Union Depot Saint Paul, MN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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     Left to right from top:facade of the head house, waiting room, concourse, inside of the headhouse, Entrance from lower parking ramp with ticket stations for Jefferson Lines and Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 214 Fourth Street East Saint Paul, Minnesota United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 44°56′52″N93°5′10″W / 44.94778°N 93.08611°W /44.94778; -93.08611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Jones Lang LaSalle[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line | CPKCMerriam Park Subdivision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 9 historically 3 currently | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 18 historically 2 currently | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bus routes |
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| Bus stands | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bus operators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking |
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| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | Amtrak:MSP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | uniondepot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | Original depot: 1881 Current structure: 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 1,121 daily[2]  42.1% (Green Line) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 20 out of 37 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FY 2024 | 126,421[1] (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Union Depot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Interactive map of Union Depot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 214 Fourth Street East Saint Paul, Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 44°56′52″N93°5′10″W / 44.94778°N 93.08611°W /44.94778; -93.08611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Built | 1917 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architect | Charles Sumner Frost | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architectural style | Classical Revival | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Part of | Lowertown Historic District (ID83000935) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 74001040[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Significant dates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designated CP | February 21, 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saint Paul Union Depot is a historicrailroad station andintermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood ofSaint Paul,Minnesota. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.
It is the eastern terminus for theMETRO Green Line light rail line, with the stop located outside the station'sheadhouse. It is also theTwin Cities' stop forAmtrak, the national intercity railroad service. In addition to rail, Union Depot also servesMetro Transit,Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA),Jefferson Lines,Greyhound Lines, andMegabus.
The headhouse, located at the 4th Street entrance, was designed by architectCharles Sumner Frost and isneoclassical in style. Theconcourse and the waiting room that extend over the tracks are viewed as a great architectural achievement. The building was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is also acontributing property to theLowertown Historic District.[5]
In addition to its transit uses, Union Depot also contains aHertz rental car location, coffee shop, restaurant, a bike shop, offices, a museum, and loft condominiums.[6]
There have been two Union Depots in Saint Paul. The first was completed in 1881, and combined the services of several different railroads into one building (hence the "union"; seeUnion station). In 1888 the old station had its peak year, handling eight million passengers. That year, about 150 trains departed daily.[citation needed] Around this time, the building was remodeled with a taller central tower and other alterations to theroofline. This station burned in 1915.
The current structure was started in 1917 but was not completed until 1923 becauseWorld War I forced construction to halt for several years.
During its heyday, the depot hosted the passenger trains of nine railroads, and more than 20 million pieces of mail passed through the station to the neighboring St. Paul Central Downtown Post Office annually. At its peak in the 1920s, there were 282 train movements daily. The waiting room stood atop nine platforms serving 18 tracks; the eight northern ones closest to the headhouse were stub-end tracks, while the other ten ran through. However, track ownership and trackage rights west of the station meant that most trains operated as though the station was a stub terminal. These trains, when they were intended to continue beyond the station, instead backed up to a wye just to the east to get to other main lines.[7]
The Saint Paul Union Depot Company controlled 9.24 miles (14.87 km) of St. Paul trackage and terminal facilities, including the depot building. The company was operated in tandem with the Minnesota Transfer Railway Company, with effective control of both properties exercised by the same board, composed of representatives of the nine tenants.[8]
Train ridership began to erode in the 1920s as the automobile took hold and airlines began to operate. The railroads sought ways to stem the flow of passengers and compete with these new forms of transportation. As theGreat Depression unfolded, more aggressive moves were required. Thestreamliner era in the United States began in 1934 with the introduction of theChicago, Burlington and Quincy'sZephyr. After making a "Dawn-to-Dusk Dash" fromChicago toDenver, Colorado, the CB&Q's interest soon turned to the Twin Cities run. A demonstration run was completed in 6 hours and 4 minutes, including six one-minute stops.[9] Other railroads were soon busy investigating how to run faster trains to Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The firstlocomotive to run inMinnesota, theWilliam Crooks, was displayed at the depot from 1955 until the station's 1971 closure, after which it was moved to theLake Superior Railroad Museum inDuluth.
