Union station - Definition and Overview

A union station or union terminal is a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. Often the station is used by all passenger trains serving the city, but this is not necessarily true; in particular, commuter trains in Chicago, Illinois still use four different terminals.

In North American practice a union station is usually owned by a separate corporation whose shares are owned by the different railways which use it, so that the costs and benefits of its operations are shared proportionately among them. This contrasts with the system of trackage rights or running rights, where one railway company owns a line or facility, but allows another to company to share it under a contractual agreement. However, the company that owns the union station and associated trackage does assign trackage rights to the railroads that use it.

List of Union Stations

Many union stations use Union Station or Union Terminal as their name, or part of it. These include:

• Union Station (Alexandria, Virginia)
• Union Station (Chattanooga)
• Union Station (Chicago)
• Union Station (Dallas)
• Union Station (Denver)
• Union Station (El Paso)
• Union Station (Indianapolis)
• Union Station (Jacksonville) (now a convention center)
• Union Station (Kansas City)
• Union Station (Nashville)
• Union Station (New Haven)
• Union Station (Pittsburgh), Daniel Burnham, architect, 1898 - 1903
• Union Station (Portland)
• Union Station (Ottawa), no longer a train station
• Union Station (St. Louis)
• Union Station (Seattle)
• Union Station (Tampa)
• Union Station (Toronto)
• Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Daniel Burnham, architect, 1908
• Union Station (Winnipeg)

• Union Terminal (Cincinnati), Alfred Fellheimer and Steward Wagner, architects, 1929. Currently in use as The Cincinnati Museum Center.
• Union Terminal (Cleveland) (no longer standing)
• Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal

External link

The Straight Dope: Why do so many cities have a "Union Station"? (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a800729.html)