Jackson station (Michigan)

Jackson
File:Michigan Central Railroad Jackson Depot.JPG The station building in 2010.
Location	501 East Michigan Avenue Jackson, MI, 49201
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Michigan Line
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes; free
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	JXN
History
Opened	1841
Rebuilt	1872 & 1978
Traffic
Passengers (2011)	32,106  13%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Albion toward Chicago Wolverine Ann Arbor toward Pontiac, MI   Former services   New York Central Railroad Parma toward Chicago Michigan Central Railroad Main Line Grass Lake toward Detroit Horton toward Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Branch Terminus Haires toward Niles Michigan Air Line Railroad Terminus Jackson Branch Napoleon toward Toledo Cincinnati Northern Railroad Lyonette toward Franklin Bay City Branch Rives Junction toward Bay City
Michigan Central Railroad Jackson Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Jackson, Michigan, USA
Coordinates
Architect	Henry A. Gardner
Architectural style	Italianate
NRHP Reference #	02001504
Added to NRHP	2002

Jackson is an historic Amtrak station in Jackson, Michigan, United States. It is served by the Wolverine. The station was rebuilt by the Michigan Central Railroad in 1872, as a replacement for an earlier station built in 1841, and was used as a Union Station, which also served the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad, the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad, the Grand River Railway, and the Michigan Air Line Railroad.

In 1978, the station underwent a major restoration inspired by the nation's Bicentennial celebrations. Workers cleaned the brick exterior, reground the terazzo floors and refinished the elaborate wood trim and benches. Artist Leland Beamon created a mural showing the depot in 1904 alongside a modern Turboliner Amtrak train. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Also in 1978, a former disgruntled Amtrak employee named Rudy Bladel killed three former coworkers at the station. The murder trial lead to a U.S. Supreme Court case, Michigan v. Jackson, on the admissibility of confessions.

There are currently plans to repair and modernize the station, including possibly converting into a true intermodal facility on the model of the Kalamazoo Transportation Center. The Michigan Department of Transportation has made a $300,000 grant for roof and brick repairs; city officials estimate that a full renovation/expansion would cost $10-13 million.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak – Stations – Jackson, MI
• Jackson Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• Union Station (Jackson, Michigan) (Michigan Internet Railroad History Museum)
• Jackson, MI (JXN) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)