New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

Rail station in New Orleans, Louisiana "New Orleans station" redirects here. For the census-designated place, see New Orleans Station, Louisiana.

New Orleans, Louisiana

General information

Location

1001 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana
United States

Coordinates

29°56′46″N 90°04′43″W / 29.94611°N 90.07861°W / 29.94611; -90.07861

Owned by

City of New Orleans

Platforms

4 island platforms

Tracks

6 (formerly 9+)

Train operators

Amtrak

Bus stands

Bus operators

Greyhound Lines, Megabus

Connections

New Orleans Regional Transit Authority

Construction

Parking

180 long term spaces

Accessible

Yes

Other information

Station code

Amtrak: NOL

History

Opened

1954

Rebuilt

2005 (renovation)

Passengers

FY 2023

156,720 (Amtrak)

Services

Preceding station	Amtrak		Following station
Terminus		City of New Orleans	Hammondtoward Chicago
Terminus		Crescent	Slidelltoward New York
Schrievertoward Los Angeles		Sunset Limited	Terminus
Preceding station	New Orleans Regional Transit Authority		Following station
Terminus		Rampart–St. Claude	Julia Streettoward Elysian Fields Avenue
Terminus		Loyola-Riverfront	Julia Streettoward French Market

Former services

Preceding station	Amtrak		Following station
Schrievertoward Los Angeles		Sunset Limited(1993–2005)	Bay St. Louistoward Orlando or Miami
Terminus		Gulf Coast Limited	Bay St. Louis(1996–1997)toward Mobile
Terminus		Gulf Coast Limited	East New Orleans(1984–1985)toward Mobile
Preceding station	Illinois Central Railroad		Following station
Terminus		Main Line	Carrollton Avenuetoward Chicago
Terminus		New Orleans – Baton Rouge	Carrollton Avenuetoward Baton Rouge
Preceding station	Kansas City Southern Railway		Following station
Carrollton Avenuetoward Hope		Louisiana and Arkansas Railway	Terminus
Preceding station	Louisville and Nashville Railroad		Following station
Terminus		Main Line	Carrollton Avenuetoward Cincinnati
Preceding station	Missouri Pacific Railroad		Following station
Avondaletoward Alexandria		Alexandria – New Orleans	Terminus
Carrollton Avenuetoward El Paso		Texas and Pacific Railway Main Line
Carrollton Avenuetoward Houston		Houston – New Orleans
Preceding station	Southern Pacific Railroad		Following station
Carrollton Avenuetoward Los Angeles		Sunset Route	Terminus
Preceding station	Southern Railway		Following station
Terminus		New Orleans – Cincinnati	Carrollton Avenuetoward Cincinnati

Future services

Preceding station	Amtrak			Following station
Terminus		Gulf Coast(February 2025)		Bay St. Louistoward Mobile
Jefferson Parishtoward Baton Rouge		New Orleans–Baton Rouge(possibly 2027)		Terminus

Location

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) is an intermodal facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, US. Located at 1001 Loyola Avenue, it is served by Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, Megabus, and NORTA with direct connections to the Rampart–St. Claude Streetcar Line.

The station is the major southern terminus hub for Amtrak, serving three long-distance trains, the City of New Orleans, the Crescent, and the Sunset Limited. Between 1993 and the strike of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Sunset Limited continued east to Florida. Since the hurricane, New Orleans has been the eastern terminus of the route, although in 2016 Amtrak did propose bringing back service east of New Orleans.

Amtrak operates a coach and engine yard near the terminal.

History

Union Passenger Terminal was built just west of the older New Orleans Union Station to consolidate the city's passenger rail operations. Previously, New Orleans had been served by five stations–Union Station, the Southern Railway Terminal, T&P Station, Louisiana & Arkansas Station, and Louisville & Nashville Station.

Parts of the station property also are over what once was the turning basin for the New Basin Canal. The main lead track to the terminal follows the path of the old canal (which was filled in) and the Pontchartrain Expressway/I-10.

NOUPT was designed in 1949 by the New Orleans architectural firms of Wogan and Bernard, Jules K. de la Vergne, and August Perez and Associates. When it opened in 1954, it was considered an ultramodern facility, completed just at the time that air travel was taking off at the expense of rail travel.

The stub-end terminal consists of covered platforms and a modern waiting hall. A 120-foot (37 m) long mural of Louisiana and New Orleans history, painted by Conrad A. Albrizio with the assistance of James Fisher, was restored after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. The freight and express houses are now the domain of the Smoothie King Center and Main Post Office.

In the 1970s, parts of two platforms were shortened to allow for Greyhound Lines to move its service there, creating an intermodal facility.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak provided the first commercial transportation out of New Orleans. During the recovery efforts, the bus station at NOUPT was used for a temporary jail nicknamed Camp Greyhound.

In January 2013, the station became the terminus for the new mile-long Loyola Avenue-Union Passenger Terminal Streetcar Line connecting Canal Street with the Central Business District and destinations such as the Superdome. The $52 million project was largely funded through a $45 million Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant awarded to the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Megabus started operations at the Union Passenger Terminal in 2015.

Gulf Coast regional officials have been advocating for restoration of daily train service between New Orleans and Florida since 2016.

In February 2021, it was announced that passenger rail service would return to the Gulf Coast with a new Amtrak route between New Orleans and Mobile. Stops include Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. Service is expected to begin in February 2025.

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal track map

Legend