The Mattoon Amtrak station is a train station in Mattoon, Illinois, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. The station is a flag stop on the City of New Orleans route.

History

The Mattoon Amtrak Station is housed in the former Illinois Central Railroad Depot. The depot was completed in 1918 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. At its height, the building housed a power plant, mail room, luggage room, and restaurant, in addition to the main hall where passengers waited to board trains. As many as ten trains a day departed the depot in the 1950s.

The depot today

Today the depot is in poor repair, although a citizen's group is attempting to raise funds to renovate the structure, much of which is closed to the public. There are no Amtrak employees at the station; the doors unlock and lock automatically before and after the arrival and departure of trains. The station currently serves as a stop for the Illini, Saluki, and City of New Orleans passenger trains. The tracks themselves, formerly part of the Illinois Central Railroad, are now owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN). Freight trains run by CN pass through frequently.

References

External links

• Pictures of the Matton station from projectdepot.org.
• Mattoon Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)