Elevated and Underground Amtrak Stations

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VentureForth

VentureForth

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Jan 23, 2007
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So... There's a thread on "Union" stations, or intermodal transit centers, as well as a thread on abandoned stations. I want to know what Amtrak stations are actually elevated, with a significant section under the station being open. I know there are a lot of stations in the NE that are build up on berms, but I'm talking about structurally elevated stations like Miami is going to be.

Are there others?

And BOS and NYP are under ground level. What others? Is CHI underground, or at ground level? WAS?
 
WIL - the station is ground level and the tracks run directly over the station.
 
Chi is at ground level under a roof that covers the entire train from what I could tell
 
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I think WAS is ground level. I haven't been outside of WAS in a long time. The past couple of years, I've taken the Metro directly from/to the station so did not need to go outside.
 
PHL - NEC tracks run under the station. SEPTA tracks run upstairs next to the station.
 
Chicago is underground. You have to walk up to street level. The trains feel like they're at ground level, but they go down a gradual slope and then park** under the building. The passenger waiting areas are technically underground.

**Is that the right word for a train?
 
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AmtrakBlue said:
Ben_G said:
Chi is at ground level....under a roof that covers the entire train
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Hmm? I've only been there once, but I thought we had to go upstairs to get to the street.
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When you enter or leave by train you have to go thru the yard which don't seem to be underground, then climb to the highline till out of the city. Your right tho..to go to street level you have to go up, but remember Chicago is built on a lot of filled in area, just look next time at how much lower the river is than the buildings.
 
Atlanta is all three in my opinion! At the station itself, the tracks go under not only a road bridge, but the station itself. Then the ground drops to meet the tracks, before the tracks and platform extend out over I-75. Ok, so the underground part is a bit contrived, but it's definitely on a bridge.
 
Newark NJ (NWK) has the station and concourses at ground level and the Amtrak/NJT tracks and platforms elevated one level up. There is a second level for arriving PATH trains above the Amtrak/NJT level.
 
AmtrakBlue said:
PHL - NEC tracks run under the station. SEPTA tracks run upstairs next to the station.
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At 30th Street Station, the Amtrak tracks and platforms (and the adjacent I-76 Schuylkill Expressway) are at true ground level. The main station concourse and area street system surrounding the station is elevated on bridge structure above ground. The SEPTA commuter rail tracks are elevated one level above the elevated street elevation and two levels above ground.
 
PRR 60 said:
AmtrakBlue said:
PHL - NEC tracks run under the station. SEPTA tracks run upstairs next to the station.
Click to expand...
At 30th Street Station, the Amtrak tracks and platforms (and the adjacent I-76 Schuylkill Expressway) are at true ground level. The main station concourse and area street system surrounding the station is elevated on bridge structure above ground. The SEPTA commuter rail tracks are elevated one level above the elevated street elevation and two levels above ground.
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Ah, ok. Been a long time since I've driven on the Schuylkill but I do remember now that it ran "below" 30th street station.
 
I think that part of the difficulty is that "ground level" isn't flat.

For example, In ATL, the tracks are certainly at ground level. Then you walk up the stairs and go outside at ground level, since the station is on the side of a hill.
 
Kansas City MO, station is above all the tracks. You have to go down stairs/elevator to get to tracks.

Reno NV Here the tracks are in the trench, station at ground level.
 
Spokane is another where the station and concourse are at street level and the tracks are elevated. The tracks (and station) are from the former NP line through Spokane and, fortunately, nearly 100 years ago the NP had the foresight to rebuild their line through downtown on elevated trackage.
 
Would Memphis, TN qualify? I seem to recall looking DOWN at the street pulling in from the south.
 
In PVD, the station is at ground level and then the tracks run underneath the station. But again, it is debatable what exactly is "ground level" because once the tracks emerge from the station towards BOS then they are at ground level again. One can even walk and board the train on the side that goes towards BOS and be on the ground and outside as the platform is that long. The tracks heading south from PVD do have to go in a tunnel underneath the Providence Place mall and then emerge at ground level again, but that ground level is below where the station is due to an elevation change.
 
Ben_G said:
AmtrakBlue said:
Ben_G said:
Chi is at ground level....under a roof that covers the entire train
Click to expand...
Hmm? I've only been there once, but I thought we had to go upstairs to get to the street.
Click to expand...
When you enter or leave by train you have to go thru the yard which don't seem to be underground, then climb to the highline till out of the city. Your right tho..to go to street level you have to go up, but remember Chicago is built on a lot of filled in area, just look next time at how much lower the river is than the buildings.
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The best way I would describe Chicago is that the tracks are on the Ground level and that the main roads are elevated above them. Interestingly most roads in the Loop section of downtown Chicago have a 2nd level to them, on the same level as CUS's tracks; there are even some streets with 3 levels.

peter
 
OKC platform is well above street level.

Joliet IL also comes to mind.
 
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PerRock said:
The best way I would describe Chicago is that the tracks are on the Ground level and that the main roads are elevated above them. Interestingly most roads in the Loop section of downtown Chicago have a 2nd level to them, on the same level as CUS's tracks; there are even some streets with 3 levels.

peter
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That's how I think of it too, and it was in the back of my head when I answered. When you have areas like Lower Wacker and other such "levels", it's hard to think of anything as ground-level. :p
 
Someone already mentioned NWK.

BRP (Bridgeport CT) is entirely elevated. You're either looking down about 15 feet at a cab line or the Long Island Sound depending on which platform you're on.
 
At Trenton the station concourse is at street level, and the NEC tracks are in a cut one level down, which occasionally floods.

At Metropark, the station building is at ground level while the tracks are one level up.

BTW Newark Penn has one level below ground too for the light rail.

At NYP the main station is one level below ground for Amtrak and NJT, two levels below ground for LIRR. All tracks are three levels below ground, ground defined as street level. The subway stations are all one level below ground at 7th and 8th Aves.

BTW contrary to what the OP says, BOS is at ground level. BBY station head house is at street level and the tracks are one level down. I will leave it to others to argue about which of those two levels is ground level.

At Secaucus Jct. a large non Amtrak NEC station, SEC Upper is elevated, SEC Lower is at ground level.

At EWR the tracks are at ground level, but most of the station head house is one level up.
 
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