Owned by City of Vancouver Disabled access Yes Platforms in use 2 | Tracks 4 Phone +1 800-872-7245 Opened 1908 | |
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Location 1301 West 11th Street
Vancouver, Washington 98660
United States Line(s) BNSF Northwest Division Parking 10 short term and 45 long term dedicated parking spaces Address 1301 W 11th St, Vancouver, WA 98660, USA | ||
Vancouver is an Amtrak train station in Vancouver, Washington, United States. The station is served by the Cascades, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder trains.
Contents
It is a unique, two-sided station situated in a "wye", where passengers board the Empire Builder on the southeast side of the station while the Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight are boarded on the northwest side of the station. The station building is now open after extensive interior renovations.
Of the 19 Washington stations served by Amtrak, Vancouver was the third busiest in FY14.
Service
Although the Amtrak Cascades runs between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, there is no train that starts at one terminus and ends at the other. However, each day eight Amtrak Cascades trains (four northbound and four southbound) stop at the Vancouver, Washington Station. The Coast Starlight and Empire Builder have simpler, less frequent schedules. The Coast Starlightruns daily in each direction between Los Angeles, California and Seattle. The Empire Builderruns daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon. After having split in Spokane, part of the Empire Builder train continues on to Seattle--this part does not pass through or stop at the Vancouver, Washington Station. (The next northbound stop on both the Amtrak Cascades and the Coast Starlight is in Kelso and the next southbound stop is in Portland, Oregon. The next westbound stop on the Empire Builder is also in Portland and next eastbound stop is in Bingen.)
Railfanning
The Amtrak depot is a popular area for railfans to congregate and is a busy railroad junction in the Pacific Northwest. The depot sits within the wye between the BNSF Fallbridge and Seattle subdivisions and is within sight of the southern part of the Vancouver yard. There is free parking around the depot and it is rare that there isn't at least one railfan hanging around taking photographs or just watching trains. In addition to the Amtrak passenger trains, there are also many freight trains operated by BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad and Portland & Western Railroad. BNSF and Union Pacific trains often include locomotives from other railroads of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.