On January 2, 1935, high-speed express service to Chicago was introduced on theChicago and North Western Railway's400, cutting the scheduled time between the two cities from about 10 hours down to 7.Time dubbed the400, "the fastest train scheduled on the American Continent, fastest in all the world on a stretch over 200 mi."[10] The C&NW beat two other railroads which had been planning 6½ hour service to begin in the spring. TheMilwaukee Road'sHiawatha and theBurlington Route'sTwin Cities Zephyr were introduced with 6½ hour service a few months later at the same time, and C&NW matched their schedules.[9][11]
The BurlingtonZephyrs were the firststreamlineddiesel-electric trains to serve the Twin Cities, and originally ran in anarticulated configuration. The400 (now renamed theTwin Cities 400) followed in 1939, but using more conventional trucks and couplers to link passenger cars together. TheHiawatha had always been powered by a streamlined (or, in the terminology of the Milwaukee Road, "speedlined")steam locomotive. TheTwin Cities Zephyrs added a second set of trains daily in 1936, running theMorning Zephyr andAfternoon Zephyr from each terminal. TheHiawatha added a second set of trains in 1939, and theMorning Hiawatha andAfternoon Hiawatha each provided daily service from Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago.
TheMorning Hiawatha may have held the record as the world'sfastest steam train on two or more measures: The 78.3 miles (126.0 km) run fromSparta toPortage, Wisconsin was scheduled for 58 minutes—an average of 81 miles per hour (130 km/h). Speeds up to and above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) were achieved on a daily basis, and the powerfulMilwaukee Road class F7 engines (designed for a "reserve speed" of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h)) likely ran more miles at or above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) than any other steam locomotives in history.[12]
Burlington's dieselZephyrs were also very fast, and they had to be—theZephyr route was about 20 miles (32 km) longer than the competition. In southwestern Wisconsin, a stretch of track between stations required an average speed of 84.4 miles per hour (135.8 km/h).
Eventually, theHiawathas,Zephyrs, and the400 ran 6¼-hour service between St. Paul and Chicago, and for a time theMorning Zephyr from Chicago reached St. Paul in six hours flat.[13] In the 1950s, the federal government began imposing stricter rules for high-speed operation, and expensive advanced signaling was installed along the routes to the Twin Cities, though trains generally traveled a maximum of 90 to 100 mph (140 to 160 km/h). Unable to keep up with an increasing automobile speeds on an improving road network and other factors that kept passengers away from trains, train ridership declined and the five daily fast trains became unprofitable.
TheTwin Cities 400 was the first victim, ending service on July 23, 1963.
It was announced that whenAmtrak formally took over most passenger service on May 1, 1971, it would consolidate its Twin Cities service in Minneapolis at theMinneapolis Great Northern Depot. Accordingly, the Burlington (laterBurlington Northern)Zephyrs ended service on April 30, 1971, the same day the depot closed. TheAfternoon Zephyr was the last train to serve the depot when it departed that evening bound for Minneapolis. At this time, this train was normally combined with theEmpire Builder andNorth Coast Limited from Chicago to St. Paul, except on Fridays when it ran as a separate train. Since April 30 was a Friday, theZephyr had the "honor" of being the last train to depart the station.[14]
Area boosters had long hoped that trains would return to the Union Depot, and plans gathered steam as theBlue Linelight rail project in Minneapolis drew toward completion. Planners envisioned the depot being used for a restored Amtrak service along with Metro and Jefferson Lines buses.
A few businesses had occupied the headhouse since the halt of train service in 1971, while theUnited States Postal Service (USPS) took over the rear of the building. The concourse and waiting room were used for some postal service activities and storage. After lying dormant for several years in the 1970s, the train tracks were removed from the train deck and it was paved with a flat surface. It began to be used for stagingsemi-trailer trucks carrying mail to and from the neighboring Downtown St. Paul Central Post Office as well as USPS employee parking. A driveway ramp was sliced into the train deck at the intersection of Kellogg Boulevard and Broadway Street for USPS vehicles. In the early 2000s, the upper levels of the headhouse were converted into 33 2-story loft condominiums.[15]
In 2005, the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority secured funding to renovate the station as anintermodal transit hub served by Amtrak trains,Metro Transit light rail, and intercity bus lines.[16][17][18]
In June 2009, the Ramsey County Board approved purchasing the depot headhouse for $8.2 million, to serve as aMETRO Green Linelight rail station and for future passenger rail use.[19] In 2010, USPS moved most of the truck operations to abulk mail processing center inEagan, Minnesota, making way for rehabilitation of the depot as a rail hub. Demolition of the Postal Service building that blocked track access to the station began in mid-March 2011. The USPS ramp cut all the way across the train deck and blocked the ability for tracks to be installed, so the ramp was modified during restoration to make a roughly right-angle turn to access new bus platforms on the north end of the train deck while freeing up room for a few tracks to be restored on the south end.
