Harrisburg Transportation Center

Coordinates: 40°15′43″N 76°52′40″W / 40.26194°N 76.87778°W / 40.26194; -76.87778
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Harrisburg Transportation Center
Rabbit Transit
Construction
ParkingMetered
Bicycle facilitiesRacks
AccessibleYes
Architectural styleColonial Revival
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: HAR
IATA codeZUG
History
Opened1887
Rebuilt1905, 1986
ElectrifiedJanuary 15, 1938[1]
Passengers
FY 2022258,937 annually[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Terminus Keystone Service Middletown
toward New York
Lewistown
toward Pittsburgh
Pennsylvanian Elizabethtown
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Lewistown
toward Chicago
Three Rivers
1995–2005
Lancaster
toward New York
Broadway Limited
Until 1995
Lewistown National Limited Elizabethtown
toward New York
Baltimore
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Maclay Street
toward Chicago
Main Line Steelton
Dauphin
toward Erie
Erie – Harrisburg Terminus
Maclay Street Northern Central Railway
Susquehanna & Elmira Division
Lemoyne
toward Winchester
Winchester – Harrisburg
Terminus Northern Central Railway
Baltimore Division
New Cumberland
Harrisburg Central Railroad Station and Trainshed
NRHP reference No.75001638
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 11, 1975[3]
Designated NHLDecember 8, 1976[4]
Location
Harrisburg Transportation Center is located in Pennsylvania
Harrisburg Transportation Center
Harrisburg Transportation Center
Location within Pennsylvania
Map

The Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC, formerly Pennsylvania Station, Harrisburg or Harrisburg Central Railroad Station) is a railway station and transportation hub in

Downtown Harrisburg
between the intersections of Aberdeen and Market Streets and 4th and Chestnut Streets.

The station is the primary

South Central Pennsylvania
.

History

Station interior, February 2007

The current station is the third on the site. Though technically a union station (meaning it was used by several railways), it was never identified as such in publications such as the Official Guide of the Railroads and Steam Navigation Lines or Pennsylvania Railroad Timetables.

The first two stations were shared by the

Penn Central's unnamed successor to the Buffalo Day Express
, ending in 1971.

The last Erie-bound PRR trains were in 1965 before the Northern Express and Southern Express were diverted to Buffalo.[6][7][8][9]

The current station was built by PRR in 1887 and significantly rebuilt with its distinctive barn roof in 1905 following a serious fire in 1904.

It was listed on the

Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Building usage

The building, which is owned by

tenants
. It also contains a moderately large meeting room called the Pennsylvania Room that can be used for meetings and other large gatherings.

Passenger facilities are currently limited, but the station does have a newsstand on the first floor that sells newspapers, magazines, food, and beverages. It also has various food and beverage

Pennsylvania RR GG1 locomotive
on display, which can be viewed by the passengers waiting on the adjoining platforms.

Transportation services

Intercity rail

Train platform with a Keystone Service train on the left and the Pennsylvanian on the right

Amtrak provides service to the station via the

Pittsburgh
to the west. Both staffed and Quik-Trak machine ticket service are available for all departures and red cap service is also available.

In Federal Fiscal Year 2018, it was the third busiest Amtrak station in

Lancaster Station
in both categories (Lancaster is 2nd and 21st respectively). It is one of the busiest Amtrak stations serving a metropolitan area with fewer than two million people, mainly due to the large number of passengers traveling between this station and Philadelphia.

Intercity bus

There are two intercity bus operators (

Fullington Trailways
) that provide service to the station. Some of the key cities and large towns served with one-seat rides by each bus operator are as follows:

In Pennsylvania

Outside of Pennsylvania

With both Greyhound and Fullington Trailways, many in-state and out-of-state cities and towns beyond those listed can be reached via transfers.

Connecting services

The local public transit operator in the Harrisburg area, Capital Area Transit (CAT), has many local and express bus routes that stop either along Aberdeen Street almost immediately outside the Transportation Center or 1/2 block away on Market Street between 4th Street and Aberdeen Street. These nearby CAT stops that are within easy walking distance of the Harrisburg Transportation Center enable convenient transfers between local public transit and intercity rail and bus services.

The public transit provider in

Rabbit Transit
, operates its commuter-oriented RabbitEXPRESS bus service on weekdays between the city of York and downtown Harrisburg. Like the Capital Area Transit buses, the RabbitEXPRESS does not stop at the HTC itself but does have stops within one block of the facility.

Finally, R & J Transportation, a charter/tour bus company, has scheduled weekday, line route commuter service between Schuylkill County and downtown Harrisburg. R & J has stops within one block of the HTC, though no tickets for R & J's service are available at the Transportation Center.

Gallery

  • The station circa 1900
    The station circa 1900
  • Circa 1913
    Circa 1913
  • Commemorative Plaque inside station, February 2007
    Commemorative Plaque inside station, February 2007
  • Boarding Pennsylvanian looking Eastbound, 2018
    Boarding Pennsylvanian looking Eastbound, 2018

See also

  • Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 Streamlined Electric Locomotive #4859

References

  1. ^ "Pennsy Completes New Electric Link". The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. January 15, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. ^ "Harrisburg Station and Trainshed". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  5. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, Reading Railway System section, Table 4
  6. ^ "Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 44, 45". Official Guide of the Railways. 97 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1964.
  7. ^ "Penn Central, Table 42". Official Guide of the Railways. 101 (1). National Railway Publication Company. June 1968.
  8. .
  9. Trains. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Harrisburg Central Railroad Station and Trainshed". Archiplanet.org/. 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  11. ^ Dauphin County Listings on the National Register of Historic Places (Building #75001638)
  12. ^ "Pennsylvania's National Historic Landmarks". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. 2006. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  13. ^ "Major Upgrade to Harrisburg Trans. Center underway". City of Harrisburg. 2006. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2006.
  14. ^ "Amtrak Passenger Station Factsheet" (PDF). Amtrak. 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Amtrak National Facts" (PDF). Amtrak. 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.

External links