Mattoon station

Mattoon, IL
The Mattoon station platform in April 2016. The depot constructed by the Illinois Central Railroad is on the left.
General information
Location	1718 Broadway Avenue Mattoon, Illinois United States
Coordinates	39°28′58″N 88°22′34″W / 39.4829°N 88.3760°W / 39.4829; -88.3760
Line	CN Champaign Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Coles County Zipline
Other information
Status	Regular stop (Illini/Saluki) Flag stop (City of New Orleans)
Station code	Amtrak: MAT
History
Opened	1855 (1855)[1]
Rebuilt	1860 March 1917–January 21, 1918[2][3]
Key dates
December 1977	Station agent eliminated[1]
Passengers
FY 2024	31,865[4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Effingham toward New Orleans City of New Orleans Champaign–Urbana toward Chicago Effingham toward Carbondale Illini and Saluki
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station Aetna toward New Orleans Main Line Dorans toward Chicago Coles toward Peoria Peoria – Evansville Newby toward Evansville
Illinois Central Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Interactive map of Illinois Central Railroad Depot
Built	1918
NRHP reference No.	02000098
Added to NRHP	March 1, 2002
Location

Mattoon station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Mattoon, Illinois, United States. The station is a flag stop on the City of New Orleans route, served only when passengers have tickets to and from the station. It is a regular stop for the Illini and Saluki.

History

The Mattoon station is housed in the former Illinois Central Railroad Depot. The depot was completed in 1918 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.^[5] At its height, the building housed a power plant, mail room, luggage room, and restaurant, in addition to the main hall where passengers waited to board trains. As many as ten trains a day departed the depot in the 1950s.^[6]

During 2010, a $3 million restoration project, paid for from a mix of private, state, and federal funding, was undertaken, replacing paint, flooring, and other interior fixtures.^[7]

The depot today

There are no Amtrak employees at the station; the doors unlock and lock automatically before and after the arrival and departure of trains.^{[citation needed]} The station currently serves as a stop for the Illini, Saluki, and City of New Orleans passenger trains ^[8] The tracks themselves, formerly part of the Illinois Central Railroad, are now owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN).^[9] Freight trains run by CN pass through frequently.^{[citation needed]}

Transit service to the depot from Mattoon and Charleston is provided by Dial-A-Ride Rural Public Transportation, which provides deviated fixed-route and demand-response service.

References

1. Sanders, Craig (December 28, 1977). "Closing of Ticket Office Will End Era". The Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. p. 3. Retrieved November 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Work Begun on Mattoon Station". The Effingham Republican. March 8, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved June 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "New Depot Opened". The Windsor Gazette. Windsor, Shelby County, Illinois. January 24, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved June 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal year 2024: State of Illinois" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2025. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
5. National Register of Historic Places listings for Coles County, Illinois. www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com
6. Project Depot: History. www.projectdepot.org Archived 2005-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Renovations complete on eastern Ill. train depot". Chicago Tribune. October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
8. Great American Stations. Accessed March 27, 2013.
9. Great American Stations. Accessed March 27, 2013.

External links

Media related to Mattoon station at Wikimedia Commons

• Mattoon, IL – Amtrak
• Mattoon, IL – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Pictures of the Mattoon station from projectdepot.org.
• Mattoon Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• National Register nomination