The renovation was completed in late November 2012 at a cost of $243 million, of which $35 million was provided by the US government through theTIGER program.[20] The renovated station re-opened to the public on December 8, 2012.[16][17][18]
The first Amtrak train to service Saint Paul Union Depot was the westboundEmpire Builder on May 7, 2014, with its eastbound counterpart stopping the next day.[21]Borealis service began on May 21, 2024, with St. Paul as its western terminus.[22]
Since opening in late 2012,[16] the Depot has hosted a number of events including yoga classes, weddings, seasonal farmers markets, art galas, and holiday tree lighting ceremonies among other various public and private events.
In December 2014, for the first time in nearly 50 years, an active steam locomotive returned to St. Paul Union Depot.Milwaukee Road 261 and some historic passenger cars, decorated as the "North Pole Express" ran short excursions to and from the depot. It was determined to be an overwhelming success and has continued every year since (as of 2022). In 2014 and 2015 Canadian Pacific's traveling Holiday Train made a stop at the depot.
On December 9, 2017, Metro Transit and BNSF operated a "free to ride" Northstar Holiday Train between Big Lake and St. Paul Union Depot. The event continued in 2018 and 2019, before discontinuing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, as part of Union Pacific's "Great Race Across the Midwest" tour,Union Pacific 4014, made multiple stops at Union Depot for display before touring around other midwest states including Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Every year since 2014, the depot hosts a weekend of events named "Train Days" which showcases the history and future of railroad travel, 2014 and 2015 were advertised under Amtrak's "Nation Train Day" event. After "National Train Day" was discontinued in 2015, Union Depot rebranded the event as "Union Depot Train Days" beginning in 2016. Those in attendance are treated to model train layouts, indoor and outdoor exhibits, memorabilia vendors, photography events, and railroad equipment displays, some of which are open to public touring on the platform.[23] "Train Days" typically sees participation from area railroads and preservation organizations, includingAmtrak,BNSF Railway,Canadian Pacific Kansas City,Union Pacific,Operation Lifesaver,Lake Superior Railroad Museum,Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (and subsidiary Friends of the 261),Minnesota Transportation Museum,Great Northern Railway Historical Society,Twin Cities and Western Railroad, and others.
In 2014 and 2015, Union Depot hostedNational Train Day events with various indoor displays and platform displays from the Minnesota Transportation Museum, Amtrak, BNSF and Friends of the 261.
In 2016 the depot hosted its first "Union Depot Train Days" to celebrate the building's 90th Anniversary. Various displays, vendors, and photographers were featured inside the depot. Outside featured numerous rail equipment, featuringMilwaukee Road 261,Amtrak's Exhibit Train, andSoo Line FP7a #2500, among others.[24]
On May 6, 2017, featured railroad equipment included Amtrak's veteran's locomotive, twoUnion Pacific locomotives, a TC&W locomotive, and Northern Pacific RPO #1102. NP RPO #1102 had the distinction of being the "Last Mail Train" as Train Day attendees had mail transported inside the car from Union Depot to Osceola, Wisconsin.[25]
On May 5, 2018, Minnesota Transportation Museum equipment along with Union Pacific'sChicago & Northwestern 'heritage' locomotive were on display.[26] Train Days 2019 featuredSoo Line 700 fromLSRM and Wisconsin & Southern E9-A 101 from the Friends of the 261.[27]
In 2020, "Train Days" was held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in person for 2021. Because "Train Days" was held on the anniversary of "D-Day" in 2021, Union Pacific & Canadian Pacific displayed special military commemorative locomotives alongsideMilwaukee Road E9 32A & Amtrak 161, specially painted for Amtrak's 50th anniversary.
Train Days returned in 2022, featuring two restored SD45s from Duluth,GN 400 andNP 3617,MILW 32A along with multiple Friends of the 261 passenger cars, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific heritage locomotives, an AmtrakALC-42, a TC&W locomotive and some BNSF freight cars.[28] In 2023, twoCPKC locomotives, Milwaukee Road 261 and 32A, TC&W 2020, and GN 192 from Duluth were displayed. Train Days is planned to return in June 2024.[citation needed]
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The station is serviced by two Amtrak trains. TheEmpire Builder is named to honor Saint Paul-based mogulJames J. Hill who constructed theGreat Northern Railroad and whose nickname was "The Empire Builder", and provides service west toSeattle, Washington andPortland, Oregon and southeast toChicago. St. Paul is also the western terminus of theBorealis, an extendedHiawatha train that supplements theEmpire Builder between Chicago and St. Paul.
