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Uptown Station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uptown Station
Bloomington–Normal, IL
BERJAYA
General information
Location11 Uptown Circle
Normal, Illinois
United States
Coordinates40°30′31″N 88°59′03″W / 40.50861°N 88.98417°W / 40.50861; -88.98417
Owned byTown of Normal
LineUP Joliet Subdivision
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Parking380 spaces
AccessibleYes
ArchitectRatio Architects
Architectural styleFour-story red brick structure with limestone lintels and doorways
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: BNL
History
Opened1990
Rebuilt2012
Passengers
FY 2025230,448[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station BERJAYA Amtrak Following station
Lincoln
toward St. Louis
 Lincoln Service Pontiac
toward Chicago
Lincoln
toward Los Angeles or San Antonio
 Texas Eagle
Former services
Preceding station BERJAYA Amtrak Following station
Lincoln
toward Laredo or Houston
 Inter-American Pontiac
toward Chicago
Lincoln
toward Springfield
 Loop
Preceding station Alton Railroad Following station
Bloomington
toward St. Louis
 Main Line Towanda
toward Chicago
Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station
Panola
toward Freeport
 Freeport – Centralia Colonial
toward Centralia
Location
Map

Uptown Station is an intermodal transportation center[2] in Normal, Illinois, United States. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, and is the major intercity rail station in north-central Illinois. It appears on Amtrak timetables as Bloomington–Normal.

Amtrak runs two routes through the station–the Lincoln Service and the Texas Eagle. This was also a stop for the Ann Rutledge until April 2007. Amtrak Thruway motorcoach routes serve the station via Davenport, Galesburg, Peoria, Champaign–Urbana, and Indianapolis.

In 2022, 178,018 train passengers boarded or alighted from Amtrak trains at Uptown Station, making it the second busiest Amtrak station in Illinois behind Chicago.[3] This is primarily due to the large number of passengers traveling to and from Chicago and St. Louis. In 2019 Uptown station was the 44th busiest Amtrak station in the United States with 229,894 passengers.[4]

Former facilities

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Union Depot

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The original station serving Bloomington-Normal was Bloomington Union Depot.[5] This station was located on Bloomington's west side, just south of West Washington Street and on the west side of the Chicago & Alton Railroad tracks.[5][6] It had been constructed in the mid-1880s, and survived well into the Amtrak era because Bloomington-Normal is located along the most direct route from Chicago to St. Louis.[5] The station was closed on June 10, 1990, to be replaced by a much smaller facility in Normal.[5][6] Seven years later, on October 31, 1997, a then-partially demolished Union Station was destroyed by fire.[5][6]

1990 Amtrak facility

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The original Normal station was built to the specifications of the Amtrak Standard Stations Program.[5][7] Located near the campus of Illinois State University, this station lasted until the new facility opened in 2012.[5]

New facility

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BERJAYA
Amtrak Bloomington–Normal station platform

On August 7, 2010, construction began on a new intermodal facility, located across the tracks from the 1990 facility. The new facility includes administrative offices and council chambers for the town in addition to serving Amtrak, city and long-distance buses.[2][5] The facility opened on June 14, 2012.[8] Construction, which cost between $43 and $47 million, was funded by a combination of federal, state and local grants.[9][10]

The new 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m2) transportation center was designed by Ratio Architects of Champaign; it is composed primarily of red brick with limestone trim.[11] The building's prominent corner clock tower has become a landmark for the neighborhood. Numerous environmentally sustainable features are also included, such as a green roof partially planted in vegetation that will absorb rainwater and cool the building; the rest of the roof is covered in reflective materials to deflect sunlight.[11]

BERJAYA
Construction of the Uptown Connector underpass will allow the Constitution Trail (pictured) to run under the railroad tracks.

On November 3, 2025, the Normal Town Council narrowly approved the construction of a $32 million pedestrian underpass, known as the Uptown Connector, that will link the Mark R. Peterson Plaza to the area south of the tracks. It will allow for an easier and safer passage for passengers to connect between Track 1 (north platform) and Track 2 (south platform). Construction was initially expected to be completed in 2027, but has since been pushed back to June 2028, with the total cost now being $42.8 million.[12][13][14][15]

Connections

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BERJAYA
Uptown Station is a major hub for Connect Transit buses.

Local Bus Service

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SHOW BUS ceased operations in McLean County in July 2025 and was replaced by Connect GO.[18]

Intercity Bus Service

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On July 2, 2024, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) was awarded a $1.2 million federal RAISE grant to conduct a feasibility study of an express bus between Bloomington–Normal and Peoria. Uptown Station is considered a likely stop as it would allow connections to Amtrak and Connect Transit. The study will commence in late 2025 and is expected to conclude in 2027.[23][24][25]

References

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  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal year 2025: State of Illinois" (PDF). Amtrak. January 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Uptown Station". Town of Normal. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Uptown Station serves as host to numerous transportation providers in addition to housing the Town of Normal municipal offices and Town Council chambers
  3. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet - Fiscal Year 2022 State of Illinois" (PDF). www.amtrak.com.
  4. ↑ "State Fact Sheets | Amtrak".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kemp, Bill (October 4, 2015). "Union Depot, grand gateway to wider world". The Pantagraph. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 Kemp, Bill (February 3, 2016). "'Union' Depot, December 1979 Bloomington's West Side". McLean County Museum of History. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ Charlie, Monte Verde (December 2, 2015). "Farewell to an American Classic". Cult of Americana. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Bloomington-Normal, IL (BNL)". Great American Stations.
  9. ↑ Ford, Mary Ann (August 7, 2010). "Officials: Transportation Hub Will Help Economy". The Pantagraph. Bloomington. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Aug 13, 2010: Hotline #667". NARP. August 13, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Great American Stations. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ Fogerson, Braden (November 4, 2025). "Normal narrowly greenlights underpass construction with tax increases". WGLT. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ Schlenker, Charlie (October 31, 2025). "Uptown business owners raise concerns about tax hikes to fund underpass — and the quick vote on them". WGLT. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Underpass". normal-il.civilspace.io. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ Fogerson, Braden (May 19, 2026). "Uptown Underpass still coming, despite ballooning cost and delays". WGLT. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Connect Transit Full System Map" (PDF). Connect Transit. July 1, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Public Transportation | CIRA". Central Illinois Regional Airport. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ Warnecke, Lauren (June 30, 2025). "Connect Go rural transit service launches July 1". WGLT. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  19. ↑ News, Bus & Motorcoach (September 26, 2025). "Jefferson Lines takes over Illinois intercity bus routes". Bus & Motorcoach News. Retrieved May 6, 2026. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ↑ "Greyhound Lines System Timetable". Greyhound Lines System Timetable. February 1, 2023. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Peoria Charter" (PDF). peoriacharter.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  22. ↑ Fogerson, Braden (March 3, 2026). "Normal welcomes new transit provider to Uptown Station". WGLT. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ Communications, IDOT (July 2, 2024). "IDOT awarded $1.2 million to study express bus service between Bloomington-Normal and Peoria". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  24. ↑ Shelley, Tim (July 3, 2024). "IDOT is eying a potential Peoria-Bloomington public transit service". WSIU. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ Packowitz, Howard; Bell, Patrick (July 2, 2024). "Express bus service to be explored between Peoria and Bloomington-Normal". www.25newsnow.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
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