Skip to content

Durham Station

02-Jan-09

 

Last Train To Boston

Last Train To Boston

 

Photograph © Bob Orsillo

Durham Station Open in 1912 and was rebuilt in 2008. It is owned by UNH (University of New Hampshire)

 

The railroad station in Durham, New Hampshire serves the Amtrak Downeaster andis situated west of downtown Durham on thecampus 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 station is open 6:30am until 8pm - soon to be expanded. Tickets must be purchased at the Quik-Trak kiosk located in the lobby of the adjacent Whittemore Center Arena - though soon to be moved to the new station.

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 atstations in Dover or Exeter, New Hampshire, the stations north and south respectively ofDurham.

The University operates both a freeon-campus bus shuttle service, Campus Connector Shuttle, and Wildcat Transit, an off-campusserviceserving the cities and towns of Dover, Lee, Madbury, Newmarket, Newington andPortsmouth. The service operates year round but scales back outside of the academic year. Intercity bus service to Boston also now uses the service. There is a Wildcat Transit and UNH CampusConnector bus stop approximately 1000 feet from the platform on Main Street.

The station is located within walking distance of downtown, the core UNH campus, the WhittemoreCenter Arena and the New England Center.