TheEmpire Builder originally stopped at the station from 1929 until 1971. In 1971, Amtrak consolidated all passenger rail service for the Twin Cities at theGreat Northern Station inMinneapolis, and in 1978 moved to theMidway Station in Saint Paul, about halfway between the downtowns of the two cities.[29] Service returned to the Union Depot from Midway in 2014 after it was delayed for almost two years from the depot's initial grand re-opening in 2012 due to negotiations with the owners of the railroads (Canadian Pacific Railway,BNSF Railway, andUnion Pacific Railroad) in the area[30] and the construction of new complex signals on theMerriam Park Subdivision.[31]
The westboundEmpire Builder arrives from Chicago in the middle of the night, usually around 10:30 p.m. The eastboundEmpire Builder arrives around breakfast time. The westboundBorealis arrives from Chicago around 6:29 p.m, and departs on its return journey to Chicago at 11:50 a.m. Also included is anAmtrak Thruway to Duluth via Jefferson Lines. The station appears asSt. Paul-Minneapolis in Amtrak timetables.
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The depot serves as theMetroGreen Line light rail line's eastern terminus. The Green Line runs between St. Paul and Minneapolis with its western terminus atTarget Field station in theNorth Loop area ofDowntown Minneapolis. The stop is in front of the headhouse, rather than at a platform under the waiting room.
The line opened on June 14, 2014. Utility relocation work in preparation for the Green Line began in front of the depot on 4th Street in August 2009, well before the line received final funding or approval.[32] Track was laid from 2011 to 2012.[33] While the Union Depot is the eastern terminus of service, the tracks continue beyond the station to the line's maintenance facility.[34]
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The current vision for the depot is to create a hub for intercity connections forlocal and regional bus service,light rail, andcommuter rail.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) has been selected for theRush Line Corridor between St. Paul andWhite Bear Lake. The southern terminus of this route is planned to be at St. Paul Union Depot. TheGateway Corridor (now called the Gold Line) is also planned to be bus rapid transit and will operate between St. Paul andWoodbury. TheRed Rock Corridor has also been proposed as a BRT service and eventually being upgraded to commuter rail, however plans are on hold as ridership on the current bus routes in this corridor are low.
TheRiverview Corridor is planned to be a LRT/modern streetcar hybrid operating between St. Paul Union Depot and Mall of America. Riverview Corridor trains would share tracks and stations with the Metro Green Line between Central Station and Union Depot Station.
Numerous existing freight rail lines branch out from St. Paul Union Depot and could be upgraded and utilized by regional passenger trains. Currently MnDOT has studied regional rail from St. Paul Union Depot toMankato,Northfield, and Minneapolis (continuing further west as a through-service). In 2010, theMinnesota Department of Transportation also released a plan for regional rail stretching out from the Twin Cities to rural Minnesota and neighboring states, and at least some of the lines would run to Saint Paul.[39]
For decades, the only intercity train to serve the Twin Cities was the overnightEmpire Builder. However, beginning on May 21, 2024, Amtrak extended aHiawatha train from Milwaukee to St. Paul as theBorealis, providing additional daily service between Union Depot and Chicago. TheBorealis is the successor to theNorth Star and theTwin Cities Hiawatha. A further extension to MinneapolisTarget Field Station and St. Cloud has been proposed.
New trains running at speeds above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) to Chicago have also been discussed since at least 1991. TheMidwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI), led by theWisconsin Department of Transportation, has proposed a link to the Twin Cities running at up to 110 mph (180 km/h). The planned schedule time to Saint Paul would be just 5½ hours. Others including the French national railwaySNCF, which operates theTGV network, have proposed trains running at up to 220 miles per hour (350 km/h).[40][41]
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Prior to the station's reopening in December 2012, Josh Collins, a spokesman for Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority, referred to the potential of the station to be "the living room of Saint Paul."[42]
The entrance to Union Depot, theheadhouse, is considered a somewhat severe example ofneoclassicalarchitecture, with a robust aesthetic. A series of tall Doric columns line the front façade. Theconcourse and the waiting room that extends out to the platforms, where trains once rolled in, is considered to be one of the great architectural achievements in the city. Charles Frost designed the station.[42]
The waiting room is flooded with natural light from skylights. These skylights were blackened during theSecond World War, but restored for the 2012 re-opening.[42]
The building was added to theNational Register of Historic Places[42] in 1974.
The restoration and new addition were designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson Architects & Engineers (HGA).
Milepost for rail lines that originated in St. Paul, such as the Great Northern and Northern Pacific, had used the depot as milepost 0. This is still evident in timetables and mileposts used by the BNSF Railway.[43]
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