Station Review #137: Huntington, WV (Amtrak)

Huntington, WV is a station served by Amtrak's Cardinal train. The station is located at 8th Avenue and 10th Street in Huntington's South Side neighborhood. 

History


Huntington, WV's history as a town is directly intertwined with the railroad. Originally, Huntington was the terminus for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and was a community planned from the ground up for this purpose. The original C&O depot was built in 1871. Multiple other railroads came to Huntington to compete with the C&O, including the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O). This depot was replaced in 1913 with a more grand building. 

Rail traffic to Huntington decreased following the US rail industry's bear collapse in the 1950s. As though it was a sign of the station's fate, The late 1960s was the time when Amtrak into existence, and with that the Amtrak Station Standardization Program. This meant that a new passenger station was to be built, in the same style as many others around the country. This station was built sometime around 1978-1979, and replaced the 1913 depot. These depots are colloquially known as Amshacks, and are famous for often being thought of as ugly. Currently, the 1913 depot is home to offices used by CSX.

A few years ago, Amtrak also pulled the station attendant from the station. 

Tour

Behold! Some of the worst pictures possible! I was only here for a smoke stop in the middle of the night, do NOT expect quality photos. 

Also Huntington is unsurprisingly inaccessible. This is set to change in 2027. 

Electronic signage

side of the building

To the side of the building, there's a small plaza with a few trees

Front of the building

Also the front of the building

The station building is an average Amshack, like many other across the US. 

Waiting room inside the station

Parking lot

Points of Interest Near Huntington, WV station 

Huntington, WV is a city. There is a lot in Huntington, though like many other rust belt cities it is fairly run down. Despite this, Huntington seems fairly dense. 

Huntington has a transit agency named TTA, which also serves the southernmost reaches of Ohio and links to Ashland Bus System in Ashland, KY. TTA is incredibly poor at actually communicating where their buses go. It also doesn't help that every bus ran by the TTA is hourly or less.

Statistics


Name: Huntington, WV
Agency: Amtrak
Line(s): Cardinal
Locality: South Side
Municipality: Huntingdon
County: Cabell
State: West Virginia
Ridership: 4155 (FY 2024)

Amenity Checklist


Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ✓
Bicycle parking: ×
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: × (possibly, unclear) 
Easy passage for each side: ✓ (single platform)
Existence is Justified: ✓ 
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): n/a
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: ✓
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: ✓
Safe to use:  ✓
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ×
Station In Good Condition: ✓
TVMs: ✓
Ticket Offices: × (Unstaffed)
TOD: ×
Train Departure/Arrival Info (countdown clocks): ✓
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓

Final Verdict: 3.5/10. A painfully average station. 

Station Directory

--------NEW YORK--------
--------Manhattan Borough-------- 
New York Penn
--------NEW JERSEY--------
--------Essex County-------- 
Newark Penn
--------Mercer County-------- 
--------PENNSYLVANIA--------
--------Philadelphia County-------- 
Philadelphia-30th Street
--------DELAWARE--------
--------New Castle County--------- 
--------MARYLAND--------
--------City of Baltimore-------- 
--------DC--------
DC Union Station
--------VIRGINIA--------
--------City of Alexandria--------
Alexandria Union
--------City of Manassas--------
Manassas
--------Culpeper County-------- 
Culpeper
--------City of Charlottesville-------- 
Charlottesville Union
--------City of Staunton-------- 
Staunton
--------Allegheny County--------
Clifton Forge
--------WEST VIRGINIA--------
--------Greenbrier County-------- 
White Sulfur Springs
--------Monroe County--------
Alderson
--------Summers County-------- 
Hinton
--------Fayette County-------- 
Prince
Thurmond
Montgomery
--------Kanawha County-------- 
Charleston
--------Cabell County-------- 
Huntington
--------KENTUCKY--------
--------Boyd County--------
Ashland
--------Greenup County-------- 
South Portsmouth-South Shore
--------Mason County-------- 
Maysville
--------OHIO--------
--------Hamilton County--------
Cincinatti Union
--------INDIANA--------
--------Fayette County--------
Connersville
--------Marion County-------- 
Indianapolis Union
--------Montgomery County--------
Crawfordsville
--------Tippecanoe County-------- 
Lafayette
--------Jasper County-------- 
Rensselaer
--------Lake County-------- 
Dyer
--------ILLINOIS--------
--------Cook County-------- 
Chicago Union  

 


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