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Carbondale, IL
Amtrak Carbondale, IL Station.jpg
Carbondale station in July 2010
Location 401 South Illinois Street, Carbondale, Illinois
United States
Coordinates 37°43′27″N 89°12′59″W / 37.7243°N 89.2165°W / 37.7243; -89.2165
Owned by Canadian National (Illinois Central)
Line(s) CN Centralia Subdivison
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 2
Connections Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code CDL
History
Opened July 4, 1854
Rebuilt 1903; 1981
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 129,446 Decrease 4.7%
Services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Fulton
toward New Orleans
City of New Orleans Centralia
toward Chicago
Terminus Illini and Saluki Du Quoin
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station
Makanda
toward New Orleans
Main Line DeSoto
toward Chicago
Murphysboro
toward St. Louis
St. Louis – Carbondale Terminus
Du Quoin
Via Du Quoin
toward St. Louis
Texas
toward Gale
Gale – Carbondale
Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot
IL Central depot in Carbondale.jpg
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Location 111 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois
Area less than one acre
Built 1903 (1903)
Architect Bacon, Francis T.
NRHP reference No. 02000457
Added to NRHP May 9, 2002

Carbondale station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. The southern terminus of Amtrak's Illini and Saluki routes, it is also served by the City of New Orleans. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service between Carbondale and St. Louis, Missouri connects with the City of New Orleans. Carbondale is the southernmost Amtrak station in Illinois.

History

Illinois Central Railroad (IC) service to Carbondale began on July 4, 1854, with a wooden passenger depot. A second station was built in 1903 as part of a series of improvements by the railroad in Carbondale, which included a roundhouse, office buildings, and a bandstand and park. Railway architect Francis T. Bacon designed the brick and limestone station.

Amtrak took over intercity passenger service from most private railroads, including the IC, on May 1, 1971. Initial Amtrak service to Carbondale was by the Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans (renamed Panama Limited that November) and Chicago-Carbondale Shawnee, each with one daily round trip. The City of New Orleans name returned in 1981. That year, Amtrak constructed a new station of standard design some 800 feet (240 m) to the south. The Shawnee was merged with the Chicago-Champaign Illini and Saluki on January 12, 1986, keeping the Carbondale terminus but the Illini name. A second daily Illini round trip, the Saluki, was added on added on October 30, 2006. The Saluki was named for the mascot of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

The town purchased the former station from the IC in 1989; the exterior was restored in 1992, followed by the interior in 1996. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2002 as the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot. The building now houses the offices of Carbondale Main Street and Carbondale Chamber of Commerce.

In November 2019, the city was awarded a $14 million federal grant to construct the Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station, which will replace the 1981-built station with a large train and bus depot on the same site.


  • Amtrak – Stations – Carbondale, IL
  • Trainweb USA Rail Guide: Carbondale, IL
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