{{Short description|Train station in Massachusetts, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox station | name = Holyoke, MA | style = Amtrak | image = Southbound Vermonter at Holyoke station, August 2018.JPG | alt = The southbound ''Vermonter'' at Holyoke in August 2018 | caption = The southbound ''Vermonter'' at Holyoke in August 2018 | address = 74 Main Street<br />Holyoke, Massachusetts | country = United States | coordinates = {{coord|42.204263|-72.60287 |format=dms |type:railwaystation_region:US-RI |display=inline,title}} | owned = City of Holyoke<ref name=greatstations>{{cite web |url=https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/holyoke-ma-hlk/ |title=Holyoke, MA (HLK) |website=Great American Stations |publisher=Amtrak |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> | line = Connecticut River Line | platforms = 1 side platform | tracks = 1 | train_operators = Amtrak | connections = {{bus icon}} Pioneer Valley Transit Authority: R24, R29, T24, X90 | parking = 25 spaces | bicycle = Racks | accessible = Yes | architect = Michael Baker International<ref name=greatstations/> | code = {{Amtrak code|HLK}} | opened = {{Start date|1845}} (original station)<br />{{Start date|2015|8|27}} (new platform)<ref name=aug27>{{cite news |url=http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2015/08/holyoke_amtrak_train_station_to_open_thur.html |title=Opening date set for Holyoke Amtrak train station |newspaper=MassLive |date=August 20, 2015 |last=Kinney |first=Jim |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name=celebrated>{{cite press release |url=http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-rail-transit/knowledge-corridor-new-holyoke-train-station-celebrated/ |title=Knowledge Corridor: New Holyoke Train Station Celebrated |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date=August 27, 2015 |access-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831145155/http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-rail-transit/knowledge-corridor-new-holyoke-train-station-celebrated/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | closed = {{End date|1966}} | rebuilt = 1885 | mpassengers = {{rail pass box|system=Amtrak|passengers={{Amtrak ridership|Holyoke}}{{Amtrak ridership|citationMA}}|pass_year={{Amtrak ridership|date}}}} | services = {{Adjacent stations|system=Amtrak |line1=Valley Flyer|left1=Springfield|right1=Northampton |line2=Vermonter|left2=Springfield|right2=Northampton }} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-marker-color = #{{rcr|Amtrak}} }}
'''Holyoke station''' is an Amtrak intercity train station near the corner of Main and Dwight streets in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States. The station opened on August 27, 2015, eight months after Amtrak's ''Vermonter'' service was re-routed to the Connecticut River Line through the Pioneer Valley.
The first railroad station in Holyoke had opened in 1845, followed by the H.H. Richardson-designed '''Connecticut River Railroad Station''' in 1885. Though passenger service to Holyoke ended in 1966, the 1885 depot is still extant. The opening of the new station returned passenger rail service to Holyoke for the first time in 49 years, and to the Dwight and Main streets site for the first time in 130 years. A pilot program added two daily Amtrak ''Shuttle'' round trips in August 2019 under the ''Valley Flyer'' moniker.
==History== thumb|left|The original depot, {{circa|1880}} The Connecticut River Railroad opened to passenger service between Springfield and Northampton in late 1845; trains reached Deerfield in August 1846, Greenfield in December 1847, and the junction with the Central Vermont Railway in January 1849. When the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad reached Brattleboro in 1850, the Connecticut River Railroad began running through service from Springfield to Brattleboro.<ref name=sne /> Over the next century, the line was host to a mix of local and long-distance passenger and freight service. It became part of the route for numerous New York-Montreal trains as early as the 1860s, and was acquired by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1893.<ref name=sne />
Holyoke's original train depot, which was located near Dwight and Main Streets, was a modest wooden structure that served both passenger and freight needs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911204846/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 11, 2014 |title=H. H. Richardson Building Study Documents |author=The Center for Design Engagement |work=Office of Planning & Economic Development |publisher=City of Holyoke |date=August 2014 |page=10 |access-date=September 11, 2014 }}</ref> The site of the original depot is today occupied by an automobile repair shop and dealership. {{clear left}}
===Connecticut River Railroad station=== thumb|left|The former station, {{circa|1904}} thumb|left|The former station in disrepair in 2016 The Connecticut River Railroad Station was built in Holyoke in 1884-5 for the Connecticut River Railroad.<ref name=depots>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |author=Roy, John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780942147087 |pages=167–169}}</ref> Designed by the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, it was one of the last in his series of Northeastern railroad stations. The station building, which is rectangular in shape, was originally designed with a double-height waiting room lit by high dormers. The building, which was constructed with granite and brownstone, included a slate covered hipped roof with multiple dormers.<ref name="Ochsner">{{cite book |last1=Ochsner |first1=Jeffrey Karl |title=H. H. Richardson, Complete Architectural Works |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=MIT Press |year=1982 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hhrichardsoncomp00ochs/page/323 323–324] |isbn=978-0262650151 |url=https://archive.org/details/hhrichardsoncomp00ochs/page/323 }}</ref>
