Union Station (Burlington, Vermont)

Burlington, VT
View of Union Station from Main Street in July 2022
General information
Location	1 Main Street Burlington, Vermont United States
Coordinates	44°28′33″N 73°13′10″W / 44.4757°N 73.2195°W / 44.4757; -73.2195
Owned by	Main Street Landing Company
Line(s)	NECR Burlington Subdivision VRS Northern Subdivision Rutland Railroad Island Line (former)
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	Green Mountain Transit Burlington - Port Kent Ferry
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Unstaffed station with waiting room
Station code	Amtrak: BTN
History
Opened	January 23, 1916 July 29, 2022
Closed	June 26, 1953
Passengers
FY 2023	21,150[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Terminus Ethan Allen Express Ferrisburgh–Vergennes toward New York
Former services Preceding station Vermont Railway Following station Terminus Champlain Flyer 2000–2003 General Dynamics toward Charlotte Preceding station Central Vermont Railway Following station Terminus Winooski Subdivision Service ended 1938 Winooski toward Essex Junction Preceding station Rutland Railroad Following station South Hero toward Rouses Point Main Line Shelburne toward North Bennington or Bellows Falls South Hero toward Montreal Green Mountain Flyer / Mount Royal Shelburne toward New York or Boston
Union Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Part of	Battery Street Historic District
NRHP reference No.	77000098
Designated CP	November 2, 1977
Location

Burlington Union Station is a train station and office building located in downtown Burlington, Vermont, United States. It is the northern terminal of the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express service. A single side platform on the west side of the station serves Vermont Railway excursion trains and Amtrak trains. The symmetrical Beaux Arts building, built of buff brick with limestone and granite trim, has a central pilaster over two entrances. The main building is divided for use by a variety of tenants.

Rail service to Burlington began in December 1849 with the completion of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad (which later became the Rutland Railroad) and the Vermont Central Railroad (VC). The VC replaced its original station by 1853; it constructed a new line into Burlington in 1861, with a temporary station on the waterfront. It built a permanent station with an arched trainshed in 1866–67. This became a union station in 1871 when the VC leased the Rutland. After local advocacy for a new station, an expansion was built in 1895–96. The Rutland became independent again in 1898 and soon constructed an extension northwards from Burlington.

Planning for a new union station began in 1909, but the railroads and the city struggled to reach an agreement about whether to eliminate grade crossings. After years of discussion and a legal battle about one design, a design with at-grade tracks was approved in 1914. Construction began that November, and the new Union Station opened on January 23, 1916. Passenger service began to decline shortly afterwards; the CV replaced most shuttle trains to Burlington with buses in 1932, and ended its rail service to the station in 1938. Rutland service to Burlington, including the Green Mountain Flyer, lasted until 1953. The building was sold to Green Mountain Power in 1955 and renovated for use as offices.

After the Rutland attempted to abandon its system, most lines were taken over by Vermont Railway in 1964. It soon began operating excursion trains from Burlington. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as a contributing property to the Battery Street Historic District. It was purchased by a private developer in 1985. After a failed attempt that year, a waterfront development was built in the 1990s, with Union Station renovated and an addition built. It served as the terminal of Champlain Flyer commuter service from 2000 to 2003. Construction of a new platform for Amtrak service took place from 2020 to 2022, and Ethan Allen Express service began on July 29, 2022.