Lakeland station

Lakeland, FL
Lakeland Amtrak station from across Lake Mirror Drive
General information
Location	600 Lake Mirror Drive Lakeland, Florida United States
Coordinates	28°02′44″N 81°57′07″W / 28.04547°N 81.95193°W / 28.04547; -81.95193
Owned by	City of Lakeland
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	Amtrak Thruway Citrus Connection
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	28 short term spaces[1]
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: LAK or LKL[Note 1]
History
Opened	1998
Passengers
FY 2023	20,386[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Tampa toward Miami or New York Silver Star Kissimmee toward New York Winter Haven toward Miami
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Tampa toward St. Petersburg Floridian Kissimmee toward Chicago Winter Haven toward Miami Palmetto (2002–2004) Tampa toward New York Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station Winston toward Tampa Main Line Auburndale toward Richmond Kathleen toward High Springs High Springs – Lakeland Terminus Terminus Lakeland – Marco Island Eaton Park toward Marco Island
Location

Lakeland station is a train station in Lakeland, Florida, that is served by Amtrak, the national passenger rail system of the United States. It is served by the Silver Star train, which runs daily between New York City and Miami.^{[Note 2]} The station is located on the northern shore of Lake Mirror.

Lakeland is unique among all Amtrak stations in that it has two separate Amtrak station codes; one for passengers traveling to and from points north and the other for passengers traveling to and from points south. Since 2004, when the Silver Star initially arrives in Lakeland from either New York or Miami, it heads west to Tampa, then returns to Lakeland over the same route. After its second stop in Lakeland, the train continues on a bit further east along its previous route and then finally turns north toward New York or south toward Miami. Passengers disembarking at Lakeland station do so before the train heads to Tampa and passengers boarding at Lakeland only do so after the train returns from Tampa.^{[Note 1]} This logical arrangement allows passengers boarding or debarking at the Lakeland station to avoid having to make an unnecessary trip to Tampa before continuing on their way. (Excluding Tampa, the next southbound stop on the Silver Star is in Winter Haven and the next northbound station is in Kissimmee.)

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