# Amtrak Serving "College Towns"



## Philly Amtrak Fan

My first experience with Amtrak was when I was at the University of Illinois and taking trains to/from Chicago (either CONO or Illini) as there was or is Amtrak service where I grew up. I imagine U of I students contribute a lot to ridership/revenue towards the trains that serve Champaign/Urbana and there are several other "college towns" which I am sure Amtrak gets a lot of R & R from including Charlottesville, VA (University of Virginia) and Ann Arbor, MI (University of Michigan). Illinois and Michigan have the added benefit of being within 2-3 hours of a major metropolitan area which many college students come from.

On the other hand, there are plenty of major college towns that are not served or used to be served by Amtrak (I say this because Gainesville, FL/University of Florida and College Station, TX/Texas A&M came to my mind earlier today as huge college towns without Amtrak service and there is to me the biggest missing college town from the Amtrak map in Columbus). State College, PA (Penn State) is other large college town not served by Amtrak as is Tallahassee, FL (Florida State) which is also relevant because it was on the old SL East and presumably would be on the new Gulf Coast route. In addition to the usual major markets Amtrak doesn't serve like Las Vegas or Nashville (technically they are also college towns with UNLV and Vanderbilt), college towns should be another target for future growth.

I thought maybe more Thruway bus deals would help (I am not aware of any official Thruway bus serving State College) but I don't know how popular a thruway bus to a train would be for that short a distance (why take a Thruway from Penn State to Lewistown to connect with the Pennsylvanian to Philly/Harrisburg instead of just taking a bus to Philly/Harrisburg?) Maybe there would be some Thruway buses that would make sense though (like the Gainesville to Jacksonville one for travel north of Florida). I'm sure the Thruways to Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin) are really popular. The only Thruway I am aware of serving Columbus, OH is the one to Pittsburgh for which the connecting times are absolutely horrible.

Maybe Amtrak and colleges should work together. Amtrak could put "University of Illinois" after "Champaign/Urbana" in the Illini/CONO schedules and/or even have Amtrak ads inside the campuses. Since Amtrak's Thruway Bus stops on the University of Wisconsin's campus I am guessing their students are more aware of Amtrak than the University of Illinois's students (the station is about six blocks west of the Illini Union). I didn't immediately learn about Amtrak in my freshman year and I made regular trips to/from the Chicago suburbs (I usually used buses that went to/from my dorm). Maybe if I had found out about Amtrak in my freshman year I would have taken Amtrak earlier. If Amtrak and the universities work together imagine how much ridership would increase at stations in college towns (and in the case of U of I get some cars off of I-57 during peak travel periods). Speaking of peak travel periods, does Amtrak run extra peak service to college towns during the beginning and end of semesters or during/after semester breaks? I would think that would be a great idea if they can fill the trains.

Remember by targeting growth in service to college towns not only do you fill trains but you attract college kids who could be riding Amtrak 20-30 years later (just like the guy typing this). I'm sure most of your first train experiences whether it was college, military, or other was either when you were typical undergraduate college age (18-22) or even younger. It's a lot harder to sell people in their 30's-40's on trains for the first time than the younger generation.


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## JayPea

I don't know how popular they are but Thruway buses serve Pullman, WA, home of Washington State University and Moscow, ID, home of the University of Idaho.


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## brianpmcdonnell17

I will be applying to college in the fall and one of my requirements is Amtrak service. I have no intention of driving and generally prefer to avoid busses, so this as well as an efficient urban rail system is important to me. Most likely I will end up in Chicago, which would be great from an Amtrak standpoint. It would be nice to be on the route of more than just one daily train.


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## jis

Does it *have* to be Amtrak, or would any passenger rail service do? If the latter, that vastly increases the number of possibilities.


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## FreeskierInVT

Stony Brook (part of the State University of New York) is well served by LIRR, providing a relatively easy connection to Amtrak service in Penn. Roughly 40 trains a day stop at SBU. I've made this connection numerous times to head home on the Vermonter.

Another popular campus station I've ridden through is Durham-UNH on the Downeaster.


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## jis

FreeskierInVT said:


> Stony Brook (part of the State University of New York) is well served by LIRR, providing a relatively easy connection to Amtrak service in Penn. Roughly 40 trains a day stop at SBU. I've made this connection numerous times to head home on the Vermonter.
> 
> Another popular campus station I've ridden through is Durham-UNH on the Downeaster.


Heh heh. I lived on Stony Brook Campus for 5 years when I was working on my Computer Science Ph. D. there. So yeah. I was a very frequent user of LIRR. And this was before Stony Brook Station got high level platforms and all that too. Where the Health Science Complex stands today, there was a big hole in the ground when I joined Stony Brook.Those were fun time, some the best times that I look back to fondly even today.


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## FreeskierInVT

jis said:


> FreeskierInVT said:
> 
> 
> 
> Stony Brook (part of the State University of New York) is well served by LIRR, providing a relatively easy connection to Amtrak service in Penn. Roughly 40 trains a day stop at SBU. I've made this connection numerous times to head home on the Vermonter.
> 
> Another popular campus station I've ridden through is Durham-UNH on the Downeaster.
> 
> 
> 
> Heh heh. I lived on Stony Brook Campus for 5 years when I was working on my Computer Science Ph. D. there. So yeah. I was a very frequent user of LIRR. And this was before Stony Brook Station got high level platforms and all that too. Where the Health Science Complex stands today, there was a big hole in the ground when I joined Stony Brook.Those were fun time, some the best times that I look back to fondly even today.
Click to expand...

