Fargo (Amtrak station)

Fargo
Station statistics
Address	420 4th Street North Fargo, ND 58102
Coordinates	46°52′52″N 96°47′10″W / 46.8810°N 96.7861°W / 46.8810; -96.7861Coordinates: 46°52′52″N 96°47′10″W / 46.8810°N 96.7861°W / 46.8810; -96.7861
Line(s)	Empire Builder
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Parking	Yes; free
Baggage check	Yes
Other information
Opened	1920
Rebuilt	1995
Accessible
Station code	FAR
Owned by	Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	22,497[1]  11%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Grand Forks toward Seattle or Portland, OR Empire Builder Detroit Lakes toward Chicago     Former services     Amtrak Valley City toward Seattle North Coast Hiawatha Detroit Lakes toward Chicago

The Fargo Amtrak station (previously, the Great Northern Depot and the Burlington Northern Depot) is a train station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, served by Amtrak, the national passenger-rail transport operator. The station is the only railway station in use in the Fargo-Moorhead area and is the third busiest in North Dakota.

The platform, tracks, and station are currently all owned by BNSF Railway. The station is currently located in the former BNSF freight house. The former main station building is now home to Great Northern Bicycle Co.

History

As a Great Northern Railway Depot, Summer 1939.

Fargo Station was originally built by the Great Northern Railway in 1920^{[citation needed]}.

At the time of the station's construction, Fargo was served by both the Great Northern Railroad and the Northern Pacific.^[2] The station was served by Great Northern trains, while Northern Pacific operated its own station along Fargo's Main Avenue.

In 1970, the two railway companies merged to form the Burlington Northern. Freight trains used the Northern Pacific tracks, while passenger trains used the Great Northern tracks. All passenger service in Fargo began using the Great Northern depot. From 1971, passenger service was operated by Amtrak.^[3]

1974 Amtrak train in Fargo

Amtrak currently uses the former BNSF freight house as the station building, as the main building became unused in 1986. The former main station building is now used for retail. Various businesses have operated in the building, since 1995.^[3]

Fargo station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[3]

Operation

Fargo station is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder service. Westbound trains are headed for Spokane, Washington (splitting to serve Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon) while eastbound trains are headed for Chicago. There are several intermittent stops between. About one-eighth of Empire Builder passengers board or alight at this station.

The station previously served the North Coast Hiawatha until that was consolidated into the Empire Builder in 1979.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has proposed regional rail services to connect Fargo-Moorhead with the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The route is listed as a Phase 1 project for Minnesota's regional rail projects, to be completed by 2030. Due to existing infrastructure, Fargo Amtrak station would be used.^[4]

Ridership

While the largest city in North Dakota, Fargo has only the third-most rail passenger traffic in the state, behind Minot and Williston. This is chiefly because Amtrak's daily Empire Builder, which makes stops in six other North Dakota cities, stops in Fargo during the middle of night - between 2 and 4 AM - on both its eastbound and westbound journeys. In Amtrak's 2010 fiscal year, an average of about 60 passengers boarded or detrained at the station each day^[5]

Notes and references

External links

Media related to Fargo (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak – Stations – Fargo, ND
• Fargo Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• Great Northern Bicycle Co