Historic Williston Amtrak Station in North Dakota Oil Basin

The Williston Amtrak station is a train station in Williston, North Dakota served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. This brick station was built in 1910 by the Great Northern Railway and is located at the south end of Williston's downtown.

Williston is a city in Williams County, North Dakota, in the United States. It is the county seat of Williams County. Williston was founded in 1887. It was named for Daniel Willis James, who served on the board of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Williston is also the home of the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant.

The Historic Red Brick Station Building and Platform

The station building and platform are both constructed out of red brick. The city is in the initial phase of discussions about facility renovations and recently, the station's interior was modernized. The building has its own waiting room and is regularly staffed by an Amtrak employee. The station is served by Amtrak's daily Empire Builder and serves six other cities in North Dakota. In 2007, it was the second-busiest Amtrak station in North Dakota, with an average of about 62 passengers boarding or detraining each day.

A recent article in the Minot Daily News said that if Minot were to lose Amtrak service, they would lose access points to the outside world which is key to their region. The importance of the Amtrak service to the area was further heightened with the recent increase of oil and gas prices which made the people prefer to use the Amtrak instead of private vehicles.

Williston's economy is driven by Agriculture and the Oil industry

Williston's economy is driven by agriculture and the oil industry. Williston is near the geographic center of the Williston Oil Basin. A major regional grain elevator is served by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Williston's livestock arena has weekly auctions.

A thriving tourism industry centers around Forts Union and Buford, as well as the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Williston is also near the north unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The tourist industry is expected to grow once the four-lane divided US Highway 2 across the state of North Dakota, paralleling US Interstate 94 to the south, is completed.