Oh man! I'm not on East Campus very often but they're doing a lot of construction over there and on west campus as well. Since I started at Stony a few years ago they've built a new Computer Science building between Roth Quad and Engineering, put a new lecture hall in where Old Chemistry used to be, and constructed a new dining hall and dorms right across from the Union (which they're renovating extensively right now). I was able to get back into campus housing in the new dorms this past year and they were quite nice!


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## jis

FreeskierInVT said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> FreeskierInVT said:
> 
> 
> 
> Stony Brook (part of the State University of New York) is well served by LIRR, providing a relatively easy connection to Amtrak service in Penn. Roughly 40 trains a day stop at SBU. I've made this connection numerous times to head home on the Vermonter.
> 
> Another popular campus station I've ridden through is Durham-UNH on the Downeaster.
> 
> 
> 
> Heh heh. I lived on Stony Brook Campus for 5 years when I was working on my Computer Science Ph. D. there. So yeah. I was a very frequent user of LIRR. And this was before Stony Brook Station got high level platforms and all that too. Where the Health Science Complex stands today, there was a big hole in the ground when I joined Stony Brook.Those were fun time, some the best times that I look back to fondly even today.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Oh man! I'm not on East Campus very often but they're doing a lot of construction over there and on west campus as well. Since I started at Stony a few years ago they've built a new Computer Science building between Roth Quad and Engineering, put a new lecture hall in where Old Chemistry used to be, and constructed a new dining hall and dorms right across from the Union (which they're renovating extensively right now). I was able to get back into campus housing in the new dorms this past year and they were quite nice!
Click to expand...

Yeah, all five years I was there I was in Stage XII, which is now known as the Roosevelt Quad. back then it had no name so it was just referred to as the Stage in campus construction during which it was built.


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## Pere Flyer

The Heartland Flyer serves Norman, Oklahoma, home to OU and a historic Santa Fe rail town. A great many Sooners are Texans, so one would think the train would be filled with young Fort Worthians before and after each semester. As a Michigander Sooner, I'm technically an exception, but I ride the HF to/from FTW frequently to connect with DFW/Love Field and to visit family. Norman usually has at least a dozen riders daily, but when I board or disembark, I see more OKC folk and young families than college students.

I think if the HF had twice daily service, early AM service FTW-OKC, and/or a thruway connection to Stillwater (home of OK State), the collegiate ridership would improve. I-35 is notoriously maddening on that stretch, similar to the I-57 situation. Norman and the City are only 30 min apart by car, but the train would remove the ails of parking, etc. I think the idea of "taking the train to OKC for a Saturday" would appeal to many OU students—outside of football season, of course.

Which brings me to my next point: Amtrak would make a killing if it provided a special train and thruway connection Stillwater-Norman for Bedlam, the annual football matchup between OU and OSU. As precedent, the "Big Game Train" is a specially branded HF with a SSL/cafe that extends to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry, the annual OU-UT game at the Cotton Bowl. OKC-FTW-DAL Friday AM, DAL-FTW-OKC Sunday afternoon (w/ intermediates each way.) Similar service should be initiated for other rivalry games. Can you imagine how much ridership an Ann Arbor-Columbus special train would get? You wouldn't have to worry about your "enemy" license plate!


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## brianpmcdonnell17

jis said:


> Does it *have* to be Amtrak, or would any passenger rail service do? If the latter, that vastly increases the number of possibilities.


I would say any city with connecting rail service to Amtrak should count. My top choice college, Northwestern, is in Evanston, Illinois, a town without Amtrak service. However, there is frequent Metra and CTA rail service to downtown Chicago where they connect with a short walk to Amtrak. Glenview station is even closer, although there is no direct rail service between Evanston and Glenview, in addition to the fact that Glenview is a stop on only the Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service. Contrast this to other towns, where Amtrak may stop in the same city as the college but is not within walking distance and lacks effectiveness public transit if any exists whatsoever. One example of this is the University of Central Florida. Although it is in Orlando and relatively close to both the Orlando and Winter Park stations, there is not convenient public transit to either.


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## daybeers

brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> I would say any city with connecting rail service to Amtrak should count. My top choice college, Northwestern, is in Evanston, Illinois, a town without Amtrak service. However, there is frequent Metra and CTA rail service to downtown Chicago where they connect with a short walk to Amtrak. Glenview station is even closer, although there is no direct rail service between Evanston and Glenview, in addition to the fact that Glenview is a stop on only the Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service. Contrast this to other towns, where Amtrak may stop in the same city as the college but is not within walking distance and lacks effectiveness public transit if any exists whatsoever. One example of this is the University of Central Florida. Although it is in Orlando and relatively close to both the Orlando and Winter Park stations, there is not convenient public transit to either.


I have actually done this exact connection with Metra on the UP North Line from Evanston, IL to catch LSL 49 to Springfield, MA in June 2016. It was a pretty easy connection, though the walk from the Metra stop at Olgivie Transportation Center to Chicago Union Station is not very well marked.


