Fredericksburg station

Railway station in Fredericksburg, Virginia, US

Not to be confused with Friedrichsberg station or Frederiksberg station.

Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg station in 2017

General information
Location| 200 Lafayette Boulevard (US 1 Business)
Fredericksburg, Virginia
United States
Coordinates| 38°17′54″N 77°27′25″W﻿ / ﻿38.29833°N 77.45694°W﻿ / 38.29833; -77.45694
Owned by| CSX Transportation
Operated by| Virginia Railway Express
Line(s)| CSX RF&P Subdivision
Platforms| 2 side platforms
Tracks| 2
Connections|  FRED: D1, F2, F4, VF1, VS1
Construction
Parking| Yes
Bicycle facilities| Racks
Accessible| Yes
Other information
Station code| Amtrak: FBG
Fare zone| 9 (VRE)
History
Opened| January 23, 1837
Rebuilt| 1850, 1886, 1910, 1927
2010–2011, 2017–2024
Passengers
FY 2024| 106,204[1] (Amtrak)
Services
| Preceding station  |  Amtrak | Following station

|
|

Richmond Staples Mill Road

toward Charlotte

|  | Carolinian |  | Quantico

toward New York

Ashland

toward Norfolk or Newport News

|  | Northeast Regional |  | Quantico

toward Boston South or Springfield

Richmond Staples Mill Road

toward Miami

|  | Silver Meteor |  | Alexandria

toward New York

Auto Train does not stop here
Floridian does not stop here
Palmetto does not stop here
Preceding station  |  Virginia Railway Express | Following station
Spotsylvania

Terminus

|  | Fredericksburg Line |  | Leeland Road

toward Union Station

Former services

| Preceding station  | Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad | Following station

|
|

Summit

toward Richmond: Broad Street or Main Street

|  | Main Line  |  | Brooke

toward Washington, D.C.

Location

Fredericksburg station is a passenger rail station in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is served by Amtrak's Carolinian, Northeast Regional, and Silver Meteor trains, and the Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the two elevated tracks of the RF&P Subdivision. It is located on Lafayette Boulevard (U.S. Route 1 Business) at the south end of the downtown area.

## History

[edit]

### Early stations

[edit]

Postcard of the 1886-built station

The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) opened through Fredericksburg on January 23, 1837.[2] The town had only a platform with no shelter until a small wooden depot was built in 1850. It was located on the south side of the tracks between what are now Charles Street and Princess Anne Street. The adjacent bridge over the Rappahannock River was destroyed early in the Civil War, and regular service did not fully resume until the 1870s.[3]

In 1873, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad opened southwest from Fredericksburg. Its successor, the narrow-gauge Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad (PF&P), was completed to Orange in 1877.[4] The PF&P station, which is still extant, was located north of the RF&P tracks west of Charles Street. The RF&P constructed a new wooden station in 1886 on the same site as the 1850-built station.[3]

### 1910 station

[edit]

The Silver Star at Fredericksburg in 1969

In 1909, city politicians began agitating for a new RF&P station.[3] Construction began in February 1910 and the new station opened on November 10, 1910.[5][6] It was located one block east of the former stations on the north side of the tracks, closer to the downtown area. Built in the Colonial Revival style, it cost $125,000.[3]

In 1927, the RF&P mainline was elevated through Fredericksburg to eliminate grade crossings. A temporary station and tracks were built on the south side of the alignment during construction. The station was modified with two new wings. Lafayette Boulevard was lowered, with a ramp built from the new street level to the station entrance. Two side platforms were built for the elevated tracks, with a baggage elevator to track level and a shelter for the northbound platform.[3]

The PF&P was converted to standard gauge in 1926 and became the Virginia Central Railway. It was abandoned in 1937 except for a short section at the Fredericksburg end, which lasted until 1984.[4] Passenger service on the RF&P primarily consisted of long-distance trains serving the southern states, which the railroad carried between Washington and Richmond. By 1955, the line carried 14 daily long-distance round trips plus one Washington–Richmond local round trip, all of which stopped at Fredericksburg.[7]

### Amtrak era

[edit]

