View source for Dallas Union Station

{{Short description|Large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox station
| name               = Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station<br />{{Small|Dallas, TX}}
| other_name         = {{Unbulleted list|Dallas Union Station|EBJ Union Station}}
| style              = Amtrak
| type               = 
| image              = Dallas Union Station Wiki (1 of 1).jpg
| caption            = 
| address            = 400 South Houston Street
| borough            = [[Dallas, Texas]]
| country            = United States
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|46|34|N|96|48|27|W|region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
| owned              = City of Dallas
| line               = Dallas/[[Union Pacific Railroad|UP]]<!-- the physical "line" is not the same as "services" which are detailed below -->
| platforms          = 1 [[side platform|side]] and 2 [[island platforms]]
| tracks             = 5 + 2 [[through track]]s
| train_operators    = [[Amtrak]], [[Trinity Railway Express|TRE]] and [[DART rail]]
| connections        = {{rint|bus|1}} [[Dallas Area Rapid Transit|DART]]: {{DART EB|9}}, {{DART EB|45}}, {{DART EB|47}}, {{DART EB|214}}, {{DART EB|224}}, {{DART EB|306}}, {{DART EB|378}}, {{DART EB|383}}<br>[https://www.ridecircuit.com/westdallas West Dallas Shuttle]
| structure          = At-grade
| parking            = 20 long-term and 20 short-term spaces
| accessible         = Yes
| architect          = [[Jarvis Hunt]]
| architectural_style = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| code               = {{Amtrak code|DAL}}
| zone               = TRE: East
| opened             = {{Start date|1916|10|14}}
| closed             = 
| rebuilt            = 1996, 2010
| former             = Dallas Union Terminal
| mpassengers        = {{rail pass box|system=Amtrak|passengers={{Amtrak ridership|Dallas}}{{Amtrak ridership|citationTX}}|pass_year={{Amtrak ridership|date}}}}
| services           = {{Adjacent stations|system1=Amtrak
|line1=Texas Eagle|left1=Fort Worth|right1=Mineola
|system2=Trinity Railway Express
|line2=TRE|left2=Victory
|system3=Dallas Area Rapid Transit
|line3=Blue|left3=Convention Center|right3=West End
|line4=Red|left4=Convention Center|right4=West End
|line5=Dallas Streetcar|right5=Greenbriar
}}
| other_services2_header = Former services
| other_services2_collapsible = yes
| other_services2    = {{Adjacent stations|system=Amtrak|line=Inter-American|left=Fort Worth|right=Longview
|line2=Texas Eagle|to-left2=Houston|left2=Corsicana|right2=Mineola|note-mid2=''Until 1995''
|line3=Lone Star|to-left3=Houston|left3=Fort Worth|right3=Cleburne|note-mid3=1975–1979|
|system4=Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
|line4=San Angelo-Dallas|left4=Fort Worth|right4=
|line5=Cleburne-Paris|left5=Duncanville|right5=Reinhardt
|system6=Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
|line6=Denver-Houston|left6=Fort Worth|right6=Waxahachie|note-mid6=[[Fort Worth and Denver Railway]]
|system7=Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
|line7=Teague-Minneapolis|left7=Waxahachie|right7=Irving
|system8=Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad
|line8=Main|left8=Waxahachie|right8=Highland Park|to-left8=Galveston|note-mid8=via Dallas
|line9=Dallas and Denton|left9=Roselawn
|system10=Missouri Pacific Railroad
|line10=El Paso-New Orleans|left10=Fort Worth|right10=Terrell
|system11=Frisco
|line11=Dallas Branch|left11=Irving
|system12=St. Louis Southwestern Railway
|line12=Main|right12=Addison
|line13=Dallas Branch|left13=Addison
}}
| other_services_header = Proposed services
| other_services_collapsible = yes
| other_services     = {{Adjacent stations|system=Amtrak|line=Crescent|left=Fort Worth|right=Mineola|to-left=Fort Worth|note-mid=Proposed Texas Section}}
| nrhp               = {{Infobox NRHP
 | embed = yes
 | name = Dallas Union Terminal
 | nrhp_type =
 | locmapin = Texas#USA
 | map_label = Dallas Union Station
 | locmap_relief = yes
 | added = May 29, 1975
| mapframe = yes
 | mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#000 |zoom=15 }}
 | area = {{convert|5|acre}}
 | refnum = 75001966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref>
 | designated_other1=TSAL
 | designated_other1_date=January 1, 1981
 | designated_other1_number=[https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000214 8200000214]
 | designated_other1_num_position=bottom
 | designated_other2=RTHL
 | designated_other2_date=1979
 | designated_other2_number=[http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5113006908 6908]
 | designated_other2_num_position=bottom
 | designated_other3 = Dallas Landmark
 | designated_other3_date = January 17, 1977<ref name="DalOrd">{{cite web|title=Ordinance No. 15382|url=http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/HP%20Documents/Landmark%20Structures/Union%20Station%20Terminal%20Ord%2015382.pdf|author=Lee E. Holt|date=January 17, 1977|publisher=City of Dallas|access-date=July 24, 2018}}</ref>
 | designated_other3_number = [http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/Dallas-Landmark-Structures.aspx H/5]
 | designated_other3_num_position = bottom
}}
}}
'''Dallas Union Station''', officially '''Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station''' (or simply '''EBJ Union Station'''), also known as '''Dallas Union Terminal''', is a large [[intermodal passenger transport|intermodal]] railroad station in [[Dallas, Texas]]. It is located on [[Houston Street (Dallas)|Houston Street]] in the [[Reunion, Dallas|Reunion]] district of [[Downtown Dallas]]. The structure is a [[Dallas Landmark]] and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

