Durham-UNH (Amtrak station)

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Durham-University of New Hampshire
DurhamNHAmtrackStationAndRestaurant.jpg
UNH Dairy Bar Station
Station statistics
Address 3 Depot Street
Durham, NH, 03824
Lines      Downeaster
Connections UNH Wildcat Buses to Dover, Newmarket and Portsmouth
Platforms Interior Station & Restaurant 6:30am -7:00pm weekdays, 11am-7:00pm weekends
Parking Metered and UNH/Town of Durham permit parking nearby
Bicycle facilities racks
Other information
Opened 1912
Rebuilt 2008
Accessible Handicapped/disabled access
Code DHM
Owned by University of New Hampshire
Traffic
Passengers (2009) 61,262 7.4%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Downeaster
toward Brunswick

Coordinates: 43°08′23″N 70°56′09″W / 43.13972°N 70.93583°W / 43.13972; -70.93583 The railroad station in Durham, New Hampshire serves the Amtrak Downeaster and is situated west of downtown Durham on the campus of the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The station was originally built in 1896 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and was moved to the present site in Durham when the Boston and Maine Railroad moved its tracks further from the center of campus. The track realignment was influenced by a 1905 train accident on campus. Passenger train service run by the Boston and Maine was ended in Durham in 1958, and regular service returned with the opening of the Downeaster in December 2001. The station is owned by the university, but an adjacent parking area is managed by the town of Durham.

The station was recently renovated by the university with funding assistance from the USDOT. It opened, featuring an upgraded Dairy Bar, a restaurant operated by UNH Hospitality Services, on August 11, 2008. The restaurant is open 6:30am until 7pm weekdays and 11am until 7pm weekends. A climate controlled vestibule which houses the Amtrak Quik-Trak ticketing machine is open 5:30am until 10 pm daily.

The campus location is very convenient for students and Durham residents, who comprise most of the riders, but the lack of parking available to the general public means most commuters drive to and park at stations in Dover or Exeter, New Hampshire, the stations north and south respectively of Durham.

The University operates both a free on-campus bus shuttle service, Campus Connector Shuttle, and Wildcat Transit, an off-campus service, serving the cities and towns of Dover, Lee, Madbury, Newmarket, Newington and Portsmouth. The bus services operate year round but scale back outside of the academic year. Intercity bus service to Boston also now uses rail station site. There is a Wildcat Transit and UNH Campus Connector bus stop approximately 1000 feet from the platform on Main Street.

On average, nearly 170 rail passengers board or detrain daily at Durham, making it the second-busiest Amtrak stop in New Hampshire. The station is located within walking distance of downtown, the core UNH campus, the Whittemore Center Arena and the New England Center.

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