Atlanta's Charming Amtrak Station - Brookwood Station or Peachtree Station

Atlanta hosts the United States' largest airport in traffic and one of the smallest Amtrak stations for a major city.  The Brookwood or Peachtree Station is located on the corner of Peachtree Street, NW (1688) and Deering Road, NW in the Buckhead section of Atlanta just north of Midtown.  According to the Performance Improvement Plan for the Crescent Service released last week,  the Brookwood Station was constructed in 1917 as a suburban rail stop on the Southern Railway (the Norfolk Southern Railway operates the tracks under the station currently).  Since all of the Atlanta's downtown stations were demolished by 1972, first the Southern Railway then Amtrak moved passenger operations to Brookwood.

The station is woefully inadequate.  It has little interior space with room for Amtrak's operations, a few benches, restrooms and vending machines.  The platform is two stories below the building reached by a steep set of stairs or a single elevator.  The platform itself is covered but exposed to the elements.  Proposals for new stations south of the current one close to the Atlantic Station development and downtown have been made but funding has not arrived for any of them yet.  It looks like we will have to deal with the current station for at least a few more years.  But given Amtrak's desire to start Thruway bus service to/from the station and eventually start additional passenger train service from Atlanta, a change will eventually take place.

In the meantime, here are the particulars of the Brookwood Station.  It is open from 7:00 am to 9:30 pm daily.  It has both human and Quik-Trak Kiosk ticketing alternatives.  Also, you can check baggage for either the northbound Crescent train going to New York or southbound train going to New Orleans during station hours.  As indicated above, there is no food service just vending machines.

Parking is a problem there.  If you can have someone drop you off or pick you up, that would be best.  If you must drive to the station, there is a lot across Deering at the Masonic Lodge that can be utilized during weekdays.  For long term stays, drop off your baggage and other passengers at the station and park four blocks north (1875 Peachtree Rd NW) at the Elite Parking facility.  The cost is $10/day and you must make reservations in advance by calling 404-892-1234.  Otherwise the 110 Bus stops in front of the station and continues south on Peachtree to 15th Street NE where you can walk two blocks to the Arts Center Metro Station.  From the Arts Center Station, you can take the Red Line south to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport.

To rent a car, contact the Avis Buckhead location at 305 Pharr Road in the Sheraton Lobby.  (Save up to 20% when you use the link.)  They are open 8 to 6 on weekdays, 9 to 1 on Saturdays and 11 to 3 on Sundays.  You should also try the Thrifty Downtown location at 221 Peachtree Center Avenue NE.  (Receive a 5% discount when you use the link).  They are open from 8 to 6 weekdays and 9-2 on Saturdays.  They are closed on Sunday.  If one of these works for you, see if they will pick you up from the Brookwood Station or if they will reimburse you for taxi fare.  During off hours, you may want to rent from Enterprise's airport location and see if they will pick you up.  It is open 24 hours a day every day.

There isn't much in the area for shopping or eating.  Across the street at the Brookwood Shopping Center there is spa, kitchen store and Kaiser Permanente location.  Also, there is an Italian restaurant, Baroni and a well-regarded Thai place named Tuk Tuk. About one-half mile away is Atlantic Station which is a "festival shopping center" anchored by Dillard's, Target and Publix with about 40 stores and 20 food vendors.

If you planning to stay in Atlanta and you wish to book hotel close to the train station, we can recommend the following:

Value and Close:  Super 8, 1641 Peachtree Rd - Across the street and on the other side of I-85.  Free breakfast, free high-speed internet and did we say it is cheap?

Moderate:  Residence Inn Atlanta, Midtown 17th Street, 1365 Peachtree - A  little further away but nice.  Recently renovated.  Free breakfast and evening manager's reception and free high-speed internet.  Close to Atlantic Station and the historical Fox Theatre.

Luxurious:  Renaissance Atlanta Midtown, 866 W Peachtree St NW - Boutique luxury hotel not far from Georgia Tech University.  Features the Briza restaurant and next door to the Rooftop 866 lounge.  PURE Allergy-Free guest rooms available upon request.

Amtrak is Coming to Macon and Columbus, GA, Chattanooga, TN, Montgomery, AL and Jackson, MS

This week, Amtrak released a plan to improve service on five of the Eastern long-distance routes.  One of the lines studied is the Crescent serving New York, Philadelphia, Washington, New Orleans and points in-between.  One of the recommendations is the initiation of Amtrak Thruway bus service from Atlanta to Macon and Columbus, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee; from Birmingham to Montgomery, Alabama; and from Meridian, Mississippi to Jackson, Mississippi.

The Amtrak Thruway services extends the reach of the train system to cities that do not have train service.  Buses, vans, taxis, commuter trains and ferries provide Thruway service in many parts of the United States.  The Thruway service is coordinated with the main train service so that schedules are matched.  Most of the times, if there is a delay on either service, the other one will wait for the other service to arrive before departing.  Passengers are able to buy one ticket through Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL) utilizing both the train line and the connecting Thruway service if purchased in advance.

At the Atlanta station (1688 Peachtree St NW, 30309), it is likely that the buses will depart from Deering Street on a staggered schedule given the tight space available.  Birmingham is building an intermodal station so until it is completed a temporary stop will have to be created for the bus.  The Meridian to Jackson service will connect with the City of New Orleans in Jackson increasing the train travel possibilities between the mid-South and Southeast.

Amtrak is projecting a ridership of over 30,000 annually on all of these new Thruway services with a net profit of over $1 million.