Charlotte, NC (CLT)

1914 North Tryon St.
Charlotte, NC 28206

Station Ownership

Facility:
Norfolk Southern Railway

Parking:
Norfolk Southern Railway

Platform(s):
Norfolk Southern Railway

Track(s):
Norfolk Southern Railway

Amtrak Contact

Todd Stennis

Routes Served:

• Carolinian
• Piedmont
• Crescent

History

The modest composite and concrete Amtrak station in Charlotte, about two miles from the city center, was built by the Southern Railway to provide passenger service and house railroad division offices.  The drawings for the station were finalized in 1963 and the station completed in 1964. By the late 1990s, Amtrak ridership had outgrown the existing structure. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Amtrak expanded the waiting room in 2002 and added an additional ticket window.  More comfortable benches recently replaced the original ones.

The city is currently building a new centralized intermodal Gateway Station. It is expected to house the future LYNX purple line, the new Greyhound bus station and the Amtrak lines that now pass through uptown Charlotte; completion is expected in 2012. This facility will be constructed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and the estimated $100 million cost will be financed by state, federal government, Amtrak, Charlotte Area Transit Service (CATS) and private developers.

In addition to being a multimodal facility, the transit center is also intended to house office and retail space. The area is currently the site of the Charlotte Greyhound bus terminal and was the location of the Southern Railway station until its 1962 demolition. The facility is expected to feature an underground station for CATS buses, a 100,000 square foot office building, and a soaring lobby for other rail and bus services in the building’s atrium.

The site of the Gateway Station on West Trade Street was proposed in 1991, and NCDOT acquired the property in 1998, with a 27-acre acquisition completed in 2004. The new Gateway Station is expected to handle about 500,000 rail passengers annually by 2015. The planned facility will also improve safety for rail, auto, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.

Charlotte, located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is the largest city in the state and the 19th largest city in the United States. It is nicknamed the Queen City, as it is named in honor of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Streilitz, who had become Queen Consort of King George III of England the year before the city’s founding in 1768. The area was first settled in 1755 when Thomas Polk (uncle of United States President James K. Polk) built a residence at the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers, the north south route being part of the Great Wagon Road leading from Pennsylvania into the North Carolina foothills.

Charlotte was, until the 1848 California gold rush, a center of gold production, as rich veins of gold were found throughout the area in 1799, the 1800s, and even into the 1900s. Coincidentally, Charlotte today is a major U.S. financial center, and based on assets, the nation’s largest and third-largest financial institutions call the city home (Bank of America and Wachovia, respectively, at this writing). Charlotte is also home to many Fortune 500 companies, such as Goodrich Corporation, Continental Tire, and Duke Energy.

Charlotte is also a major center in the U.S. motorsports industry, with NASCAR having multiple offices around Charlotte. The city is also the future home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, expected to be completed in 2009.

This facility has a waiting room and is staffed by Amtrak employees.

Charlotte is served by six daily trains.

ADA Compliance

Federal law requires compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by 2010. The following is a list of items typically required for transportation and public facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please check the regulations for guidance or contact us for more information.