LA, DC Among Most Beautiful Train Stations

Travel + Leisure Magazine has named Los Angeles Union Station and Washington, D.C., Union Station among the world’s most beautiful train stations.

Of the 15 stations highlighted by the travel publication, three are in the U.S. and two are served by daily Amtrak service. The third U.S. station is New York City’s Grand Central Station, which serves commuter lines in and out of Manhattan.

“Whether neo-Baroque or contemporary, the world’s most beautiful train stations were designed to make a big impression,” says the list’s author Lyndsey Matthews, who also highlighted train stations in India, the United Kingdom and Madrid in her reporting.

A well-planned train station is one of the best investments a community can make, and even smaller stops within the Amtrak system are redeveloping their stations as places for tourism, business investment and civic pride.

Smaller communities including Hattiesburg, Miss., and  Normal, Ill., have recently invested in their stations to yield sizable economic benefits, including multi-million-dollar private developments in surrounding areas, restored parks and civic buildings and increased home values.

Think your community’s station could be the next LA Union Station or Washington station? Check out GreatAmericanStations.com, a one-stop shop on how to develop your local station and harness its economic power.

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