On April 23, 2010, the City of Raleigh proposed an extensive multimodal transit center a few blocks west of the site of the 1890 Union Depot to serve the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, conventional Amtrak trains, future commuter rail over the North Carolina Railroad, as well as Capital Area Transit local, Triangle Transit regional, and Greyhound intercity buses. The name of the project, "Union Station," pays homage to the former Union Depot, which was commonly referred to as Union Station; the original depot operated from 1890-1950. On June 29, 2011, North Carolina Department of Transportation proposed a cheaper plan that would relocate the Amtrak station to an abandoned industrial site, known locally as the Viaduct Building, within the Boylan Wye, some 800 feet north of Amtrak's then-facility from corner to corner. The plan focused on Amtrak's needs, with provisions to add commuter rail and SEHSR later. Station and track design began in 2013 and was completed in late 2014. The environmental assessment was approved on March 12, 2014. On March 3, 2015, the Raleigh City Council approved full funding for the station, $88.8 million ; additional funds of $21.6 million were also provided for supporting project costs. A ceremonial groundbreaking followed on May 9, while actual start of construction began in January 2016. On April 30, 2018, a dedication ceremony was held at the station with various city and state officials, including Raleigh MayorNancy McFarlane, U.S. Representative David Price and State SenatorNelson Dollar.
Predecessor stations
Union Depot
Opened in 1890, the Union Depot was constructed by the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, a predecessor of the Seaboard Air Line, at the corner of Dawson and West Martin streets. It also served the original Norfolk Southern Railway and Southern Railway, with a total of four tracks. The station was reached by trackage from the nearby Boylan Wye where the North Carolina Railroad, the original Norfolk Southern, and the Seaboard converged. Being a stub-end station, Union Depot was inconvenient to operate, especially as passenger trains became longer and obstructed the Boylan Wye. Seaboard left the station in 1942 and Southern in 1950, by which time the original Norfolk Southern had discontinued its passenger trains. The head-house of the 1890 Union Depot survives as an office building, minus its tower. The former platform area and viaduct were subsequently redeveloped as industrial property.
Seaboard station
Opened in 1942, the Seaboard station was located north of downtown at 707 Semart Drive, adjacent to Seaboard's freight yard. Seaboard merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad as the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. In 1971, passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak, which leased the station from SCL. The station's ownership passed to CSX Corporation when SCL's parent company, Seaboard Coast Line Industries, merged with Chessie System. In 1985, CSX abandoned its S-Line between Norlina, North Carolina and Petersburg, Virginia. Amtrak was forced to reroute its trains between Raleigh and the Northeast through Selma. The Seaboard station could not easily accommodate the reroute, so Amtrak moved all operations to the smaller Southern station. The Seaboard station was subsequently repurposed as a retail space and a restaurant.
Southern station
Opened in 1950, by Southern Railway, the Colonial Revival station was located at 320 West Cabarrus Street, two blocks south of the current Raleigh Union Station. In 1964, Southern withdrew its trains from Raleigh and closed the station. The station was repurposed for storage, leaving the old Seaboard station as the sole passenger rail station in Raleigh for the next 21 years. In 1985, CSX abandoned the S-Line between Norlina and Petersburg. Amtrak opted to move its services to the smaller Southern station, which was better suited for the new route that ran through Selma. That year, the North Carolina Railroad acquired the station from Norfolk Southern and renovated the station, then leased it to Amtrak. Passenger rail service resumed in 1986. At 10:14pm, on July 9, 2018, the Piedmont #78 was the final train to arrive at the station; the following day, all passenger rail service was relocated to the Raleigh Union Station and the former Southern/Amtrak station was officially closed. Demolition of the Southern station was completed on August 1, 2018 in order to relocate the NS main freight track.
Services
Operated by Amtrak, the station is served by ten trains per day.
The, with one train heading toward New York after the morning rush and one heading toward Charlotte during the afternoon rush
The , a regional companion of the Carolinian that runs three round-trips to and from Charlotte.
The, with one train heading toward New York during the morning rush and one heading toward Miami in the evening.
The facility is open daily at 6:00am-11:00pm, which includes a ticket office, passenger assistance, baggage service and a civic hall. Short-term and disability parking is available at the front of the station. Long-term parking is located in The Dillon parking garage at 223 South West Street. The garage is open 24-hours and accepts payment only by credit/debit card. Two routes of GoRaleigh pass near the station. Route 13 runs near the station from 6 am to 6:55 pm, seven days a week. The R-LINE downtown circulator, a free ride, serves the station at certain times.
Station layout
The station has four levels identified as Street, Main, Lower Mezzanine and Upper Mezzanine. It has of building space, with of passenger rail space. The island platform is long, offering level boarding and is fully ADA compliant; it is the first high-level platform in North Carolina, and the only high-level platform between Washington and West Palm Beach.
Future
The station is designed for significant future expansion. A second island platform and third track, along the Norfolk Southern H-Line, are planned to serve the under-development Durham-Wake commuter rail line. A northern concourse, with a new island platform and station track, on the CSX Aberdeen Subdivision is planned for the future Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, dependent on reestablishment of the CSX S-Line between Norlina and Petersburg, VA.
Phase II
On the southwest corner of West Street and Hargett Street, GoTriangle plans to build a bus terminal, referred to as Raleigh Union Station Bus on a site. While the layout and cost of the bus station have not been finalized, preliminary plans include a mixed-use development with ground floor retail, as well as a parking garage, and offices above the station. Once completed, the facility will serve as a secondary Downtown Raleigh hub for GoRaleigh, and GoTriangle, supplementing the existing GoRaleigh Station at Moore Square.
