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Springfield, Massachusetts (Amtrak station)
Overview
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
train station in Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Constructed in 1926, as of 2010, Springfield Union Station was the fifth busiest Amtrak station in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 360 passengers daily. Each of the top four busiest stations was in Boston; however, Springfield's Amtrak station (at number five) featured nearly 5 times the amount of rail traffic of Massachusetts' number six Amtrak station at Haverhill
Haverhill (Amtrak station)
Haverhill is a train station in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is served by Amtrak's Downeaster, which connects Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine, and is the terminus of the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill/Reading Line....
.
Originally, Springfield's grand Union Station was constructed in 1926 by Boston and Albany Railroad
Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail and CSX. The line is used by CSX for freight...
to replace a smaller Union Station
Union station
A union station is the term used for a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them...
, which had been adorned in unique Egyptian
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
-style architecture.