Amtrak Northeast Regional at the station

The RF&P's passenger service was taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Local service was re-introduced by Virginia Railway Express in 1992 when the station became the southern terminus of the Fredericksburg Line. Since 1997, the station building has been occupied by restaurants.[8][9] The Fredericksburg Line was extended south to a new terminus at Spotsylvania station in November 2015.[10]

The station underwent a major restoration project between 2010 and 2011.[11] In June 2017, the VRE board approved spending up to $431,000 to repair the western sections of platform.[11] A $14.4 million project completed in 2024 included this work as well as rehabilitation of four rail bridges, construction of new stairs to a parking lot, and accessibility improvements to one elevator.[12] Plans for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor call for a third track and an expanded station slightly to the east.[11] As part of the environmental permitting for that project, the station was evaluated for potential listing on the National Register of Historic Places, for which it was found to be eligible.[3]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal year 2024: Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2025. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
2. ^ Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company (1890). Fifty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Company. Held on the 19th Day of November, 1890. Richmond, Virginia: Dispatch Steam Printing House. pp. 14–15. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
3. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Department of Transportation; Federal Railroad Administration; Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (May 2019). "Appendix D4: Architectural Intensive Investigations Report A" (PDF). Southeast High-Speed Rail DC to Richmond Tier II Final EIS. pp. 3-34 to 3-50.
4. ^ a b Hilton, George W. (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford University Press. p. 545\. ISBN 0-8047-2369-9.
5. ^ "Work on New Depot Begins". The Free Lance. Fredericksburg, Virginia. February 24, 1910. p. 3\. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Fredericksburg Depot Open". The Baltimore Sun. p. 12\. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Time Tables. Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. April 24, 1955 – via Wikimedia Commons.
8. ^ ""After 12 years, Claiborne's closes: Claiborne's closes suddenly," by Emily Battle (Fredericksburg.com; September 9, 2009 )". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
9. ^ "The Bavarian Chef in Fredericksburg". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015.
10. ^ Lazo, Luz (November 15, 2015). "VRE Spotsylvania station to open Monday". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015.
11. ^ a b c Shenk, Scott (August 25, 2017). "Fredericksburg train station to get upgrade". Free Lance-Star. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
12. ^ "VRE Cuts Ribbon on Fredericksburg Station Improvements" (Press release). Virginia Railway Express. May 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Fredericksburg station at Wikimedia Commons

* Fredericksburg – Amtrak
* Fredericksburg – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
* VRE – Fredericksburg

* v
* t
* e

Amtrak stations in Virginia

Active stations|

* Alexandria
* Ashland
* Burke Centre
* Charlottesville
* Clifton Forge
* Culpeper
* Danville
* Fredericksburg
* Lorton
* Lynchburg (Kemper Street)
* Manassas
* Newport News Transportation Center
* Norfolk
* Petersburg
* Quantico
* Richmond–Main Street
* Richmond–Staples Mill Road
* Roanoke
* Staunton
* Williamsburg
* Woodbridge

Former stations|

* Bedford
* Christianburg
* Farmville
* Franconia–Springfield
* Lee Hall
* Lynchburg (Woodall Road)
* Monroe
* Narrows
* Newport News
* Nottaway County Station
* Petersburg (Fleet Street)
* Petersburg (River Street)
* Richmond–Ellerson
* Suffolk
* Williamsburg–Pottery Factory

Proposed stations|

* Bedford
* Christianburg

* v
* t
* e

Virginia Railway Express

Manassas|

* Broad Run
* Manassas
* Manassas Park
* Clifton (special events only)
* Burke Centre
* Rolling Road
* Backlick Road
* Alexandria
* Crystal City
* L'Enfant Plaza
* Washington Union

Fredericksburg|

* Spotsylvania
* Fredericksburg
* Leeland Road
* Brooke
* Quantico
* Potomac Shores
* Rippon
* Woodbridge
* Lorton
* Franconia–Springfield
* Alexandria
* Crystal City
* L'Enfant
* Washington Union

Administered by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission & Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission and operated by Keolis • Italics indicate future station
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