Mineola (Amtrak station)
Encyclopedia
The Mineola Amtrak station is a train station in Mineola
, Texas
, United States
served by Amtrak
, the national railroad passenger system. The station was originally built in 1906 by the Texas and Pacific Railway
and also used by the Missouri Pacific Railroad
. According to Willie Brown
, who grew up in Mineola, the station was built as the result of his persistent lobbying of President Bill Clinton
. Responding to an Amtrak report that a survey did not reveal anyone wanting to get off in Mineola, Brown reportedly told Clinton: "The reason to stop in Mineola is not to let anybody off. It's to let the people on. Look at me! I left!" Amtrak's own press release on the station, however, credits "Mineola community leaders" with the successful effort.
Of the 19 Texas stations served by Amtrak, Mineola was the 11th-busiest in FY2010, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 18 passengers daily.
Mineola, Texas
Mineola is a city in Wood County, Texas, United States. It lies at the junction of U.S. highways 69 and 80, eighty miles east of Dallas in southwestern Wood County...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
served by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national railroad passenger system. The station was originally built in 1906 by the Texas and Pacific Railway
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California....
and also used by the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
. According to Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
, who grew up in Mineola, the station was built as the result of his persistent lobbying of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Responding to an Amtrak report that a survey did not reveal anyone wanting to get off in Mineola, Brown reportedly told Clinton: "The reason to stop in Mineola is not to let anybody off. It's to let the people on. Look at me! I left!" Amtrak's own press release on the station, however, credits "Mineola community leaders" with the successful effort.
Of the 19 Texas stations served by Amtrak, Mineola was the 11th-busiest in FY2010, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 18 passengers daily.