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## railiner

Pere Flyer said:


> The Heartland Flyer serves Norman, Oklahoma, home to OU and a historic Santa Fe rail town. A great many Sooners are Texans, so one would think the train would be filled with young Fort Worthians before and after each semester. As a Michigander Sooner, I'm technically an exception, but I ride the HF to/from FTW frequently to connect with DFW/Love Field and to visit family. Norman usually has at least a dozen riders daily, but when I board or disembark, I see more OKC folk and young families than college students.
> 
> I think if the HF had twice daily service, early AM service FTW-OKC, and/or a thruway connection to Stillwater (home of OK State), the collegiate ridership would improve. I-35 is notoriously maddening on that stretch, similar to the I-57 situation. Norman and the City are only 30 min apart by car, but the train would remove the ails of parking, etc. I think the idea of "taking the train to OKC for a Saturday" would appeal to many OU studentsoutside of football season, of course.
> 
> Which brings me to my next point: Amtrak would make a killing if it provided a special train and thruway connection Stillwater-Norman for Bedlam, the annual football matchup between OU and OSU. As precedent, the "Big Game Train" is a specially branded HF with a SSL/cafe that extends to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry, the annual OU-UT game at the Cotton Bowl. OKC-FTW-DAL Friday AM, DAL-FTW-OKC Sunday afternoon (w/ intermediates each way.) Similar service should be initiated for other rivalry games. Can you imagine how much ridership an Ann Arbor-Columbus special train would get? You wouldn't have to worry about your "enemy" license plate!


If you want to talk about college football, nothing can compare to what the PRR operated in its glory years for the annual Army-Navy classic in Philly....it was forever immortalized in one of those Grif Teller calendar painting's, entitled: "Mass Transportation"...


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## BCL

I started thinking about it, and every city with a University of California campus has Amtrak service of some kind. 8 are actual stations, and 2 are served by thruway service. I don't know how much each campus emphasizes Amtrak service, but I've seen college students on Amtrak. Even the Davis local wiki (which is heavily used by students) has an extensive page on Amtrak.

https://localwiki.org/davis/Amtrak

Getting to campus from the local station is another matter.


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## BCL

Also - along Capitol Corridor, there are a number of college towns served by Amtrak service of some sort. I mentioned the UCs, but there are six California State University campuses along the route or with thruway service nearby - San Francisco State, Cal State East Bay (Hayward), Sonoma State (Rohnert Park, near Santa Rosa), California Maritime Academy (Vallejo), Cal State Sacramento, and San Jose State. Also - I've heard one station agent (over the announcements when it's coming in) call the Santa Clara station "Santa Clara College", although it's across the street from Santa Clara University.

And the San Joquin also covers a bunch of CSU campuses.


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## SarahZ

The Pere Marquette serves Hope College (Holland) and Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids).

The Wolverine serves Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo), Kalamazoo College, Albion College, Spring Arbor University (Jackson), the University of Michigan (as you mentioned), Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti, but it's on Ann Arbor's bus system), UM-Dearborn, Wayne State University (Detroit), and Oakland University (Pontiac).

The Blue Water serves Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Michigan State University (Lansing), Kettering University (Flint), and UM-Flint.

I might be missing a couple, and I didn't include community colleges.


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## tp49

BCL said:


> And the San Joquin also covers a bunch of CSU campuses.


Don't forget UOP too in Stockton.


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## PerRock

SarahZ said:


> The Pere Marquette serves Hope College (Holland) and Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids).
> 
> The Wolverine serves Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo), Kalamazoo College, Albion College, Spring Arbor University (Jackson), the University of Michigan (as you mentioned), Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti, but it's on Ann Arbor's bus system), UM-Dearborn, Wayne State University (Detroit), and Oakland University (Pontiac).
> 
> The Blue Water serves Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Michigan State University (Lansing), Kettering University (Flint), and UM-Flint.
> 
> I might be missing a couple, and I didn't include community colleges.


EMU will also get service from the MiTrain... if that every gets off the ground.

peter


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## AmtrakBlue

UDel is served by Amtrak at the Newark (DE) station. Lots of trains go by but only a few NERs stop there. There is bus service to/from the parking lot for the station. SEPTA also serves Newark and some day MARC will also.


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## PVD

Certainly in NY, Empire Service Trains hit colleges and universities all across the state, and the Adirondack grabs a few more (Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, SUNY Plattsburgh) off the top of my head. Too many small schools near better known schools to keep track of (Like HVCC near RPI in Troy). The Albany side is loaded all the way to SDY.


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## BCL

tp49 said:


> BCL said:
> 
> 
> 
> And the San Joquin also covers a bunch of CSU campuses.
> 
> 
> 
> Don't forget UOP too in Stockton.
Click to expand...

I was just getting started. However, that's a really small school though. I looked it up, and the enrollment at every CSU campus is larger except for the extremely specialized California Maritime Academy.


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## tp49

BCL said:


> tp49 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BCL said:
> 
> 
> 
> And the San Joquin also covers a bunch of CSU campuses.
> 
> 
> 
> Don't forget UOP too in Stockton.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I was just getting started. However, that's a really small school though. I looked it up, and the enrollment at every CSU campus is larger except for the extremely specialized California Maritime Academy.
Click to expand...

It's not as large by enrollment but it is the oldest university in California.


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## BCL

tp49 said:


> BCL said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tp49 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BCL said:
> 
> 
> 
> And the San Joquin also covers a bunch of CSU campuses.
> 
> 
> 
> Don't forget UOP too in Stockton.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I was just getting started. However, that's a really small school though. I looked it up, and the enrollment at every CSU campus is larger except for the extremely specialized California Maritime Academy.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's not as large by enrollment but it is the oldest university in California.
Click to expand...

