Fargo, ND
Fargo station, May 2017. The former Great Northern depot is on the left while the closed-off platform is on the right.
General information
Location420 4th Street North
Fargo, North Dakota
United States
Coordinates46°52′52″N 96°47′10″W / 46.8810°N 96.7861°W / 46.8810; -96.7861
Owned byBNSF Railway
Line(s)BNSF KO Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: FAR
History
Opened1906
Rebuilt1995
Passengers
FY 202214,723[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Grand Forks
toward Seattle or Portland
 Empire Builder Detroit Lakes
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Grand Forks
toward Seattle
 Empire Builder
until 1979
 Breckenridge
toward Chicago
Valley City
toward Seattle
 North Coast Hiawatha Detroit Lakes
toward Chicago
Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station
Harwood
toward Seattle
 Main Line
Via Grand Forks, Wilmar
 Moorhead
toward St. Paul
Pinkham
toward Seattle
 Main Line
Via New Rockford, St. Cloud
Pinkham
toward Devils Lake
 Devils Lake – Fargo Terminus
Pinkham
toward Portland Junction
 Portland Junction – Fargo
Great Northern Depot
As a Great Northern Railway Depot in the summer of 1939
Fargo station is located in North Dakota
Fargo station
Fargo station is located in the United States
Fargo station
Built1906
ArchitectSamuel L. Bartlett
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival
Part ofDowntown Fargo District (ID83004064)
Added to NRHPOctober 13, 1983.[2]

Fargo Station is a train station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder. It is the only railway station in use in the Fargo-Moorhead area and is the third-busiest in North Dakota. The platform, tracks, and station are currently all owned by BNSF Railway. The station is currently located in the former BNSF freight house. The former main station building is now home to Great Northern Bicycle Co.

History

1974 Amtrak train in Fargo

Fargo station was originally built by the Great Northern Railway in 1906. It was designed by Samuel L. Bartlett in a Romanesque Revival style. He also designed other stations for the Great Northern, including stations in Minot and Rugby, North Dakota.[2] The Great Northern also built a nearby freight warehouse in Fargo, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

At the time of the station's construction, Fargo was served by both the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific.[4] The station was served by Great Northern trains, while Northern Pacific operated its own station along Fargo's Main Avenue.

In 1970, the two railway companies merged to form the Burlington Northern. Freight trains used the Northern Pacific tracks, while passenger trains used the Great Northern tracks. All passenger service in Fargo began using the Great Northern depot. From 1971, passenger service was operated by Amtrak.[5] Amtrak currently uses the former BNSF freight house as the station building, as the main building became unused in 1986. The former main station building is now used for retail. Various businesses have operated in the building, since 1995.[5]

Fargo station is listed as a contributing property on National Register of Historic Places Downtown Fargo District as the Great Northern Depot.[2]

Operation

Empire Builder 7 at Fargo Station

Fargo station is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder service. Westbound trains are headed for Spokane, Washington (splitting to serve Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon) while eastbound trains are headed for Chicago. There are several intermittent stops between. About one-eighth of Empire Builder passengers board or alight at this station.

The station previously served the North Coast Hiawatha until that was consolidated into the Empire Builder in 1979.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has proposed regional rail services to connect Fargo-Moorhead with the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The route is listed as a Phase 1 project for Minnesota's regional rail projects, to be completed by 2030. Due to existing infrastructure, Fargo Amtrak station would be used.[6]

Fargo station is served by MATBUS within one block of the station. Route 11 stops at the corner of 4th Avenue North and 5th Street North on its way from the downtown transfer hub to the Northport neighborhood in northern Fargo.[7]

Ridership

While the largest city in North Dakota, Fargo has only the third-most rail passenger traffic in the state, behind Minot and Williston. This is chiefly because Amtrak's daily Empire Builder, which makes stops in six other North Dakota cities, stops in Fargo during the middle of night—between 2 am and 4 am—on both its eastbound and westbound journeys. In Amtrak's 2010 fiscal year, an average of about 60 passengers boarded or detrained at the station each day.[8]

Station layout

Westbound/
Eastbound		 ←      Empire Builder toward Seattle or Portland (Grand Forks)
     Empire Builder toward Chicago (Detroit Lakes) →
Side platform, doors will open on the left, right

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of North Dakota" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Roberts, Norene A. (December 4, 1982). "Downtown Fargo District". Minneapolis: National Park Service. p. 22. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Norene (March 4, 1989). "Great Northern Freight Warehouse". Minneapolis: National Park Service. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Multiple Property Documentation Form: Railroads in North Dakota, 1872-1956" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Fargo, N.D.: Great Northern Railway Depot". History Exhibition. Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State University. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ "MATBUS Route Map". Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of North Dakota" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2011.

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