In 1965, with passenger service waning, the station was converted into a mechanical shop by Perry's Auto Parts.<ref name="Roessler">{{cite news |last=Roessler |first=Mark |url=http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9903 |title=Holyoke's Famous Rail Station |work=The Valley Advocate |location=Northampton, Massachusetts |date=June 18, 2009 |access-date=August 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622223439/https://valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9903|archive-date=June 22, 2009}}</ref> Long-distance service over the line ended in October 1966, with local service between Springfield and Brattleboro lasting several more months.<ref name=sne />
In 1972, Amtrak began running the ''Montrealer'', which ran along the line at night, stopping at Northampton but not Holyoke or Greenfield.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19861026&item=0030 |title=Amtrak National Train Timetables |author=Amtrak |publisher=Museum of Railway Timetables |date=October 26, 1986 |access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> The ''Montrealer'' was discontinued in 1987 due to poor track conditions on the line. Service resumed in 1989 after Amtrak seized control of the line in Vermont from the Boston and Maine Railroad, but the train was rerouted over the Central Vermont Railway through Massachusetts and Connecticut to avoid the still-dilapidated Connecticut River Line which Amtrak did not control. A stop was added at Amherst to replace Northampton. The ''Montrealer'' was replaced by the daytime ''Vermonter'' in 1995, using the original route through Connecticut but still avoiding the Connecticut River Line in Massachusetts.<ref name=sne>{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |author=Karr, Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=1995 |isbn=0942147022 |pages=173–175}}</ref>
In 2004 the structure (along with Richardson's house in Brookline, Massachusetts) was cited as one of the ten most endangered historic sites in Massachusetts.<ref name=Roessler /> In May 2009, as the building sat littered with graffiti and falling into disrepair, it was purchased from a private owner by the City of Holyoke's Gas & Electric department. Plans to repair the building did not at the time include allowing its use as a rail depot.<ref name=Roessler /> In August 2014 the Holyoke Office of Planning & Economic Development issued a report detailing a number of potential new uses for the former Connecticut River Railroad station building. Proposed potential uses were divided into four broad themes: Food Uses, Collaborative Workspaces & Commercial Uses, Community & Cultural Uses and Academic Engagement & Educational Uses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911204846/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 11, 2014 |title=H. H. Richardson Building Study Documents |author=The Center for Design Engagement |work=Office of Planning & Economic Development |publisher=City of Holyoke |page=6 |date=August 2014 |access-date=September 11, 2014 }}</ref> On November 10, 2019, the station was sold to a private party for $10,000; no preservation plan was announced at that time.<ref>{{cite news|title=Massachusetts real estate transactions for Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties: Nov. 10, 2019 edition|work=The Republican|location=Springfield, Mass.|url=https://www.masslive.com/living/2019/11/massachusetts-real-estate-transactions-for-hampden-hampshire-and-franklin-counties-nov-10-2019-edition.html|date=November 10, 2019|quote=Holyoke Gas & Electric to Race Street Properties LLC, 12 Bowers St., $10,001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gazettenet.com/Holyoke-s-H-H-Richardson-designed-train-station-building-gets-new-owner-30435917 |title=Next stop for landmark Holyoke train station: Restoration |newspaper=Daily Hampshire Gazette |date=November 17, 2019 |first=Dusty |last=Christensen}}</ref>
===Restoration of passenger service=== thumb|left|Track work at the new station site in October 2014 In order to shorten travel times on the ''Vermonter'' and add additional local service to serve the populated Connecticut River Valley, the Pan Am Railways Connecticut River Line was rebuilt with $73 million in federal money and $10 million in state funds.<ref name=hopes>{{cite news |url=http://www.gazettenet.com/home/10635349-95/development-hopes-ride-on-expanded-rail |title=Pioneer Valley Business 2014: Development hopes ride on expanded rail |newspaper=Gazette Net |date=February 16, 2014 |author=Merzbach, Scott |access-date=February 22, 2014}}</ref> The ''Vermonter'' was rerouted to the line on December 29, 2014, with new station stops in Northampton and Greenfield.<ref name=update>{{cite news |url=http://www.wggb.com/2014/06/18/massdot-offers-update-on-amtrak-train-through-northampton/ |title=MassDOT Offers Update on Amtrak Train Through Northampton |newspaper=ABC40 |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=June 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173404/http://www.wggb.com/2014/06/18/massdot-offers-update-on-amtrak-train-through-northampton/ |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=dec29>{{cite news |url=http://www.recorder.com/home/12701477-95/amtrak-crews-hard-at-work-upgrading-tracks |title=Amtrak crews hard at work upgrading tracks |newspaper=The Recorder |date=July 9, 2014 |author=Cain, Chad |access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cain |first=Chad |url=http://www.gazettenet.com/news/townbytown/northampton/14512297-95/long-a-dream-high-speed-passenger-rail-service-set-for-dec-29-launch-throughout-the |title=Long a dream, high-speed passenger rail service set for Dec. 29 launch throughout the Valley |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette |location=Northampton, Massachusetts |date=November 24, 2014 |access-date=November 25, 2014 }}</ref>
