 The station, which is located near the former Rutland Railroad yard on the western edge of downtown, opened in 1999.Designed by local firm NBF Architects, the station has walls of red brick that rise from a base of textured gray concrete block.To celebrate Rutland native Jim Jeffords, who represented Vermont in Congress, city leaders renamed the station the “James M. Jeffords Rail Passenger Welcome Center.”

Rutland's first railway station was built near Merchants' Row in 1853-54 by the Rutland Railroad.