Wilmington, DE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Wilmington station in July 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 100 South French Street Wilmington, Delaware United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°44′12″N75°33′04″W / 39.736759°N 75.551093°W /39.736759; -75.551093 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line | AmtrakNortheast Corridor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2side platforms, 1island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |
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| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Paid parking nearby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 20rack spaces[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | Amtrak:WIL SEPTA: 90203 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IATA code | ZWI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 4 (SEPTA)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1908 (1908) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | 1928[3] (toward Philadelphia) 1935[4] (toward Washington D.C) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | French Street Wilmington Pennsylvania Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FY 2024 | 787,979[5] (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 878 boardings, 632 alightings (weekday average)[6] (SEPTA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 19 of 146 (SEPTA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wilmington Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | 2 buildings and 1 structure on 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architect | Furness, Evans & Co. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 76000581[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wilmington station, also known as theJoseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station, is a passenger rail station inWilmington, Delaware. It serves nineAmtrak train routes and is part of theNortheast Corridor. It also servesSEPTA Regional Rail commuter trains on theWilmington/Newark Line as well asDART First State local buses andGreyhound Lines intercity buses.
Built in 1907 asPennsylvania Station, the station was renamed in 2011 for then-Vice President (now formerPresident)Joe Biden, an advocate for passenger rail who routinely took the train from Wilmington toWashington, D.C.during his time as a Senator from 1973 to 2009.[8] In 1987, Biden formally announced his ultimately unsuccessfulbid for the1988 Democratic presidential nomination at this station. Located on Front Street between French and Walnut Streets in downtown Wilmington, the station has one inside level with stores, a cafe/newsstand, Amtrak and SEPTA ticket offices, a car rental office, and restrooms. Passengers board their trains on the second-story train platforms.
The station replaced an earlier station erected by thePhiladelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad.[9]
It was built in 1907 for $300,000 by the PW&B successor, thePennsylvania Railroad.[10] It was designed by renowned architectFrank Furness, who also designed the adjacent Pennsylvania Railroad Building (which housed the offices for the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad) and the nearbyBaltimore and Ohio Railroad'sWater Street Station. The Pennsylvania Railroad Building has since been renovated; as of 2014, it holds the offices ofING Direct United States.[10]
Admired for his use of new and innovative materials and his forceful architectural statements, Furness chose to have the trains move right through the second floor of the station, with room for a ticketing and retail concourse at ground level underneath the tracks.[9] This unconventional arrangement celebrated the power of the locomotive and America's industrial strength. The north end of the station has a four-faced rectangular clock tower that rises an extra story above the main roof. It is decorated with stone andterra cotta work that is repeated in plainer form throughout the station.[9]
Wilmington Station has been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places since 1976.[11] A renovation project was conducted in 1984.[10] The National Register added the adjacent railroad viaduct in 1999. SEPTA has been running to Wilmington since 1989.[12]
In 2009, the station began a two-year restoration; about two-thirds of the $37.7 million in funding came fromUnited States government stimulus funds.[8][10] During construction, customer operations, including platform access, were moved to a temporary station next door.[10] The station reopened on December 6, 2010, and final work was completed in March 2011.[8][13]
On March 19, 2011, the station's name was changed from Wilmington Station to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station. The ceremony honored U.S. Vice President (and later President)Joe Biden, who took over 7,000 round trips from the station toWashington, D.C. during his U.S. Senate career and was noted as an advocate for Amtrak and passenger rail more generally.[8][14] On January 20, 2017, within an hour after completing his tenure as vice president, Biden boarded an AmtrakAcela train in Washington, D.C. bound for his namesake station.[15]
The adjacent Wilmington Transit Center for DART First State bus service opened in May 2020.[16] A $11.6 million renovation of the station, which included two new escalators, was completed in October 2023.[17]
The station is served by AmtrakNortheast Regional andAcela trains along theNortheast Corridor going south toBaltimore andWashington, D.C., and going north toPhiladelphia,New York City, andBoston. It is also served by several long-distance trains including theCardinal toChicago, theCarolinian toCharlotte, theCrescent toNew Orleans, thePalmetto toSavannah, theSilver Meteor toMiami, and theVermonter toSt. Albans, Vermont.Amtrak Thruway service is provided through the station toDover, Delaware andSalisbury, Maryland viaGreyhound Lines.
Despite being just 25 miles south of Philadelphia's30th Street Station, the third-busiest Amtrak station in the country, Wilmington Station is a major Amtrak station in its own right. It is the seventh-busiest Amtrak station in the Mid-Atlantic region (behindNew York Penn,Washington Union, 30th Street,Baltimore Penn,Albany-Rensselaer andBWI) and the 13th-busiest nationwide.
It is also served bySEPTA Regional Rail'sWilmington/Newark Line with service toCenter City Philadelphia andNewark, Delaware. Like all stations in Delaware, SEPTA service is provided under contract and funded throughDART First State, which also provides extensive local bus service as they have since 1994.
Greyhound Lines intercity buses stop at the Wilmington Bus Station adjacent to the Wilmington station at 101 North French Street. The bus terminal is attached to the station's parking garage. Greyhound Lines provides direct, one-seat ride service from the bus terminal to various cities includingBaltimore,New York City,Norfolk,Philadelphia,Richmond, andWashington, D.C.[18]
DART First State bus routes serving Wilmington station include 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 28, 33, 35, 37, 40, 52, 301, and 305 (seasonally). Most buses stop at the Wilmington Transit Center adjacent to the station.
The Wilmington Transit Center was built as a DART First State bus hub adjacent to Wilmington station. A groundbreaking ceremony for the transit center was held on November 19, 2018, with GovernorJohn Carney, U.S. SenatorTom Carper, Wilmington MayorMike Purzycki, DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, and DART First State CEO John Sisson in attendance. The Wilmington Transit Center serves most DART First State bus routes in Wilmington and includes a covered waiting area with seats, real-time bus displays, a ticket sales office, restrooms, vending machines, bicycle racks, and parking. Construction of the transit center cost $19 million and opened on May 17, 2020.[19][20][21]
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