Santa Clara University is the oldest, although they didn't call themselves a University until later.

Also - UOP hasn't always been in Stockton either. I've walked by their dentistry school (in San Francisco) and their law school is in Sacramento. I don't quite get it, but I guess they don't want those to be in Stockton.


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## Bob Dylan

Nobody wants to be in Stockton!


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## tp49

BCL said:


> tp49 said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's not as large by enrollment but it is the oldest university in California.
> 
> 
> 
> Santa Clara University is the oldest, although they didn't call themselves a University until later.
> 
> Also - UOP hasn't always been in Stockton either. I've walked by their dentistry school (in San Francisco) and their law school is in Sacramento. I don't quite get it, but I guess they don't want those to be in Stockton.
Click to expand...

UOP is the oldest chartered institution of higher education in the state but both were founded in the same year and both argue semantics about who's older (go figure.) The law school was an already existing independent school in Sacramento before UOP merged in the 60's. At least you can take Amtrak in some shape or form close to all three campuses (Stockton, Sac or SF.)



Bob Dylan said:


> Nobody wants to be in Stockton!


Truer words have never been typed. :giggle:


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## PVD

Cornell U is mostly in Ithaca, but their Weill-Cornell Med School and School of ILR is in NYC Opening this year will be their new research institute (jv with Technion of Israel) on Roosevelt Island.


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## west point

Yes there are a lot of colleges on Amtrak lines. The problem there is not much Amtrak for those students to go home or aunt Millie. Yes they can get to many big cities. Every route added gives another possibility for students .


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## BCL

west point said:


> Yes there are a lot of colleges on Amtrak lines. The problem there is not much Amtrak for those students to go home or aunt Millie. Yes they can get to many big cities. Every route added gives another possibility for students .


Still - a lot of colleges and universities are in relatively isolated rural towns served by Amtrak. Davis, California is certainly part of the Sacramento metro area, but it's far enough that someone without a car will look seriously to Amtrak to get there or elsewhere on weekends. In California, Amtrak has service to relatively isolated college towns like Arcata (Humboldt State), Chico, Merced, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, or Santa Cruz.

Amtrak even has thruway services that go specifically to college campuses, like Cal Poly SLO from the San Luis Obispo station or as a stop on a longer thruway route.

A lot of college campuses run shuttles between train stations and the campus. Here's an example:

https://www.csuci.edu/publicsafety/parking/Rideshare_Information.htm

WHO: All students, faculty and staff of CSU Channel Islands are welcome to enjoy the benefits of public transportation via the Vista Bus.WHEN: The Vista Bus Shuttle Service is available Monday through Friday 7:00am to 10:30pm. The bus is also scheduled Saturdays from 7:00am to 5:30pm to and from Oxnard and 7:30am to 5:20pm to and from the Camarillo Metrolink Station.

I live close enough to the Berkeley station to know that the campus doesn't have any specific service between the station and campus. There is an AC Transit bus though. However, Berkeley has so many transportation options that I don't think Amtrak is used that often by students.


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## west point

California with its extensive train and thruway bus systems is an exception. Only the NEC can compare favorably/.


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## BCL

west point said:


> California with its extensive train and thruway bus systems is an exception. Only the NEC can compare favorably/.


California actually isn't all that densely populated. I looked at all the UC and CSU campuses, and I think maybe a couple aren't really served by some sort of Amtrak service. That includes some middle of nowhere places like Chico or Arcata. And the place that don't have service include Northridge or Long Beach, which have access to Amtrak via other services like Metrolink.


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## neroden

PVD said:


> Cornell U is mostly in Ithaca, but their Weill-Cornell Med School and School of ILR is in NYC Opening this year will be their new research institute (jv with Technion of Israel) on Roosevelt Island.


No, ILR's in Ithaca. The Med School is in NYC on the grounds that it was impossible for doctors to properly learn medicine without experiencing the diseases of a big city.

The Roosevelt Island thing is such a terrible idea... oh well.


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## Seaboard92

Another town that has Amtrak service with a major university is Clemson. And the public transit will actually take you from the college to the station for free even at the horrible hours the train calls at Clemson it's still possible to use it. Even though be careful on the southbound using transit. And I can speak for its ridership it attracts more students (university traffic) then other people in the local area.

The most memorable passengers there is this couple one goes to University of Virginia and one attends Clemson. So once a month one goes south the next month one goes north. Amtrak we make long distance go the distance.


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## brianpmcdonnell17

Seaboard92 said:


> Another town that has Amtrak service with a major university is Clemson. And the public transit will actually take you from the college to the station for free even at the horrible hours the train calls at Clemson it's still possible to use it. Even though be careful on the southbound using transit. And I can speak for its ridership it attracts more students (university traffic) then other people in the local area.
> 
> The most memorable passengers there is this couple one goes to University of Virginia and one attends Clemson. So once a month one goes south the next month one goes north. Amtrak we make long distance go the distance.


The Clemson station has been served by only a connecting bus from Greenville for the past year. Although trains will once again stop in Clemson, it is reliant on Norfolk Southern track work of which no completion date in known.


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## VAtrainfan

The Virginia NER and LD trains connect to several college campuses.

Ashland (ASD) (one stop north of RVR) serves Randolph Macon College

Petersburg (PTB) is between Petersburg and Colonial Heights, serves Virginia State University.

