Kingston Railroad Station (Rhode Island)

Kingston Station

Historic station building, renovated in early 2000s.
Station statistics
Address 1 Railroad Avenue
West Kingston, RI
Lines
  Northeast Regional
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Parking 150 spots
Bicycle facilities Yes
Other information
Opened June 1875
Rebuilt May 31, 1998
Accessible
Code KIN
Owned by State of Rhode Island
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 151,954[1]  0.7%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Northeast Regional
Kingston Railroad Station
Location: South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Built: 1875
Architect: Unknown
Architectural style: Stick/Eastlake
Governing body: Private
NRHP Reference#:

78000018

[2]
Added to NRHP: April 26, 1978

Kingston Station is located at 1 Railroad Avenue, in West Kingston, Rhode Island. It was built at this location in 1875 by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, also known as the Stonington Line.

Contents

History

The Kingston Station has continued as a railroad station from the day it opened in June 1875 to the present. Amtrak serves Kingston Station with 16 Northeast Regional trains each day on the Northeast Corridor from Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C.

Although the station is on the Acela Express route, Acela trains do not stop at this station, except for unscheduled maintenance.[3] They frequently pass through this station at speeds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h), since the station is located in the middle of one of two sections of the Northeast Corridor where these speeds are permitted. Because of this, it is popular among railfans.

The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1975.[4]

An organization called The Friends of Kingston Station was instrumental in preserving the station and assuring its restoration after a fire there on December 12, 1988.

In 2009, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation requested American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for engineering of a siding and platform that would allow local trains to stop at the station, possibly including future MBTA Commuter Rail trains on an extension of the Providence/Stoughton Line.[5]

Ridership

Of the three Rhode Island stations served by Amtrak, Kingston was the second busiest in FY2010, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 420 passengers daily.[1]

Railroad museum

The Rhode Island Railroad Museum is located in the southern half of the station building; it is free and open on Sunday afternoons from 2:00pm until 5:00pm and by appointment. The museums features displays and offers volunteer opportunities.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of Rhode Island" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/RHODEISLAND10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  3. ^ "Acela Halted at Kingston for speeding again?". Friends of Kingston station newsletter: 1. Winter 2008. "Yes, every so often the Acela actually has been witnessed at a full stop in front of the Kingston Station. On Labor Day weekend of 2007, the crowds had a real show! ... A regularly scheduled Acela to New York encountered a pantagraph problem which required attention, so it was decided by the dispatchers to transfer the travelers to the following Acela set and bring it up on the station side." 
  4. ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". National Register of Historic Places. United States National Park Service. http://www.nr.nps.gov/nrname1.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-27. 
  5. ^ http://www.pbn.com/detail/47003.html
  6. ^ http://members.cox.net/rirrmuseum/

External links

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  • Category:National Register of Historic Places
  • Portal:National Register of Historic Places