Austin Station (Texas)

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Austin Station (Texas)
Austin Station 2008
Austin Station 2008
Data
Location in the network Intermediate station
Design Through station
Platform tracks 1
opening 1949
Website URL https://www.amtrak.com/stations/aus
location
State Texas
Country United States
Coordinates 30 ° 16 '11 "  N , 97 ° 45' 25"  W Coordinates: 30 ° 16 '11 "  N , 97 ° 45' 25"  W.
List of train stations in the United States
i16 i16 i18

Austin Station is a train station opened in 1949 in western downtown Austin , Texas , United States .

history

In 1871 Austin was connected to the railway network with the Houston and Texas Central Railroad . The station with an attached hotel was initially built on 5th Street. The hotel building is still preserved today and was last a restaurant until 2017. In 1876 the International and Great Northern Railroad (I&GN) built their station at the intersection of Congress Avenue and 3rd Street. In 1902 the Houston built a new train station at Texas Central, also at the intersection. In the 1920s, up to 18 passenger trains traveled along 3rd Street through downtown Austin every day. As early as 1927, urban development plans called for the stations to be relocated.

After World War II, there began a sharp decline in passenger traffic in the United States. At the same time, the Austin city council wanted to finally move the stations out of the city center in order to eliminate the corresponding traffic problems. The planned construction of a joint train station (Union Station) was rejected by the railway companies because there were no significant changes. Many city councils also feared the enormous costs for the city of building such a train station. The Missouri Pacific Railroad (successor to the I&GN) intended to build a new station on the north bank of the Colorado River. In June 1948, the city granted approval for the $ 150,000 to $ 200,000 structure. At the beginning of August 1949 the station went into operation.

The old buildings were then demolished in the 1950s and the railroad tracks on 3rd Street were dismantled. On September 22, 1970, the last Missouri Pacific passenger train left Austin. In 1973, Amtrak took over and began operating the station again. Today the station is exclusively served by the Texas Eagle , which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles , which runs between Chicago and San Antonio on a daily pair of trains and on to Los Angeles three days a week. The station is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad .

The brick building has a small waiting room, ticket office and a toilet for passengers.

Web links

Commons : Austin (Amtrak station)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Bayne, Tom: Last Eagle passenger train through Austin . In: The Portal to Texas History . 1970 ( unt.edu [accessed October 29, 2018]).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carmelo's Italian Restaurant closing; land sold to Houston-based company | The Feed . ( austin360.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  2. ↑ 17 Jun 1948, 14 - Austin American-Statesman at Newspapers.com . In: Newspapers.com . ( newspapers.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Austin American Newspaper Archives, Aug 4, 1949, p. 8 . In: NewspaperArchive.com . August 4, 1949 ( newspaperarchive.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  4. ↑ 27 Jan 1973, 1 - Austin American-Statesman at Newspapers.com . In: Newspapers.com . ( newspapers.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  5. ^ Austin, TX (AUS) . In: Great American Stations . ( greatamericanstations.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).