Wilson, NC (WLN)

401 East Nash Street
Wilson, NC 27893

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $3,738,850
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 71,892

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: City of Wilson
• Parking Lot Ownership: City of Wilson
• Platform Ownership: CSX Transportation
• Track Ownership: CSX Transportation

• Carolinian
• Palmetto

Todd Stennis
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnol@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Wilson
• NC By Train

The Wilson Amtrak station was constructed in 1924 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Designed by A.M. Griffin in the Flemish style, this one-story brick building sports Spanish terra cotta roof tiles and an umbrella canopy that stretches the length of the station. In 2023, the Wilson City Council voted to rename the station in honor of George Kenneth (G.K.) Butterfield Jr. Born in Wilson, Butterfield represented the area in the United States House of Representatives from 2004 to 2022. His long career in public service also included time as an attorney, superior court judge and associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Amtrak completed a $4 million improvement project at the station in late 2024 in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration and in cooperation with the city, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and freight railroad CSX. The project was part of Amtrak’s commitment to ensure a safe, efficient and comfortable travel experience for customers. The station gained a new 435-foot-long concrete platform with lighting, guardrails and signage. The platform provides a sturdy, uniform surface for customers to board on and off the train and includes a detectable warning system along its edge. The system is a hazard warning to alert customers who are blind or have low vision if they are close to the platform edge. Customers also will find accessible paths of travel to and from the station, parking spaces, the Thruway bus section and the intersection of Nash and Lodge streets.

An earlier $3 million station rehabilitation took place at the close of the 20th century and was completed in three phases. In phase one, the building was completely modernized while preserving and restoring the original architecture. A new platform in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and canopy connecting the depot with the platform were constructed, and the waiting room, baggage room, ticket office and vending area were renovated. The construction began in 1996 and was completed two years later. In phase two, completed in 2003, the city and state added long-term parking facilities and enhanced the look of the facility with additional landscaping. Phase three involved canopy restoration.

In the waiting room, visitors will find a 19′ by 10′ mural completed in 1999 that depicts 100 years of Wilson’s railroad-related history. It features a trio of steam and diesel locomotives and was commissioned by the NCDOT and painted by artist Michael Brown.

Like many small towns in the 19th century, the railroad was the center of growth and prosperity for Wilson. In late 1839, the Wilmington-Weldon and Raleigh Railroad completed tracks that stopped through two stations: Toisnot Junction Station and Hickory Grove. The town of Wilson was born by joining together the town of Toisnot Junction and Hickory Grove. It was named for General Louis Dicken Wilson, a state senator and an early advocate of the public school movement.

Wilson, known as the City of Beautiful Trees, was incorporated in 1849 as a farm market. At the time, tar and turpentine were the primary cash products, with cotton growing in importance in the 1860s. After the Civil War, farmers found a better market in tobacco, and by the turn of the 20th century, Wilson became the world’s largest bright leaf tobacco market. Wilson is also home to Imagination Station, an imaginative science learning center for children.

The Carolinian service is financed primarily through funds made available by the State of North Carolina.

Station Building (with waiting room)