Culpeper, VA (CLP)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$627,921

Station Ridership

FY 2011

10,930

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The first Culpeper station was constructed in 1852 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. They built two depots, one on the east side for freight and one on the west side for passengers. Though the buildings survived the Civil War, the fighting took its toll, and in 1874, a new Culpeper train depot was built. However, it burned down in 1903 and was rebuilt a year later in 1904.

A period of decline prompted Norfolk Southern Railway to request permission to demolish a portion of the depot in 1985. A committee formed to save the building, and the effort was successful. The Town of Culpeper and Culpeper Renaissance began restoration work. In 1995, Culpeper Renaissance and the town's Main Street program successfully prepared a $700,000 renovation grant under the Virginia Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, and in 1998, the deed to the depot was officially transferred from Norfolk Southern to the town of Culpeper. The renovated train station opened in 2000. Later, more renovations were made to the freight section of the depot, which were completed in 2003. Currently, the station is a one-story building with a pitched roof and asphalt platform.

The town of Culpeper was chartered in 1759 and named after Lord Thomas Culpeper. During the Revolutionary War, a pro-independence militia group called the Culpeper Minutemen formed in the town of Culpeper. Yet its history became ingrained with the railroad during the Civil War, when Culpeper's strategic railroad location made it an important crossroads and supply station for the troops.

Culpeper has grown dramatically since the 1980s due to the growth of the nearby Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. This increase in population and economic development, as well as the changing demographics, has created an increasing tension in Culpeper's identity, as many residents rally to preserve its small-town rural character.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage service at this unstaffed facility.

Culpeper is served once daily in both directions by the Crescent between New York and New Orleans and tri-weekly (Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in both directions) by the Cardinal between New York and Chicago.

Beginning October 1, Amtrak Virginia, a partnership between the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and Amtrak, began a daily round-trip train between Lynchburg, Washington, D.C. and points north along the Northeast Corridor. The new service provides communities along the US 29 corridor with more travel options and direct links to Northeast destinations.

The new service is sponsored by the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of a three-year pilot program designed to provide more transportation options for Virginians. The pilot program also includes new service between Richmond and the Northeast Corridor, slated to begin in summer 2010.

Go to amtrakvirginia.com for additional information on the new rail service.