Petersburg station

Petersburg station (also known as Ettrick station) is an Amtrak railroad station located at 3516 South Street in Ettrick, Virginia just outside the city of Petersburg. However, like most of Ettrick, it has a Petersburg address. The station was built in 1955 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and services nearby Virginia State University and its home field, Rogers Stadium, both a short walk from the station.

Petersburg, VA
Petersburg station building
General information
Location	3516 South Street Ettrick, Virginia United States
Coordinates	37.2419°N 77.4287°W / 37.2419; -77.4287
Owned by	CSX Transportation
Operated by	Amtrak
Platforms	1 island and 1 side platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes; free
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: PTB
History
Opened	May 16, 1955[1]
Passengers
FY 2023	46,274[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Rocky Mount toward Charlotte Carolinian Richmond Staples Mill Road toward New York Rocky Mount toward Savannah Palmetto Rocky Mount toward Miami Silver Meteor Floridian Richmond Staples Mill Road toward Chicago Norfolk Terminus Northeast Regional Richmond Staples Mill Road toward Boston South or Springfield      Auto Train does not stop here
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Rocky Mount toward Miami Silver Star Richmond Staples Mill Road toward New York Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station Carson toward Tampa Main Line Chester toward Richmond
Location

History

In the 1970s Amtrak also served Union Station in Petersburg until Mountaineer service east–west across Virginia ended in 1977.

In the 2010s a replacement station was proposed in Colonial Heights to serve the Tri-Cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell.^[3] Those plans were shelved as of July 2019, when the Commonwealth Transportation Board reported that $5.7 million had been secured for modernizing the station including replacement of the passenger platform and connecting ramps, as well as improving the parking lot, access road, and signs on Interstate 95.^[4]

In 2019 bus service began to the multi-modal station in downtown Petersburg, with a park-and-ride lot under construction.^[5][6]

An additional daily Northeast Regional round trip was added on July 11, 2022, increasing Norfolk service through Petersburg to three weekday round trips and two weekend round trips.^[7][8]

Proposed future

Petersburg's role as a passenger rail transfer station would grow under the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor project, which includes high-speed service to both Norfolk, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina.^[9] A shorter route to Raleigh is in the works, with the acquisition of CSX abandoned right-of-way and underused trackage.^[10]

Services

Petersburg station is served by five Amtrak routes: Northeast Regional, Carolinian, Palmetto, Floridian, and Silver Meteor.

References

1. "ACL Passenger Service to Start at New Depot". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. May 13, 1955. p. 11. Retrieved April 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
3. Buettner, Michael (May 17, 2017). "Feds propose moving Amtrak station out of Ettrick". The Progress-Index. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
4. Atkinson, Bill (July 6, 2019). "Ettrick's Amtrak future appears back on track". Virginian-Pilot. The (Petersburg) Progress-Index. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
5. "Petersburg expands bus service to train station".^{[permanent dead link‍]}
6. "Petersburg, VA". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
7. Lazo, Luz (July 9, 2022). "Virginia expands train service with two new Amtrak round trips". Washington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
8. "Amtrak Increases Daily Service to Norfolk" (Press release). Amtrak. June 21, 2022.
9. "Tier II Final Environmental Impact Statement And Final Section 4(f) Evaluation" (PDF). US Department of Transportation. August 2015.
10. "NCDOT to buy CSX rail line between Raleigh and Ridgeway | Raleigh News & Observer". Archived from the original on September 19, 2020.

External links

Media related to Petersburg station at Wikimedia Commons

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