The station serves the {{DART R|style=nl}} and {{DART B|style=nl}} lines of [[DART rail]], the [[Dallas Streetcar]], {{DART TRE}} [[commuter rail]], and [[Amtrak]] [[inter-city rail]]. The station is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, behind [[Fort Worth Central Station]] and [[San Antonio station (Texas)|San Antonio station]].<ref>Amtrak, State of Texas factsheet, Fiscal Year 2019, page 1 https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/TEXAS19.pdf</ref> It is also the busiest Trinity Railway Express station.<ref name="TRE Ridership">{{Cite web |date=May 2025 |title=Dallas Area Rapid Transit Reference Book, Version 16.0 |url=https://dartorgcmsblob.dart.org/prod/docs/default-source/dart-facts/2025-dart-reference-book.pdf |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=[[Dallas Area Rapid Transit]] |pages=37}}</ref>

==Services==
[[File:Texas Eagle 421 Dallas.jpg|left|thumb|[[Texas Eagle]] #421 in Dallas Union Station led by [[Amtrak]] [[GE Genesis|P42DC]] #69]]
[[File:Dallas Union Station August 2015 1.jpg|thumb|left|Looking across tracks and platforms]]
The station is served by Amtrak's ''[[Texas Eagle]]'' with [[Chicago]] as the eastern terminus and either [[San Antonio]] or [[Los Angeles]] as the western terminus and later by proposed [[Crescent (train)]]. The light rail station serves as a stop on the {{DART R|style=nl}} {{DART B|style=nl}} lines as well as the {{DART TRE|style=abbr}}. Union Station is the northern terminus of the [[Dallas Streetcar]] and provides access to the [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]] bus terminal, the George Allen Courts Building, [[Dealey Plaza]], the [[Hyatt Regency Dallas]] at Reunion and [[Reunion Tower]].<ref>{{cite news |title=DART celebrates 25 years with free doughnuts at Union Station |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/081408dnmetDART.419b4c06.html?npc |first=Blanca |last=Cantu |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=2008-08-13}}</ref>

