Fargo, ND (FAR)

420 4th Street North
Fargo, ND 58102

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $1,867,877
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 17,545

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Parking Lot Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Platform Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Track Ownership: BNSF Railway

• Empire Builder

Derrick James
Regional Contact
governmentaffairschi@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Fargo
• Fargo MATBUS

Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota, was founded in 1871 and has been historically known as the “Gateway to the West.” Amtrak has a waiting room in the old American Railway Express Agency building adjacent to the former Great Northern Railway (GN) depot. Both buildings, designed by architect Samuel Bartlett and constructed of red brick with light sandstone trim, were completed in 1906. The depot includes a four-sided clock tower and covered, open air waiting areas. Today, the building is used for commercial purposes.

The GN is considered to have been America’s premier northern trans-continental railroad, running from St. Paul, Minn. to Seattle. It was formed in 1889 by James J. Hill, who orchestrated the merger of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad with the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway. Hill holds a special place in railroad history and lore, and is known as the “Empire Builder.” Whereas most transcontinental lines were built with federal assistance in the form of federal land grants, the GN did not utilize this method.

Hill’s business acumen guided the planning and construction of the GN. Much of the upper Midwest and West was sparsely settled, so instead of racing across the continent, the GN developed the regions through which it traveled as it steadily moved toward the Pacific. This action helped settle the land and created a customer base. Hill the businessman actively sought to establish trade links with Asia, and the railroad is credited with putting sleepy Seattle on the map and transforming it into an important and powerful Pacific Ocean port after the railroad reached the West Coast in 1893.

Station Building (with waiting room)