Union Station (Jackson, Mississippi)

Union Station is an intermodal transit station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is operated by the Jackson Transit System and serves Amtrak's City of New Orleans rail line, Greyhound Lines intercity buses, and is Jackson's main city bus station.^[2]

Union Station
Train station building as seen from Capitol Street
General information
Location	300 West Capitol Street Jackson, Mississippi United States
Coordinates	32°18′04″N 90°11′28″W / 32.30111°N 90.19111°W / 32.30111; -90.19111
Owned by	City of Jackson
Line(s)	Illinois Central (CN)
Platforms	1 side platform in use 3 island platforms disused
Tracks	1 passenger (6 freight)
Train operators	Amtrak
Bus stands	11 JATRAN 10 Greyhound
Bus operators	Jackson Transit System Greyhound Lines
Construction
Parking	10 short and 73 long term spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: JAN
History
Opened	1927
Rebuilt	2003–2004
Passengers
FY 2022	24,209^[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Hazlehurst toward New Orleans City of New Orleans Yazoo City toward Chicago
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station Elton toward New Orleans Main Line Northview toward Chicago Terminus Clarksdale – Jackson Asylum toward Clarksdale Clinton toward Shreveport Vicksburg Route Division Pearson toward Meridian Van Winkle toward Natchez Natchez – Jackson Terminus Terminus Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Lakeland toward Gulfport
Mississippi Landmark
Location
Union Station Location within Mississippi

History

Train service first came to Jackson, Mississippi in 1840, when the Clinton and Vicksburg Railway established a connection. The city became a more prominent rail hub after the American Civil War as a stop for what eventually became the Illinois Central Railroad. The modern Georgian Revival station was built in 1927 by Illinois Central when the rail lines were rebuilt through downtown.^[3]

Passenger trains served in past

This Illinois Central operated trains to these endpoints through the station:

• Chicago and New Orleans (including City of New Orleans and the all-Pullman Panama Limited and others)^[4]
• Chicago and Gulfport, Mississippi
• Shreveport, Louisiana and Meridian, Mississippi (Southwestern Limited)

Revival

After years of disuse, in 2003 the City of Jackson purchased the building from the Canadian National Railway, the successor to Illinois Central, with the intention of turning it into a multimodal hub named Union Station. The city undertook a $20 million renovation funded by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority; Dale and Associates were chosen as architects. The city converted the building into the Jackson Transit System's primary bus station and added facilities for Greyhound Lines. The former freighthouse was converted for use by Amtrak, and other areas of the building were redesigned for commercial use. Dale and Associates received a 2005 Mississippi AIA Merit Award for the completed project.^[3] It is listed as a Mississippi Landmark.

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Mississippi" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
2. "Jatran.com". jatran.com. JATRAN. 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of Mississippi" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
4. January 1950 Illinois Central timetable, Tables A, B, D and F

External links

  Media related to Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Jackson, MS – Amtrak
• Jackson, MS – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Jackson Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)