Danville, VA (DAN)

677 Craghead St.
Danville, VA 24541

Station Ownership

Facility:
City of Danville

Parking:
City of Danville

Platform(s):
City of Danville

Track(s):
Norfolk Southern Railway

Amtrak Contact

Todd Stennis

Routes Served:

• Crescent

History

The Danville Amtrak station was designed for the Southern Railway by Frank P. Milburn and completed in 1899. The elongated structure, decorated with fancy stepped gables, recalled the Renaissance architecture of the Low Countries. In 1915, a track expansion required that the track be moved 133 feet to the northeast. The station was jacked up on rollers and crews used mules and stump pullers to relocate the building.

In 1922, the depot burned and was rebuilt within its original walls in modified form. A central tower was not reconstructed, and the interior was simplified. The building later fell into disuse and for years the Amtrak passengers had to walk through an underground tunnel and wait on a platform between the tracks.

The station was temporarily closed to passenger service in 1993 and it was purchased by the city. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. A group of civic leaders sought out federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) funding in 1995 to renovate the historical train station and surrounding area. Partnering with Amtrak, Pepsi-Cola, the Virginia Department of Transportation and other private sources, the city was able to construct a public market, a park with amphitheater, a science center in the train depot, a community meeting and recreation facility, and a transportation center. The station renovations were completed in 1996. This project spurred investment in other warehouse properties which have been redeveloped into offices, commercial spaces, apartments, lofts, and restaurants. The approximately $4 million of federal grant money initiated the redevelopment and leveraged additional funds from public and private sources.

Danville is on the Dan River near the border of North Carolina. The first European settlement in the area came in 1792 at a fording area on the river known as Wynn's Falls after the first settler. In 1793 the Virginia General Assembly established there what became Virginia's largest market for bright leaf tobacco. The village was eventually renamed Danville, the town chartered and a mayor elected by 1833. The thriving town became an area of strategic activity by the outbreak of the Civil War, with a quartermaster's depot, rail center, hospital, and prison camp for federal soldiers. This period ended as Danville hosted the last Capital of the Confederacy at the end of the Civil War. Since then Danville has been home to Dan River, Inc., founded in 1882 as the Riverside Cotton Mills, which is now the largest single-unit textile mill in the world.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Danville is served by two daily trains.

ADA Compliance

Federal law requires compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by 2010. The following is a list of items typically required for transportation and public facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please check the regulations for guidance or contact us for more information.