Columbus is a railway station that serves Columbus, Wisconsin. The station is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, with daily service by the Empire Builder line. This station and the Portage station serve the Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area.HistoryBuilt in 1906 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (The Milwaukee Road), the station is well preserved, and looks much as did when first built. The station area also includes an older freight station. In 2016, a safety fence was constructed between the two mainline tracks running by the station.AmenitiesThe Columbus station is staffed Mondays through Fridays by an Amtrak station master, providing full ticketing and baggage handling services for both the eastbound and westbound Empire Builders on those five days. On weekends, the station is only opened and closed by substitute staff, and no ticketing nor baggage handling services are available on those two days. The depot has a bulletin board with photos of past trips aboard the Empire Builder by former passengers. Also on the wall is a map of Glacier National Park, a popular destination for those travelers on vacation. There is no food service available within the station, but numerous restaurants are located within two blocks of the station. Columbus is not a smoke-break stop for the Empire Builder, and continuing passengers may not step off the train in Columbus.
