Richmond Main Street Station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richmond – Main Street
Richmond Main Street Station in 2008
Location	1500 East Main Street Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates	37°32′05″N 77°25′45″W / 37.53472°N 77.42917°W / 37.53472; -77.42917
Owned by	City of Richmond
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Megabus: M21, M22, M23, M24, M27 RamRide: Sanger Hill Express GRTC: Pulse, 14, 95x
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Architect	Wilson, Harris, & Richards
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
Other information
Station code	RVM
History
Opened	1901
Traffic
Passengers (2018)	48,384  4.38%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Williamsburg toward Newport News Northeast Regional Richmond Staples Mill Road toward Boston South or Springfield Preceding station GRTC Pulse Following station VCU Medical Center toward Willow Lawn Broad & Main Street Line Shockoe Bottom toward Rocketts Landing
Former and Proposed services Preceding station Seaboard Air Line Railroad Following station Chester toward Tampa or Miami Main Line Terminus Preceding station Amtrak Following station Proposed Services Petersburg toward Norfolk Northeast Regional Richmond Staples Mill Road toward Boston South or Springfield Petersburg toward Miami Silver Star Richmond Staples Mill Road toward New York Silver Meteor Petersburg toward Charlotte Carolinian Petersburg toward Savannah Palmetto
Main Street Station and Trainshed
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Richmond Main Street Station in 1971
NRHP reference No.	70000867
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1970
Designated NHL	December 8, 1976
Location
Richmond – Main Street Location in Virginia

The Richmond Main Street Station is a famous train station and office building in Richmond, Virginia. It's also known as the Main Street Station and Trainshed. Built in 1901, it's a key spot for travel in the city.

Today, the station is used by Amtrak trains. It's also a hub for city buses run by the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC). Many people in Richmond call it The Clock Tower because of its tall clock. This station is so important that it's a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Main Street Station offers some Amtrak services right in downtown Richmond. However, some Amtrak trains that go through Richmond stop at another station called Staples Mill Road. This other station is about five miles north in Henrico County. Since 2018, Main Street Station has also been a stop on the GRTC Pulse bus line, which is a fast bus service.

History of Main Street Station

How the Station Started

Richmond's Main Street Station was built in 1901. Two railway companies, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), worked together to build it. Seaboard was new to Richmond, and C&O had combined other smaller railway lines. They needed a central station for their services.

The station was designed by a company from Philadelphia called Wilson, Harris, and Richards. They used a beautiful style called Second Renaissance Revival, which made the building look very grand.

Changes Over the Years

In the 1950s, the Seaboard railway company moved its passenger services to another station in Richmond. But C&O continued to use Main Street Station for its offices and passenger trains. This lasted until 1971, when Amtrak took over most passenger train services in the U.S.

In 1970, Main Street Station and its trainshed were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites. In 1976, it was named a National Historic Landmark, which is an even higher honor.

Floods, Fires, and Reopening

In 1972, a big storm called Hurricane Agnes caused the James River to flood the station. The damage was so bad that Amtrak stopped using Main Street Station in 1975. They moved all their Richmond stops to the smaller Staples Mill Road station.

Things got worse for Main Street Station. It was damaged by fires in 1976 and again in 1983. For many years, no trains stopped there. But after a lot of hard work and renovations, the station finally reopened on December 18, 2003. Trains were back!

What Trains Use the Station Now?

The station is currently served by two daily Northeast Regional trains. These trains either start or end their journey at Newport News.

If you take a northbound train from Main Street Station, you can travel to big cities like:

• Union Station in Washington, D.C.
• Pennsylvania Station in New York City
• South Station in Boston

These trains make other stops along the way too.

What's Next for the Station?

Local leaders hope to bring even more trains to Main Street Station. They want to extend some train services that currently only stop at the Staples Mill Road station.

A big project called DC2RVA is looking into how to improve train travel in Virginia. In 2017, they suggested that all trains going to Staples Mill Road should also stop at Main Street Station. This would give more options for travelers.

Main Street Station is also part of a larger plan called the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR). This project aims to create fast train services from Boston, Massachusetts all the way down to cities like Richmond, Virginia, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The plan could even extend to Atlanta, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida.

In 2018, the station became a stop for the GRTC Bus Rapid Transit's Broad and Main Street Line. There are also plans for Main Street Station to become an even bigger hub for Richmond's city bus services, which are run by GRTC. This means it would be easier to switch between trains and buses at the station.

Images for kids

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  Richmond Main Street Station in 1971