A stop at Holyoke was originally planned to open with Northampton and Greenfield but later delayed. The city considered reactivating the former station building, but instead decided that a site at Dwight Street a block west provided a better place for a modern station design.<ref name="Plaisance, Mike">{{cite news |url=http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/holyoke_to_see_passenger_train.html |title=Officials: Holyoke to see passenger train platform by spring 2014 |newspaper=The Republican |author=Plaisance, Mike |date=August 27, 2012 |access-date=June 8, 2014}}</ref> The new '''Depot Square Railroad Station''', which cost approximately $3.2 million, includes a {{convert|400|foot|m|adj=on}}-long high level platform, 170-foot-long canopy, and a waiting area and staircase facing Dwight Street. The station has a 25-space parking lot and loop for bus drop off and is fully handicapped accessible.<ref name=Station>{{cite news |last=Plaisance |first=Mike |url=http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2015/01/holyoke_2015_projects_include_passenger_rail_marcotte_ford_expansion_canalwalk.html |title=Holyoke 2015: 4 'significant, visible investments that can support more economic activity and neighborhood formation' |work=The Republican |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |date=January 29, 2015 |access-date=January 30, 2015}}</ref> The city first planned a one-car-length "mini-high" platform with a longer stretch of low platform, but changed to the longer high-level platform in 2014.<ref name=blueprints>{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/passenger-rail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225003604/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/passenger-rail |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |title=Passenger Rail |publisher=City of Holyoke |work=Holyoke Redevelopment |access-date=August 13, 2015}}</ref> The construction of the new station was funded by a $2 million MassWorks Infrastructure grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/dev2/public-meeting-scheduled-design-of-rail-platform |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903062305/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/dev2/public-meeting-scheduled-design-of-rail-platform |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |title=Rail Platform Design Meeting Scheduled |author=Amtrak |publisher=Holyoke Office of Planning & Economic Development |date=2013}}</ref>
Construction for the station began in November 2014, and a formal groundbreaking was held on December 22, 2014, one week before the ''Vermonter'' was rerouted to the line.<ref name=begin>{{cite news |url=http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/holyoke_to_begin_32_million_co.html |title=Holyoke to begin $3.2 million construction of passenger train platform at Main and Dwight streets |newspaper=MassLive |last=Plaisance |first=Mike |date=December 18, 2014 |access-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref> The station was then intended to open in April 2015, but construction took longer than expected.<ref name=begin /> Depot Square Railroad Station opened on August 27, 2015.<ref name=aug27 /> On August 30, 2019, Amtrak extended two daily New Haven–Springfield Shuttle round trips (branded as the ''Valley Flyer'') to Greenfield as a pilot program.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2019/08/amtrak-and-massdot-announce-start-of-new-valley-flyer-train-service-in-western-and-northern-massachusetts/ |title=AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE START OF NEW VALLEY FLYER TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS |publisher=Amtrak |date=August 27, 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{Cite report |author=HDR Engineering, Inc. |date=March 2011 |title=Holyoke Station Feasibility Study and Site Analysis |url=http://www.pvpc.org/sites/default/files/2011-03-31%20Holyoke%20%20Station%20Assessment%20Final%20Report%5B1%5D%20%281%29.pdf |publisher=Pioneer Valley Planning Commission}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911204846/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/h-h-richardson |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 11, 2014 |title=H. H. Richardson Building Study Documents |author=The Center for Design Engagement |work=Office of Planning & Economic Development |publisher=City of Holyoke |date=August 2014}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/wp-content/uploads/Depot-Sq.-Presentation-Boards-FINAL-small-file.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813171740/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/wp-content/uploads/Depot-Sq.-Presentation-Boards-FINAL-small-file.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 13, 2015 |title=Holyoke's Depot Square and the Richardson Train Station |last1=Laidlaw |first1=Scott |date=February 2012 |publisher=City Of Holyoke Office of Planning and Development}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/passenger-rail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225003604/http://www.holyokeredevelopment.com/passenger-rail |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |website=Holyoke Redevelopment |title=Holyoke Station Design Plans |publisher=Holyoke Office of Planning & Economic Development}}
==External links== {{commons category|Train stations in Holyoke, Massachusetts}} {{Amtrak web|HLK|Holyoke, MA}}
{{Amtrak Massachusetts stations}} {{Holyoke, Massachusetts}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Holyoke, Massachusetts Category:Railway stations in Hampden County, Massachusetts Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1883 Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 2015 Category:Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations Category:Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Category:Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Category:Amtrak stations in Massachusetts Category:1883 establishments in Massachusetts Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1966