Early stations The
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) opened through Fredericksburg on January 23, 1837. The town had only a platform with no shelter until a small wooden depot was built in 1850. It was located on the south side of the tracks between what are now Charles Street and Princess Anne Street. The adjacent bridge over the
Rappahannock River was destroyed early in the Civil War, and regular service did not fully resume until the 1870s. It was located one block east of the former stations on the north side of the tracks, closer to the downtown area. Built in the
Colonial Revival style, it cost $125,000. The PF&P was converted to standard gauge in 1926 and became the Virginia Central Railway. It was abandoned in 1937 except for a short section at the Fredericksburg end, which lasted until 1984.
Passenger service on the RF&P primarily consisted of long-distance trains serving the southern states, which the railroad carried between Washington and Richmond. By 1955, the line carried 14 daily long-distance round trips plus one Washington–Richmond local round trip, all of which stopped at Fredericksburg. On January 6, 1956, the railroad eliminated
racial segregation at Fredericksburg station in response to an order from the
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) on an official basis. The railroad had been removing signage denoting the race-based locations for a month prior in expectation of the announcement.
Amtrak era '' at the station The RF&P's passenger service was taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Local service was re-introduced by
Virginia Railway Express in 1992 when the station became the southern terminus of the Fredericksburg Line. Since 1997, the station building has been occupied by restaurants. The Fredericksburg Line was extended south to a new terminus at
Spotsylvania station in November 2015. The station underwent a major restoration project between 2010 and 2011. Plans for the
Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor call for a third track and an expanded station slightly to the east. As part of the environmental permitting for that project, the station was evaluated for potential listing on the
National Register of Historic Places, for which it was found to be eligible. ==Notes==