Norfolk (NFK) connects to the HRT light rail, which directly serves Norfolk State University. HRT buses also connect to Old Dominion University.

Williamsburg (WBG) connects to WATA buses which serve the College of William and Mary.

Charlottesville (CVS) serves the University of Virginia.

Lynchburg (LYS) serves Lynchburg College and connects to a regional bus service serving Blacksburg - Virginia Tech.

Fredericksburg (FBG) serves the University of Mary Washington.


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## Shawn Ryu

Isn't South Bend college town?


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## brianpmcdonnell17

Shawn Ryu said:


> Isn't South Bend college town?


Notre Dame is in the town of Notre Dame, but it borders South Bend; I think it is close enough.


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## PVD

Took me a while before I looked at this thread again, but as Neroden said, ILR is Ithaca based, the NYC location of ILR is an extension....


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## Cina

Dear Old Nebraska U isn't too far from the new Lincoln station, beings that the campus and downtown are right next to each other. However, I haven't seen many students hanging around at midnight to board the Zephyr. Maybe if I came back at 3am there might be more going to Chicago.


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## railiner

Cina said:


> Dear Old Nebraska U isn't too far from the new Lincoln station, beings that the campus and downtown are right next to each other. However, I haven't seen many students hanging around at midnight to board the Zephyr. Maybe if I came back at 3am there might be more going to Chicago.


When I lived in Omaha in '71 and '72, the BN was sitll running football specials to Big Red's home games at Lincoln.... 

I don't believe Amtrak had any involvement in that operation.....


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## ehbowen

Our _Zephyr_ in September 2016 was packed with Cornhuskers fans wearing red who boarded in the wee hours. It was hard to get a seat at breakfast!


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## dogbert617

daybeers said:


> brianpmcdonnell17 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I would say any city with connecting rail service to Amtrak should count. My top choice college, Northwestern, is in Evanston, Illinois, a town without Amtrak service. However, there is frequent Metra and CTA rail service to downtown Chicago where they connect with a short walk to Amtrak. Glenview station is even closer, although there is no direct rail service between Evanston and Glenview, in addition to the fact that Glenview is a stop on only the Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service. Contrast this to other towns, where Amtrak may stop in the same city as the college but is not within walking distance and lacks effectiveness public transit if any exists whatsoever. One example of this is the University of Central Florida. Although it is in Orlando and relatively close to both the Orlando and Winter Park stations, there is not convenient public transit to either.
> 
> 
> 
> I have actually done this exact connection with Metra on the UP North Line from Evanston, IL to catch LSL 49 to Springfield, MA in June 2016. It was a pretty easy connection, though the walk from the Metra stop at Olgivie Transportation Center to Chicago Union Station is not very well marked.
Click to expand...

One could always take the #208 Pace bus west to Golf/Waukegan to get off, then transfer to the next northbound #210 bus to get up to downtown Glenview. Or another idea is to take the #208 bus to Golf/Harlem, and then the #423 bus northbound till you got to Glenview. You could do vice versa to get back, though I'll note the #210 and #423 buses end early in the evening on weekdays, and that it has NO weekend service. I sometimes have on weekends(when desperate) taken the #208 Pace bus along Golf Road to Harlem, then walked the 25-30 minutes north into Glenview! Or vice versa back after getting off at Glenview, providing I walked to Golf/Harlem in time before the last eastbound #208 bus.

Since I know that strategy isn't for everyone, you might just be best(if it's a weekend/holiday, or if it's too late in the evening on a weekday) to request an Uber/Lyft car from Glenview, to get back to Evanston. Or vice versa, to get from Evanston up to Glenview.




brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> Shawn Ryu said:
> 
> 
> 
> Isn't South Bend college town?
> 
> 
> 
> Notre Dame is in the town of Notre Dame, but it borders South Bend; I think it is close enough.
Click to expand...

University of Notre Dame is definitely within South Bend, IN. It is NOT it's own separate town from South Bend, not sure why you thought that. There are a few nearby municipalities outside of South Bend though, such as Roseland(this is a very tiny one most people forget about), Mishawaka, and Granger to name examples. And yes a lot of people do take the South Shore Line besides Amtrak to get to South Bend, since the fare is cheaper(vs. Amtrak) from Chicago.

Moving on, I'm surprised noone has mentioned all the Illinois colleges(public and private) that are served by Amtrak. Which include Knox College in Galesburg, Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois State University in Normal(not to forget Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington), University of Illinois at Springfield(UIS) in Springfield, Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, University of Illinois(UIUC) in both Champaign and Urbana(IIRC, the college has buildings in both communities), Eastern Illinois University in Charleston(NOT technically right on Amtrak, but I've heard of students who get rides or bike between Charleston and Mattoon on a bike path between those communities to board the train there), and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Don't forget the Champaign-Urbana/Carbondale, and also the Galesburg/Quincy line have 2 trains in each direction a day, and 4 trains a day overall(not counting the long distance Southwest Chief and California Zephyr). For the Chicago-Saint Louis line(serving Bloomington-Normal and Springfield), there are 4 trains a day in each direction, and 8 overall(excluding the Texas Eagle, and from my personal experiences I'd be careful about riding that train since it often runs late).

