century railroad photographer widely considered the master of the juxtaposition of steam railroading and rural culture. He is most noted for his 195 ...

, a new station had to be built. Railroad construction was slated for 2015, improvements to the station and other facilities in Roanoke in 2016, and service would begin in 2017 with a single round trip departing Roanoke for Washington, D.C., in the morning and returning in the evening. Construction of the Roanoke facilities was delayed; a $4.9 million train storage facility was completed in early February 2017, and work on the $10.9 million station began later in the month, with completion scheduled for the end of the year. On October 31, 2017, after nearly 40 years, passenger service returned to Roanoke. On July 11, 2022, one Roanoke round trip was added: southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon, to complement the existing trip. Both round trips will be extended from Roanoke to Christiansburg in 2025.

References

External links

Virginia State Rail Plan
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT)
Article from ''Railroad Gazette'' (1904) with original floor plans
{{Amtrak Virginia stations Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia Amtrak stations in Virginia Railway stations in the United States opened in 2017 Buildings and structures in Roanoke, Virginia 2017 establishments in Virginia Norfolk and Western Railway stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1857 Railway stations closed in 1979 Railway stations closed in 1971 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1975