Union Station (Burlington, Vermont)

Burlington, VT
A large brick train station at the end of an urban street
View of Union Station from Main Street in July 2022
General information
Location1 Main Street
Burlington, Vermont
United States
Coordinates44°28′33″N 73°13′10″W / 44.4757°N 73.2195°W / 44.4757; -73.2195
Owned byMain Street Landing Company
Line(s)NECR Burlington Subdivision
VRS Northern Subdivision
Rutland Railroad Island Line (former)
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsBus transport Green Mountain Transit
Ferry transport Burlington - Port Kent Ferry
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusUnstaffed station with waiting room
Station codeAmtrak: BTN
History
OpenedJanuary 23, 1916
July 29, 2022
ClosedJune 26, 1953
Passengers
FY 202321,150[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Terminus Ethan Allen Express Ferrisburgh–Vergennes
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Vermont Railway Following station
Terminus Champlain Flyer
2000–2003
General Dynamics
toward Charlotte
Preceding station Central Vermont Railway Following station
Terminus Winooski Subdivision
Service ended 1938
Winooski
Preceding station Rutland Railroad Following station
South Hero Main Line Shelburne
South Hero
toward Montreal
Green Mountain Flyer / Mount Royal Shelburne
toward New York or Boston
Union Station
Part ofBattery Street Historic District
NRHP reference No.77000098
Designated CPNovember 2, 1977
Location
Map

Burlington Union Station is a train station and office building located in downtown Burlington, Vermont, United States. It is the northern terminal of the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express service. A single side platform on the west side of the station serves Vermont Railway excursion trains and Amtrak trains. The symmetrical Beaux Arts building, built of buff brick with limestone and granite trim, has a central pilaster over two entrances. The main building is divided for use by a variety of tenants.

Rail service to Burlington began in December 1849 with the completion of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad (which later became the Rutland Railroad) and the Vermont Central Railroad (VC). The VC replaced its original station by 1853; it constructed a new line into Burlington in 1861, with a temporary station on the waterfront. It built a permanent station with an arched trainshed in 1866–67. This became a union station in 1871 when the VC leased the Rutland. After local advocacy for a new station, an expansion was built in 1895–96. The Rutland became independent again in 1898 and soon constructed an extension northwards from Burlington.

Planning for a new union station began in 1909, but the railroads and the city struggled to reach an agreement about whether to eliminate grade crossings. After years of discussion and a legal battle about one design, a design with at-grade tracks was approved in 1914. Construction began that November, and the new Union Station opened on January 23, 1916. Passenger service began to decline shortly afterwards; the CV replaced most shuttle trains to Burlington with buses in 1932, and ended its rail service to the station in 1938. Rutland service to Burlington, including the Green Mountain Flyer, lasted until 1953. The building was sold to Green Mountain Power in 1955 and renovated for use as offices.

After the Rutland attempted to abandon its system, most lines were taken over by Vermont Railway in 1964. It soon began operating excursion trains from Burlington. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as a contributing property to the Battery Street Historic District. It was purchased by a private developer in 1985. After a failed attempt that year, a waterfront development was built in the 1990s, with Union Station renovated and an addition built. It served as the terminal of Champlain Flyer commuter service from 2000 to 2003. Construction of a new platform for Amtrak service took place from 2020 to 2022, and Ethan Allen Express service began on July 29, 2022.

  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Vermont" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.