Owned by BNSF Railway Tracks 2 Opened 1909 Owner BNSF Railway | Line(s) Empire Builder Connections Metro Bus Phone +1 800-872-7245 Platforms in use 1 | |
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Location 555 East Saint Germain Street
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56304
United States Parking 40 free long term spaces Address 555 E St Germain St, St Cloud, MN 56304, USA Similar Red Wing station, Midway station, Staples station, Detroit Lakes station, Fargo station | ||
St. Cloud is an Amtrak intercity train station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States, on Amtrak's daily Empire Builder service between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon. The next westbound passenger stop is in Staples, Minnesota, and the next eastbound stop is in Saint Paul, Minnesota.)
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Description
The station is located at 555 East Saint Germain Street and is situated on the east side of the Mississippi River in the middle of a wye that links to the St. Cloud Rail Bridge. The depot is easily accessible from US 10 by taking the SH 23 interchange (toward St. Cloud) and heading southwest on 3rd Street Southeast (SH 23), then north-northwest on Lincoln Avenue Southeast, then southeast on East Saint Germain Street, and finally north-northwest again on the station access road (immediately after crossing the tracks). There is an enclosed waiting room (with restrooms) available daily from 4:00 am to 6:00 am and from 11:30 pm to 1:15 am (early the next morning), with a caretaker opening and closing the depot. While it does not have a ticketing office or counter, it does have a Quik-Trak kiosk. However, no other services are provided at the station (i.e., baggage, lounge, telephone, etc.). The tracks, platform, depot building, and parking lot are all owned by the BNSF Railway.
History
It was built in 1909 by the Northern Pacific Railway. The depot features walls of brown pressed brick with grey granite trim.
The St. Cloud Station was served by the North Coast Hiawatha, with service from Chicago to Seattle from 1971 until the train was discontinued in 1979. The next westbound stop for the North Coast Hiawatha was in Staples and the next eastbound stop was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979, the Empire Builder was rerouted away from Willmar, Minnesota to St. Cloud and has served the station continuously since then. The next westbound stop for the Empire Builder is also in Staples and the next eastbound stop is in Saint Paul. However, in 2014, Amtrak service in Saint Paul was moved from the Midway Station to the Saint Paul Union Depot.
Future service
The Northstar commuter rail service was originally planned to originate in Rice, Minnesota and serve the St. Cloud station, but was cut back to Big Lake. On November 8, 2010, it was announced that extension of the line to St. Cloud had been indefinitely delayed, as projected ridership is not sufficient to qualify for federal funding.