The first floor is occupied by an Amtrak ticketing window, a waiting room, and privately rented offices. The second floor contains the restored Grand Hall and several meeting rooms named after railroads that previously serviced Dallas. The second floor and a mezzanine are operated by [[Wolfgang Puck]] Catering.<ref name=unionstationwebsite>{{cite web|url=http://www.unionstationdallas.com/|title=Union Station Website|access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>

==History==
The [[Union Terminal Company]] constructed the Dallas Union Terminal, as Union Station was originally called, in 1916 to consolidate five rail stations scattered around Dallas into one, making Dallas a major transportation center in the Southern United States. At the peak of its usage, as many as 80 trains stopped each day at the station.<ref name="dart">{{cite web | title=EBJ Union Station |url=https://www.dart.org/guide/transit-and-use/rail/rail-station-detail/ebj-union-station |access-date=April 13, 2025 |work=DART}}</ref> It was designed by [[Jarvis Hunt]], who designed other large train stations. Railroads served by the station included [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] ('Santa Fe'), [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway]] ('Cotton Belt'), [[Fort Worth & Denver Railway]], [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]] ('Rock Island'), [[Burlington-Rock Island Railroad]], [[St. Louis and San Francisco Railway]] ('Frisco'), [[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad]] ('Katy'), [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] and [[Texas & Pacific Railway]].<ref>'Official Guide of the Railways,' National Railway Publication Company, August 1936, Index of Stations</ref>

In 1954, the building served as a temporary library while the [[Dallas Public Library]] system built a new [[Old Dallas Central Library|central library]] to replace the original Carnegie Library.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Dallas Library |title=100 Years of History |url=http://www.dallaslibrary.org/100/historySynopsis.htm |access-date=2006-05-01}}</ref>

Originally, the 2nd level waiting room was connected to train platforms via an overhead walkway, but this design was never popular with travelers as they needed to climb a large number of stairs. [[Escalator]]s were added, but the Grand Hall was finally abandoned in favor of renovated ticketing and a waiting room on the ground floor (still in use today). Also, an underground corridor replaced the overhead walkway, with ramps at each platform. Despite Dallas' status as the second most populous city of the state at the time, the Dallas Union Station was eclipsed in some regard by Fort Worth Union Station. For example, the Rock Island Railroad's ''[[Twin Star Rocket]]'' from Minneapolis terminated at Fort Worth, not at Dallas. The Santa Fe Railroad's ''[[Texas Chief]]'' from Chicago also took its route through Fort Worth, en route to Houston.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Rock Island Lines, Table 4 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=97 |issue=7 |date=December 1964}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Santa Fe Lines, Tables 41, 43 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=97 |issue=7 |date=December 1964}}</ref>

The last passenger train to serve Union Station before the inauguration of [[Amtrak]], the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]]'s ''[[Texas Eagle (MP train)|Texas Eagle]],'' left on May 31, 1969.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Rosenbaum|first=Joel|title=Arising again like the phoenix|page=37|issue=July/August 2017|volume=14|url=https://cowcatchermagazine.com/2017-cowcatcher-magazine/|magazine=[[Cowcatcher Magazine]]|publisher=[[Ballpark Impressions, LLC]]}}</ref> When it began in the spring of 1971, Amtrak initially consolidated most of its Metroplex service at [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Passenger Station|Fort Worth]], but planned to introduce service to Dallas once improvements were made at Union Terminal, which it considered outdated. With those improvements, Amtrak service began on March 14, 1974, with the ''[[Inter-American (train)|Inter-American]]'' between St. Louis and Laredo; the train evolved into today's ''[[Texas Eagle]].'' From 1975 to 1979, the station was also served by the ''[[Lone Star (Amtrak train)|Lone Star]],'' a descendant of an old Santa Fe mainstay, the ''[[Texas Chief]].''

DART's light-rail service began at the station on June 14, 1996.<ref name="unionstationwebsite" /> The station's upper-level waiting room was repurposed into meeting and convention space for the [[Hyatt Regency Dallas]], which is connected via an underground walkway.