The other colleges that jump to my mind in the Midwest served by Amtrak include Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan State in East Lansing, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Marquette and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Viterbo University and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, WI, Winona State University in Winona, MN, University of Minnesota and Macalester College not far from the St. Paul stop(plus I suspect more I'm forgetting), Purdue University in West Lafayette(you'd get off at Lafayette, and it's across the river), and IUPUI and Butler University in Indianapolis. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm forgetting some other Midwest colleges, but unfortunately some places have graveyard train arrival times(i.e. Cincinnati having both only a late at night Cardinal train and only 3 times a week, Fargo, ND having the daily Empire Builder come in both directions late at night, etc). I think Saint Cloud, MN has a Minnesota public college too(a la Winona), but the train times are early in the morning and late in the evening. Not as bad as Fargo's train times for the EB, but keep that in mind.


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## City of Miami

The other day I noticed a fellow wearing a t-shirt in UVA colors with the Amtrak logo on the front. On the back it said The Hoo-ville Express. This is a kind of pun - UVA students call themselves Wahoos for some reason, often just Hoos. I take it also a reference to C-ville [a frequently seen shortening of Charlottesville] as well as to the Hooterville Cannonball of Petticoat Junction fame. I ran after him and asked where he got it. He said Amtrak was throwing out during a football game last year. I thought this was very clever marketing all around


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## jebr

dogbert617 said:


> Winona State University in Winona, MN, University of Minnesota and Macalester College not far from the St. Paul stop(plus I suspect more I'm forgetting), Purdue University in West Lafayette(you'd get off at Lafayette, and it's across the river), and IUPUI and Butler University in Indianapolis. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm forgetting some other Midwest colleges, but unfortunately some places have graveyard train arrival times(i.e. Cincinnati having both only a late at night Cardinal train and only 3 times a week, Fargo, ND having the daily Empire Builder come in both directions late at night, etc). I think Saint Cloud, MN has a Minnesota public college too(a la Winona), but the train times are early in the morning and late in the evening. Not as bad as Fargo's train times for the EB, but keep that in mind.


To build a bit more on the Minnesota-specific options:

Both Detroit Lakes and Staples have community colleges, but neither of them have great public transit options (especially during the calling times of the trains) and neither is within walking distance of the station. St. Cloud has SCSU, and the train station is a mile or two from campus. There's a decent bus system to get around town while you're there, but it doesn't look like the bus service runs during either of the scheduled times. A taxi/Uber would be needed for that.

St. Paul (and the neighboring Minneapolis) has the U of MN Minneapolis campus along the light rail, with the St. Paul campus accessible via a couple of local buses and the campus shuttle. Macalaster and Hamline are both along the A Line "rapid bus" on Snelling Avenue, and St. Thomas and St. Catherine's are along city bus lines in town. Augustana is also near a fairly frequent bus line and a decent walk from the light rail. There's Metropolitan State University which has a couple of campuses along bus lines, and there's a smattering of community colleges as well as some for-profit colleges that I'm not familar with transit access. Bethel appears to have a shuttle bus that connects to the A Line, but otherwise is inaccessible via transit, and Northwestern's bus service is so vague that I'm not sure what that offers, and public transit service is simply a suburb circulator that wouldn't easily connect with either of the calling times. I'm sure I forgot some of the colleges, but that's the ones I can think of.

Red Wing might have a community college but I'm not aware of any 4-year colleges (or anything nearby transit.) Winona has Winona State, which is within walking distance from campus, and the town has okay if not amazing public transit. There's also Saint Mary's, but it's not within walking distance of the station and I'm not sure how good the transit access is from there into town.

Out of all the options, Winona State is the closest/easiest to access via Amtrak, with the U of MN having a better overall "transit-only" experience with the METRO lines. If frequent bus service (buses every 10-15 minutes most of the day) is good enough, that would open up Macalaster, Hamline, St. Thomas, Augustana, and the Minneapolis campus of Metropolitan State University. St. Catherine's has less frequent bus service but still late enough to be able to connect to Amtrak. The rest of the campuses that I'm aware of would require private transportation of some sort to catch the train at least some of the time.


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## Metra Electric Rider

I don't think anybody has mentioned my (graduate) Alma Mater yet, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the _CLOSEST _University to CUS!


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## Bob Dylan

My Alma Mater Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State U.in San Marcos,only 25 miles South of Austin, has a Non-staffed Stop for the Eagles with a Shed like "Station" outside the Intermodel Station for Local and Long Distance Buses..

In the old days there were 2 Stations there for the M-K-T ( "The Katy") and MoPac. Several Pasenger Trains called there daily including The Texas Special,The Texas Star and Mopac's Texas Eagle which had a Dome Car!

Texas State now has 35,000+ students and lots of them ride the Eagles as do Area Residents from surrounding towns and San Marcos itself.


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## brianpmcdonnell17

dogbert617 said:


> daybeers said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> brianpmcdonnell17 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I would say any city with connecting rail service to Amtrak should count. My top choice college, Northwestern, is in Evanston, Illinois, a town without Amtrak service. However, there is frequent Metra and CTA rail service to downtown Chicago where they connect with a short walk to Amtrak. Glenview station is even closer, although there is no direct rail service between Evanston and Glenview, in addition to the fact that Glenview is a stop on only the Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service. Contrast this to other towns, where Amtrak may stop in the same city as the college but is not within walking distance and lacks effectiveness public transit if any exists whatsoever. One example of this is the University of Central Florida. Although it is in Orlando and relatively close to both the Orlando and Winter Park stations, there is not convenient public transit to either.
> 
> 
> 
> I have actually done this exact connection with Metra on the UP North Line from Evanston, IL to catch LSL 49 to Springfield, MA in June 2016. It was a pretty easy connection, though the walk from the Metra stop at Olgivie Transportation Center to Chicago Union Station is not very well marked.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> One could always take the #208 Pace bus west to Golf/Waukegan to get off, then transfer to the next northbound #210 bus to get up to downtown Glenview. Or another idea is to take the #208 bus to Golf/Harlem, and then the #423 bus northbound till you got to Glenview. You could do vice versa to get back, though I'll note the #210 and #423 buses end early in the evening on weekdays, and that it has NO weekend service. I sometimes have on weekends(when desperate) taken the #208 Pace bus along Golf Road to Harlem, then walked the 25-30 minutes north into Glenview! Or vice versa back after getting off at Glenview, providing I walked to Golf/Harlem in time before the last eastbound #208 bus.
> Since I know that strategy isn't for everyone, you might just be best(if it's a weekend/holiday, or if it's too late in the evening on a weekday) to request an Uber/Lyft car from Glenview, to get back to Evanston. Or vice versa, to get from Evanston up to Glenview.
> 
> 
> 
> brianpmcdonnell17 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Shawn Ryu said:
> 
> 
> 
> Isn't South Bend college town?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Notre Dame is in the town of Notre Dame, but it borders South Bend; I think it is close enough.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> University of Notre Dame is definitely within South Bend, IN. It is NOT it's own separate town from South Bend, not sure why you thought that. There are a few nearby municipalities outside of South Bend though, such as Roseland(this is a very tiny one most people forget about), Mishawaka, and Granger to name examples. And yes a lot of people do take the South Shore Line besides Amtrak to get to South Bend, since the fare is cheaper(vs. Amtrak) from Chicago.
Click to expand...

Here is a citation as to Notre Dame's location: http://colleges.startclass.com/l/1402/University-of-Notre-Dame. Here is the Wikipedia article of the town (technically a CDP): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame,_Indiana. Lastly, attached is a map of the location of Notre Dame relative to the South Bend city limits.
As to the bus from Evanston to Glenview, it is certainly an option but not my preferable choice. In any place where it is within reason to complete an entire trip via rail without any bus segments I would chose to do so, even if it takes longer. The change of buses and fast speed of Metra to Downtown Chicago means it really isn't even that much of a difference.


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## JRR

Wow, a lot of responses here! Brings back old memories. While I was at the University of Cincinnati, I lived in Iron Mountain, Michigan (yep, a upper, eh), and rode the Chicago Northwestern line from Powers, Michigan ( about 30 miles east of Iron Mountain) , to Chicago. There I had to change stations to catch the "Jame Whitcomb Riley" to Cincinnati. I remember the pride in the voice of the conductor as he announced the departure and the stops. Great memory!


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## Pere Flyer

JRR said:


> Wow, a lot of responses here! Brings back old memories. While I was at the University of Cincinnati, I lived in Iron Mountain, Michigan (yep, a upper, eh), and rode the Chicago Northwestern line from Powers, Michigan ( about 30 miles east of Iron Mountain) , to Chicago. There I had to change stations to catch the "Jame Whitcomb Riley" to Cincinnati. I remember the pride in the voice of the conductor as he announced the departure and the stops. Great memory!


Iron Mountain's a beautiful area! I'm a "troll" (south of the bridge) from Grand Rapids, but my family loves camping in the UP every other summer.


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## WestBerkeleyFlats

City of Miami said:


> The other day I noticed a fellow wearing a t-shirt in UVA colors with the Amtrak logo on the front. On the back it said The Hoo-ville Express. This is a kind of pun - UVA students call themselves Wahoos for some reason, often just Hoos. I take it also a reference to C-ville [a frequently seen shortening of Charlottesville] as well as to the Hooterville Cannonball of Petticoat Junction fame. I ran after him and asked where he got it. He said Amtrak was throwing out during a football game last year. I thought this was very clever marketing all around


Probably more Dr. Seuss than "Petticoat Junction" - http://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2014/03/21/all-%E2%80%98hoos-down-%E2%80%98hooville-persistent-myth-grinch-charlottesville


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## dlagrua

Up this way, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Drexel and Temple are served by SEPTA and/or Amtrak. They are heavily used.

It would seem that a rail lines serving other colleges would see good ridership but many of the RR lines to colleges have been abandoned. Here are some examples, many of which are no more:

Penn State in State College,PA is a huge campus. Its student body numbers over 40,000, yet it has not seen branch line rail service in years. That branch line is still near the campus and it connects to the Pennsylvanian line West of Lewistown.

The defunct Monon RR served six colleges and universities along its line:

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana.

The state or Amtrak never bothered to pick up three of these routes . Should be a ready market there but some of the lines that served these institutions were entirely abandoned. Is there a good market for passenger rail at Colleges and Universities?


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## jphjaxfl

dlagrua said:


> Up this way, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Drexel and Temple are served by SEPTA and/or Amtrak. They are heavily used.
> 
> It would seem that a rail lines serving other colleges would see good ridership but many of the RR lines to colleges have been abandoned. Here are some examples, many of which are no more:
> 
> Penn State in State College,PA is a huge campus. Its student body numbers over 40,000, yet it has not seen branch line rail service in years. That branch line is still near the campus and it connects to the Pennsylvanian line West of Lewistown.
> 
> The defunct Monon RR served six colleges and universities along its line:
> 
> Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
> 
> Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
> 
> DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
> 
> Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
> 
> Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
> 
> St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana.
> 
> The state or Amtrak never bothered to pick up three of these routes . Should be a ready market there but some of the lines that served these institutions were entirely abandoned. Is there a good market for passenger rail at Colleges and Universities?


