Newport News station is an Amtrak inter-city train station in Newport News, Virginia. The station is the southern terminus of two daily Northeast Regional round trips. It has a single side platform adjacent to a large CSX rail yard. An Amtrak Thruway motorcoach connection to Norfolk station effectively doubles the frequency between each station and Washington.
Newport News, VA | |||||||||||
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 Newport News station building, June 2007 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | 9304 Warwick Boulevard  Newport News, Virginia United States | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°01′22″N 76°27′07″W / 37.0228°N 76.4519°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Amtrak, CSX and Newport News Parking Authority | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | CSX Peninsula Subdivision | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  Amtrak Thruway Hampton Roads Transit: 106, 107 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | Amtrak: NPN | ||||||||||
| IATA code | ZWW | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | October 1981 (current station) | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| FY 2022 | 70,645[1] (Amtrak) | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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A replacement station near Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is under construction, with opening expected in April 2024. A second station in downtown Newport News is also proposed.
History edit
Chesapeake & Ohio edit
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&O) under Collis Potter Huntington completed the Peninsula Extension to the small town of Newport News in 1881. This allowed the C&O to transport West Virginia coal to Hampton Roads – the largest warm-water port on the East Coast – and directly compete with the Norfolk and Western Railway. Between the coal exports and Huntington's Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News soon became a major shipping and industrial area.[2]
Ferry service between Norfolk and Newport News began in 1883, though the first passenger train station at Newport News was not built until 1892.[3] The multi-story brick structure, Victorian with a large clock tower,[4] was built on the waterfront at 23rd Street. A train shed stretched onto a pier so that passengers could transfer directly between trains and ferries.[2]
By the 1930s, the station was in poor shape, having settled significantly due to the soft soil. It was demolished in 1940 and replaced with a smaller two-story brick station.[3] The new station was constructed on a concrete base 1 foot (0.30 m) above the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane flood level, and its pilings were driven 90 feet (27 m) underground to prevent settling.[3]
Between 1953 and 1954, the C&O stopped using Phoebus, Virginia to the east as the terminus of its Norfolk/Hampton Roads area passenger trains. The company shifted that terminus, by then being for the George Washington and other passenger trains, to Newport News station.[5][6]
When Amtrak took over intercity passenger service in the United States on May 1, 1971, the C&O had served Newport News with three daily round trips: the Newport News sections of the George Washington and Fast Flying Virginian/Sportsman, plus a Newport News-Richmond trip.[7]
Amtrak edit
Amtrak kept only one daily round trip to Newport News – a section of the Newport News-Cincinnati George Washington. It was combined with the James Whitcomb Riley on July 12, 1971, to provide through service to Chicago.[8]: 38 The George Washington name was used for the eastbound section until May 19, 1974.[8]: 41 On June 14, 1976, the Newport News section of the Riley was replaced with the Washington-Newport News Colonial.[2]
Ferry service had been replaced by buses through the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel upon its 1957 opening, making the waterfront location less desirable for a train station. The station was moved to its current location along the CSX line in October 1981. The 1940-built station remains standing and now serves as a restaurant.[3]
Service was reduced to one daily round trip from 2020 to July 11, 2022.[9]
Future edit
The current facility was planned to be replaced with two new stations—a large intermodal station near the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and a smaller station in downtown Newport News. The city planned to begin design work for the larger station in the summer of 2011, for an opening sometime before 2016.[10] Construction for the new intermodal station near the airport began in July 2020. The project will cost $47 million and was originally expected to be completed by the summer of 2022.[11] The station is planned to open May or June 2024.[12]
A third Northeast Regional weekday round trip is planned, as of 2020, under a major spending initiative by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.[13]
References edit
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Newport News, VA (NPN)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
- ^ a b c d "History". The Train Station Restaurant.
- ^ "[Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Station at Newport News, Virginia, with clock tower]". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Condensed Through Schedules". Official Guide of the Railways. 86 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1953.
- ^ "Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Condensed Through Schedules". Official Guide of the Railways. 87 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1954.
- ^ The C&O/B&O Railroads Passenger Timetable effective June 10, 1967. Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. June 10, 1967 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ a b Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
- ^ "Amtrak Increases Daily Service to Norfolk" (Press release). Amtrak. June 21, 2022.
- ^ Lawlor, Joe (January 15, 2011). "New train stations could be coming to Newport News". Newport News Daily Press. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ "Newport News breaks ground on new transportation center". www.masstransitmag.com. July 23, 2020.
- ^ Janney, Josh (February 26, 2024). "New hub to bring 'transportation entities in Hampton Roads into one location". The Virginian-Pilot. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Virginia Governor Ralph Northam – December". www.governor.virginia.gov.
External links edit
