WILSON, N.C. – Amtrak officials gathered with city and state leaders on December 4, 2024, to celebrate completion of a $4 million improvement project at the downtown G.K. Butterfield Train Station. The work, part of Amtrak’s ongoing commitment to ensure a safe, efficient and comfortable travel experience, was undertaken in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration and in cooperation with the city, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and freight railroad CSX.
“Providing an accessible travel experience is a top priority, and we’re actively advancing construction, renovation, repair and upgrade projects at stations across our national network. We are pleased we delivered these improvements to the station and for our customers and community.”
– Amtrak VP of Accessibility Dr. David Handera
The Wilson station now provides customers access to a 435-foot-long concrete platform featuring lighting, guardrails and signage. The platform provides a sturdy, uniform surface for customers to board on and off the train and includes a detectable warning system along its edge. The system is a hazard warning to alert passengers who are blind or have low vision if they are close to the platform edge.
Customers also will find accessible paths of travel to and from the station, parking spaces, the Thruway bus section and the intersection of nearby Nash and Lodge streets.
“Ensuring all riders have access to safe and convenient train travel guarantees future growth and success of passenger rail in North Carolina and beyond,” said NCDOT Rail Division Director Jason Orthner before the assembled crowd.
Wilson is served by the daily Carolinian (Charlotte-New York), which is sponsored by the NCDOT and operated by Amtrak and paid for through state funding and passenger fares, and the Palmetto (New York-Savannah, Ga). The station also offers a Thruway Bus connection for travel to eastern North Carolina.
Amtrak has invested more than $900 million since 2011 in accessibility upgrades and improvement projects at 127 stations across its national network. Ten stations were brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in Fiscal Year 2024, and another 41 stations are targeted for completion in Fiscal Year 2025 at a forecasted investment of $235 million.
The ADA Stations Program is advancing 144 station designs and 63 station construction projects as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to providing accessibility by working toward 100% completion by 2029.
Posted December 12, 2024. Images courtesy of the City of Wilson.
Amtrak established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources.
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