The former Monon line now CSX still operates with Amtrak's Cardinal and Hoosier States from Chicago to Crawfordsville! I attended Indiana University in Bloomington when Monon operated Thoroughbred still operated until 1967. I was very pleased when Amtrak started using the Monon line in 1975 for The Floridian. Even though the Bloomington, IN stop was in the middle of night, there were lots of IU students using the train. The Cardinal/Hoosier States was also changed from the former C&O line through Marion and Richmond to the Monon line which it still uses.


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## Metra Electric Rider

Where was the train station in Bloomington? Down in the low area southwest of downtown?


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## jphjaxfl

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Where was the train station in Bloomington? Down in the low area southwest of downtown?


It was right downtown off of Walnut Street until 1966 when it moved to the edge of the McDowell yard until the passenger service ended in September, 1967. Amtrak stopped at a downtown platform at 4th and Morton Streets from 1975 until the Floridian was discontinued in October, 1979. Unfortunately the Monon line has been truncated between Crawfordsville and Bloomington with freight trains using another CSX line in the area.


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## Metra Electric Rider

jphjaxfl said:


> Metra Electric Rider said:
> 
> 
> 
> Where was the train station in Bloomington? Down in the low area southwest of downtown?
> 
> 
> 
> It was right downtown off of Walnut Street until 1966 when it moved to the edge of the McDowell yard until the passenger service ended in September, 1967. Amtrak stopped at a downtown platform at 4th and Morton Streets from 1975 until the Floridian was discontinued in October, 1979. Unfortunately the Monon line has been truncated between Crawfordsville and Bloomington with freight trains using another CSX line in the area.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've got vague memories of old depot looking buildings southwest of courthouse square, which makes sense.


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## jphjaxfl

Metra Electric Rider said:


> jphjaxfl said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Metra Electric Rider said:
> 
> 
> 
> Where was the train station in Bloomington? Down in the low area southwest of downtown?
> 
> 
> 
> It was right downtown off of Walnut Street until 1966 when it moved to the edge of the McDowell yard until the passenger service ended in September, 1967. Amtrak stopped at a downtown platform at 4th and Morton Streets from 1975 until the Floridian was discontinued in October, 1979. Unfortunately the Monon line has been truncated between Crawfordsville and Bloomington with freight trains using another CSX line in the area.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Thanks, I've got vague memories of old depot looking buildings southwest of courthouse square, which makes sense.
Click to expand...

Illinois Central also had depot in downtown Bloomington, IN.


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## west point

Train service to college towns have several items that cause extreme swings in demand. College schedules are all over the grass.

1. Some have no summer classes

2. Some have classes 6 days a week with Saturdays until 1200

3. Some have night classes

4. some have classes 0700 - 1800

5. Some have no Tuesday or Thursday classes.

6. Some have no cut classes on last week day ( Friday or Saturday ? )

So how can Amtrak or any other agency plan capacity ?.


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## Philly Amtrak Fan

west point said:


> Train service to college towns have several items that cause extreme swings in demand. College schedules are all over the grass.
> 
> 1. Some have no summer classes
> 
> 2. Some have classes 6 days a week with Saturdays until 1200
> 
> 3. Some have night classes
> 
> 4. some have classes 0700 - 1800
> 
> 5. Some have no Tuesday or Thursday classes.
> 
> 6. Some have no cut classes on last week day ( Friday or Saturday ? )
> 
> So how can Amtrak or any other agency plan capacity ?.


You're thinking of Amtrak in this context being used as a commuter train service. I'm think of Amtrak being used more of as a service for college students traveling at the beginning/end of semesters, breaks, holidays, or maybe just for the weekend.


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## jebr

west point said:


> Train service to college towns have several items that cause extreme swings in demand. College schedules are all over the grass.
> 
> 1. Some have no summer classes
> 
> 2. Some have classes 6 days a week with Saturdays until 1200
> 
> 3. Some have night classes
> 
> 4. some have classes 0700 - 1800
> 
> 5. Some have no Tuesday or Thursday classes.
> 
> 6. Some have no cut classes on last week day ( Friday or Saturday ? )
> 
> So how can Amtrak or any other agency plan capacity ?.


The same way agencies plan for people's work schedules, shopping trips, nights out on the town, and the scores of other plans people make. After all, people work varying schedules, second shifts, third shifts, take days off of work, work 4 10s instead of 5 8s, etc.

For Amtrak specifically, it might mean running an extra train after the majority of classes for the week are done and back on the evening before classes start for the week, at least for residential students, and ensuring capacity for school breaks. Typically this would be a Friday afternoon/evening train out and a Sunday afternoon/evening train in. Amtrak is, for the most part, not competing for the daily college student commuter, but rather the "traveling home/going out of town for the weekend" college student. Most residential students have a fairly regular "8-5 Monday - Friday" class schedule (at least that most of their classes don't start before 8, end after 5, or meet on weekends.) Those are usually done by commuting students who already have other obligations, and likely would use local transit for their commuting needs if they don't drive there.

It's not rocket science to schedule trips to meet the needs of college students any more than it is to meet the needs of any other group of people.


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