In October 2016, the Dallas City Council renamed the station to '''Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station''' in honor of U.S. Representative [[Eddie Bernice Johnson]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hallman |first1=Tristan |title=Dallas' Union Station to be renamed for Democratic U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2016/10/11/dallas-union-station-to-be-renamed-for-democratic-u-s-rep-eddie-bernice-johnson/ |access-date=1 January 2022 |work=Dallas Morning News |date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101230430/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2016/10/11/dallas-union-station-to-be-renamed-for-democratic-u-s-rep-eddie-bernice-johnson/ |archive-date=1 January 2022}}</ref>  In April 2019, DART approved the new name and held a dedication ceremony.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sarder |first1=Sarah |title=DART renames downtown Union Station after Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2019/04/10/dart-renames-downtown-union-station-after-dallas-rep-eddie-bernice-johnson/ |access-date=1 January 2022 |work=Dallas Morning News |date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101225820/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2019/04/10/dart-renames-downtown-union-station-after-dallas-rep-eddie-bernice-johnson/ |archive-date=1 January 2022}}</ref> It is mostly referred to as '''EBJ Union Station'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=EBJ Union Station |url=https://www.dart.org/riding/stations/ebjunionstation.asp |website=Dallas Area Rapid Transit |access-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101233156/https://dart.org/riding/stations/ebjunionstation.asp |archive-date=1 January 2022}}</ref>

==Murals==
In 1934, as part of the federally sponsored [[Public Works of Art Project]], [[Jerry Bywaters]] and Alexander Hogue were granted the first commission in Texas to create a series of 10 murals depicting events in Dallas history.  They had painted them on the walls of the second-floor lobby at the old [[Dallas Municipal Building|Dallas City Hall]] Building, located on Harwood Street between [[Main Street, Dallas, Texas|Main]] and Commerce Streets.  In 1954, the original murals were destroyed when City Hall relocated.  When the station was renovated to accommodate light rail usage, the murals were partially recreated by Phillip Lamb along the train platforms at Union Station.<ref name="dart"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Trains|Texas}}
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Texas]]
*[[List of Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks (Cameron-Duval)#Dallas County|Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Dallas County]]
*[[List of Dallas Landmarks]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Amtrak web|DAL|Dallas, TX}}
*[https://www.dart.org/guide/transit-and-use/rail/rail-station-detail/ebj-union-station Union Station – Dallas Area Rapid Transit]
*[https://trinityrailwayexpress.org/stations/#dallascounty Dallas County stations – Trinity Railway Express]
*[http://www.unionstationdallas.com/ Union Station – Wolfgang Puck event venue]
*[http://www.texaseagle.com/stations/DAL.htm Dallas Union Station] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032208/http://www.texaseagle.com/stations/DAL.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}, from Amtrak's ''Texas Eagle'' website
*[http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/dallas.htm Dallas Amtrak-DART-TRE Station (USA Rail Guide — Train Web)]

{{Amtrak Texas stations}}
{{Downtown Dallas}}
{{Trinity Railway Express navbox}}
{{Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations navbox}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}

[[Category:Amtrak stations in Texas|Dallas]]
[[Category:Economy of Dallas]]
[[Category:Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail stations in Dallas]]
[[Category:Trinity Railway Express stations]]
[[Category:Union stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1916]]
[[Category:Transit centers in the United States]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in Texas]]
[[Category:Former Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad stations|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Former St. Louis–San Francisco Railway stations|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Former Texas and Pacific Railway stations|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Former St. Louis Southwestern Railway stations|Dallas]]
[[Category:Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad stations|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations in Texas|Dallas, Texas]]
[[Category:Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Dallas]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dallas]]
[[Category:Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks]]
[[Category:Dallas Landmarks]]
[[Category:Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Dallas County, Texas]]
[[Category:Blue Line (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)]]
[[Category:Red Line (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)]]