| Kelso | ||||||||||||||||
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The transportation center with the clock tower in the background |
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| Station statistics | ||||||||||||||||
| Address | 501 South First Avenue Kelso, Washington, 98626 |
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| Lines | ||||||||||||||||
| Connections | Greyhound Lines, Community Urban Bus Service (CUBS) | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1912 | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1995 | |||||||||||||||
| Code | KEL | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | City of Kelso | |||||||||||||||
| Traffic | ||||||||||||||||
| Passengers (FY2010) | 28,761[1] 4.7% (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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The Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center is the station stop for Amtrak rail service for Kelso, Washington and neighboring Longview. Greyhound Lines provides national and regional bus service, while Community Urban Bus Service (CUBS) provides local transit. Shuttle vans, taxis and rental cars can also be hired at the station.
Of the eighteen Washington stations served by Amtrak, Kelso-Longview was the ninth busiest in FY10, boarding or detraining an average of about 80 passengers daily.[1]
Contents |
The Kelso Train Station was originally built by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The first small depot was a wooden structure in the 100 block of Front or First Avenue. By 1906 the citizens of Kelso petitioned the Northern Pacific Railroad for a better passenger and freight depot. This was granted and a new, brick passenger and a wood freight depot was built. A grand opening reception was held February 12, 1912.[2]
In 1970 the Northern Pacific Railway merged with several other railroads to create the Burlington Northern Railroad. The station remained in active freight service until the early 1980s when Burlington Northern suspended freight service there and transferred that service to the Portland, Oregon hub.
The station became an Amtrak stop in 1981. The station was manned by a ticketing agent until the 1990s when the station was locked up due to vandalism.
In the mid-1990s the station underwent extensive remodeling to make it look like the passenger stations of a bygone era. The station's interior and exterior received face-lifts and rebuilds, and a 30-foot-tall (9.1 m) clock tower was constructed outside the station. The clock can be seen from across the Cowlitz River at the Cowlitz County Hall of Justice and as far north as the higher points in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Kelso. The refurbished station was formally dedicated on September 23, 1995.[2]
The center serves as Amtrak station for the cities of Kelso and Longview, and also provides commercial and intercity bus service. The station stands as both the rail hub of the county and as a tribute to the rail pioneers of the Pacific Northwest.
On November 11, 1993 a head-on collision of a Union Pacific train and a Burlington Northern train near Kelso killed five-railroad crew. The crash caused an explosion and a fireball was fueled by 10,000 gallons of diesel on the trains. The area is one of the busiest rail corridors in the United States with 60 trains using the two sets of track daily. The station was used as a staging area for Burlington Northern's Incident Response Unit.[3]
In 1994 and 1995, the station was inundated with water damage when the nearby Cowlitz River peaked over the dike at 22 feet and flooded the basement and platform area, which ultimately led to the approval of the remodel.
In, 1993 a special Burlington Northern train made a stop at the station while it was carrying the company's CEO and board members on an inspection of the system. Numerous special events are held at the station each year, the most notable of which is the Kelso Christmas Celebration at which the mayor lights the Christmas tree that adorns the clock tower and Santa Claus makes a visit via the Amtrak Cascades train.
Between 2001 and 2004, the Kelso City Council held its meetings in the station's basement, because City Hall had been torn down to make way for a new bridge spanning the Cowlitz River.
In 1996, a steam-powered locomotive made a journey past the station on its way to Seattle.