Neha Patil (Editor)

Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza (Toledo)

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Tracks
  
5 (formerly 12)

Disabled access
  
Yes

Opened
  
1950

Parking
  
Yes; free

Station code
  
TOL

Platforms in use
  
3

Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza (Toledo) uploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons110Toledo

Location
  
415 Emerald Avenue Toledo, Ohio 43602

Owned by
  
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority

Owner
  
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority

Connections
  
Greyhound Lines, Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach, Barons Bus Lines

Similar
  
Anthony Wayne Bridge, Cleveland Lakefront Station, One Maritime Plaza, Martin Luther King Jr Memor, Cincinnati Museum Center at

Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza is the main passenger rail and intercity bus station of Toledo, Ohio, named for Martin Luther King Jr.

Contents

In 1996, the Port Authority completed an $8.5 million renovation of the historic Central Union Terminal facility and it now serves as a modern, intermodal train and bus terminal and office complex.

Toledo is served by four Amtrak trains daily, with service to Chicago and several destinations to the east including Cleveland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Boston, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York City.

It is constructed in a Streamline Moderne style.

History

The original Central Union Terminal opened during the week of September 17, 1950, at a cost of $5 million. It was the last of the New York Central Railroad's great stations. The new terminal was the crown jewel of a large post-war investment by the New York Central into Toledo, which involved constructing nine new buildings, as well as moving and expanding (in conjunction with the B&O) an $18,500,000 coal loading facility from East Toledo to Maumee Bay. C.U.T. was used by four major railroads during the 1950s and 1960s: the New York Central, Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Wabash Railroad. The first floor housed baggage services, while the second floor housed a YMCA for train crews. The passenger terminal and concourse were on the third floor, while the NYC Toledo division and dispatching offices were on the fourth.

The Amtrak era

In the Amtrak era, Toledo was served by as many as six daily trains in the late 1990s. Prior to the discontinuation of mail services in 2005, Amtrak stored a number of material handling cars (MHCs) at Union Station on several of the disused platform tracks. A small number of private cars are often stored on the platform tracks closest to the station.

Freight trains bypass the station platforms on bypass tracks on the south side of the station. Toledo hosts the 'first' National Train Day every year, a week before the event is held in other cities nationwide. The station is now owned by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

A second remodel was done on the station including a ticket counter, office, and freight room along with bus bays in 2016 so it could support Greyhound Lines moving in. Greyhound moved in on June 23, 2016. Barons Bus Lines also stops at the station.

References

Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza (Toledo) Wikipedia