The James Whitcomb Riley moved from Main Street to a station at Ellerson (Mechanicsville) on October 15, 1975.[5][2]: 254 Its Newport News section was discontinued on June 15, 1976; it was replaced with the New York City–Newport News Colonial, which stopped at Staples Mill Road.[2]: 254 Staples Mill Road station was Amtrak's only Richmond station until 2003, when Regional (later Northeast Regional) trains serving Newport News began also stopping at Main Street.[5]
A second island platform was added around 2009. The parking lot was doubled in size in 2018.[4][6][7]
Future plans
The May 2019 federal and state approved DC to Richmond plan for expanded rail service between Washington and the Richmond area would include improvements to Staples Mill station:
two accessible platforms, a pedestrian overpass or underpass, and replacement of the station building.[8][9] All Richmond trains would stop at both Staples Mill and Main Street, after extensive track improvements. A new bridge would be built over the James River, and a rail yard constructed in South Richmond. The 2019 plan is coordinated with updates to the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor plan.
In October 2024, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority was awarded a $5.8 million federal grant to improve platforms and accessibility and add a platform canopy at the station.[10]
^ abcWarner, David C.; Goldberg, Bruce (2021). Fifty Years of Amtrak Trains: A Comprehensive Survey of Amtrak Routes: 1971–2021. Bucklin, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN978-1-932804-70-6.
