Fort Lauderdale station (original) (raw)

Train station in Florida

Fort Lauderdale, FL
Northwest view of historic former Seaboard Air Line Railway (now Amtrak) station
General information
Location 200 Southwest 21st TerraceFort Lauderdale, FloridaUnited States
Coordinates 26°7′10.09″N 80°10′11.54″W / 26.1194694°N 80.1698722°W / 26.1194694; -80.1698722
Owned by Florida Department of Transportation
Line(s) South Florida Rail Corridor
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Train operators Amtrak, Tri-Rail
Connections Bus transport Broward County Transit: 22Bus transport Metrobus: 95
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Racks
Accessible Yes
Other information
Station code Amtrak: FTL
IATA code ZFT
Fare zone 4 (Tri-Rail)
History
Opened 1927
Rebuilt 1986
Passengers
FY 2023 39,143[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Hollywoodtoward Miami Floridian Deerfield Beachtoward Chicago Silver Meteor Deerfield Beachtoward New York Preceding station Tri-Rail Following station Fort Lauderdale Airporttoward Miami Airport Tri-Rail Cypress Creektoward Mangonia Park Metrorail Transfertoward MiamiCentral ExpressWeekday service Boca Ratontoward West Palm Beach
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Deerfield Beachtoward Los Angeles _Sunset Limited_1993-1996 Hollywoodtoward Miami Hollywoodtoward Miami _Palmetto_2002-2004 Deerfield Beachtoward New York Silver Star Floridian Deerfield Beachtoward Chicago Preceding station Seaboard Air Line Railroad Following station Opa Lockatoward Miami Main Line Pompano Beachtoward Richmond
LocationMap

Fort Lauderdale station is a train station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is served by Tri-Rail and Amtrak. The station is located on Southwest 21st Terrace, just south of West Broward Boulevard. The station has two side platforms connected by an elevated passageway. The station building, parking lot, and bus stops are located west of the southbound platform.

The Orange Blossom Special arrives at the temporary Seaboard Air Line Railway Fort Lauderdale station in 1927.

The original station, which is used by Amtrak, is a former Seaboard Air Line Railway depot built in 1927. Designed in the prevalent Mediterranean Revival style by Gustav Maass of the West Palm Beach architectural firm Harvey & Clarke, it is virtually identical to the Hollywood Seaboard station to the south. The station took the place of a temporary structure that had been hastily erected at the end of 1926 to greet the January 1927 arrival of the first Seaboard passenger train in South Florida, the Orange Blossom Special.

The station was served by the Orange Blossom Special until 1953 and, among other Seaboard trains, the Silver Meteor beginning in 1939. Amtrak maintained Silver Meteor service to the station when it took over intercity passenger train service in 1971. Both the Silver Meteor and Amtrak's Floridian continue to use the station.

On January 9, 1989, the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority began Tri-Rail service to the station, building additional facilities and a pedestrian overpass just north of the original station. A park and ride lot is available, and is directly accessible via a proprietary exit from Interstate 95 north.

The station consists of a passenger waiting room on the northern end and a baggage room in the center section. On the southern end is a freight room, which is used by CSX, the successor to Seaboard. Just south of the street side entry to the passenger waiting room, and representative of the racial segregation laws of the era in which the station was constructed, is the entrance to what had been the "colored" waiting room.

On November 10, 2024, the Silver Star was merged with the Capitol Limited as the Floridian.[2]

  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Florida" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "Amtrak Launching the Floridian, with Daily Service Between Chicago and Miami" (Press release). Amtrak. September 23, 2024. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.