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Durham–UNH station

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Coordinates: 43°08′23″N 70°56′09″W / 43.13972°N 70.93583°W / 43.13972; -70.93583
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Durham–UNH
The 1896-built station houses the UNH Dairy Bar
General information
Location3 Depot Street
Durham, NH, 03824
Owned byUniversity of New Hampshire
Line(s)B & M (Pan Am Railways)
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsUNH Wildcat Buses to Dover, Newmarket and Portsmouth
Construction
ParkingMetered and UNH/Town of Durham permit parking nearby
Bicycle facilitiesracks
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak code: DHM
History
Opened1912 (B&M)
December 2001 (Amtrak)
Closed1967
Rebuilt2008
Passengers
201458,894[1] Decrease 3.4%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Template:Amtrak lines

Durham–University of New Hampshire station, also known as Durham–UNH station or simply Durham station, is a passenger rail station in Durham, New Hampshire served by Amtrak's Downeaster line. The historic depot, which now houses the UNH Dairy Bar, is situated just west of downtown Durham on the campus of the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The station is owned by the university, but an adjacent parking area is managed by the town of Durham. On average, about 150 rail passengers board or detrain daily at Durham, making it the third-busiest Amtrak stop in New Hampshire.[2]

Service

Durham is served by five Downeaster trains in each direction daily. Durham is approximately one hour by train from Portland and 1:30 from Boston.[3] UNH students and Durham residents comprise most of the riders, but the lack of parking available to the general public means most commuters drive to and park at Dover or Exeter, 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 1,000 feet from the platform on Main Street. During the academic year the station also hosts intercity bus service provided by C&J to Boston Logan Airport and South Station.

History

Boston and Maine Railroad service to Durham began in 1841 and by the end of the 19th century included 7 to 12 trains per day.[4] The tracks through Durham originally followed a course slightly east of the current alignment, with a station at Main Street. Edgewood Road is now built on the former right of way. On January 22, 1905, an express train derailed in downtown Durham, injuring 11 passengers and prompting concerns about future crashes in the downtown area. In 1912, prompted by the town and the need to add a second track, the railroad moved its tracks further west away from downtown and a depot building was brought to the modern site.[4][5] It was originally built in 1896 in Lynn, Massachusetts as the East Lynn depot.

Passenger train service run by the Boston and Maine was ended in Durham in fall of 1965 (having been approved for discontinuance seven years earlier), although commuter service to Dover continued past Durham until June 1967.[6] The station was sold by the B&M Railroad to UNH for $1 in 1960.[7]

Regular passenger service returned with the opening of the Downeaster in December 2001. The depot was maintained as a restaurant and renovated in 2007-2008 by the university with funding assistance from the United States Department of Transportation. It reopened on August 11, 2008, featuring an upgraded Dairy Bar (a restaurant operated by UNH Hospitality Services).

References

  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of New Hampshire" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of New Hampshire" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-06. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Amtrak Train Schedules". Amtrak. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b Paine, Maggie and Woodward, Mylinda (Winter 2001). "All Aboard!". UNH Magazine. Retrieved 24 May 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780942147087.
  6. ^ Belcher, Jonathan (23 April 2012). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Durham, NH (DHM)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
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43°08′23″N 70°56′09″W / 43.13972°N 70.93583°W / 43.13972; -70.93583

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