Ephrata station

Last updated

Ephrata, WA
Ephrata Station and GTA bus.jpg
Ephrata station with Grant Transit Authority bus
General information
Location24 Alder Street
Ephrata, Washington
United States
Coordinates 47°19′15″N119°32′58″W / 47.32089°N 119.54935°W / 47.32089; -119.54935
Owned byCity of Ephrata
Line(s) BNSF Columbia River Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsAiga bus trans.svg Amtrak Thruway
Aiga bus trans.svg Grant Transit Authority
Aiga bus trans.svg Northwestern Trailways
Construction
ParkingYes
Other information
Station code Amtrak: EPH
History
Rebuilt1994
Passengers
FY 20232,554 [1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Wenatchee
toward Seattle
Empire Builder Spokane
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Wenatchee
toward Seattle
North Coast Hiawatha Spokane
toward Chicago
Expo '74 Spokane
Terminus
Location
Ephrata station

Ephrata is a train station on Amtrak's Empire Builder line in Ephrata, Washington. The station and parking are owned by the city government, while the track and platforms are owned by BNSF Railway. [2] [3] Northwestern Trailways provides inter-city bus transportation next to the station while local transit is provided by the Grant Transit Authority. [4]

Contents

History

Passenger rail service to Ephrata began in 1893 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway, particularly services like the Empire Builder and Western Star . Ephrata was the smallest town to be served by Great Northern's streamlined passenger trains through the mid-20th century. [5] After Amtrak took over the national passenger rail network in 1971, the Western Star was eliminated and the Empire Builder stopped serving Ephrata. [6] The loss of passenger rail service also affected postal deliveries to Ephrata, which were switched from trains to trucks. [7] Amtrak service to Ephrata began on June 11, 1973, with a routing change for the North Coast Hiawatha . [8] The trains stopped at an existing depot that served freight until December 1973. [9]

The Ephrata stop served few passengers and was slated for closure as part of cuts in 1977, [10] but was kept as an unstaffed station. [11] The North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979, ending passenger service to Ephrata and Wenatchee. [12] The Empire Builder returned to its original route in 1981, restoring passenger service to Ephrata. [13] [14] The existing Amtrak station was renovated and expanded to include a new multimodal transportation center and office space for the local chamber of commerce, re-opening on November 7, 1994. [15] [16]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Amtrak - Great American Stations". Amtrak . Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2008, State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. October 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Daily Trailways Service Schedule". Northwestern Trailways. September 1, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  5. ↑ Starmont, Leon (February 22, 1948). "Ephrata: Desert Oasis Now a Thriving Capital". The Spokesman-Review . p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  6. ↑ "Goodbye To Some Old Friends". Grant County Journal . May 6, 1971. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Amtrak Causes Changes in Ephrata's Mail Service". Spokane Chronicle . May 6, 1971. p. 3. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  8. ↑ "Amtrak Plans Ephrata Stop This Summer". Spokane Chronicle. May 3, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  9. ↑ "Depot Shut". Spokane Chronicle. December 7, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  10. ↑ Allen, Rob (March 4, 1977). "Passenger trains to skip Ephrata". The Spokesman-Review. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  11. ↑ "Ephrata ticket sales to be halted". The Spokesman-Review. October 26, 1977. p. 6. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  12. ↑ Gilmore, Susan (September 30, 1979). "Few would mourn last Amtrak train through Wenatchee". The Seattle Times . p. A22.
  13. ↑ "Seattle-Spokane Amtrak route returns". The Seattle Times. October 26, 1981. p. C2.
  14. ↑ Moody, Dick (May 5, 1983). "'Train nut' got Amtrak to stop". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8. Retrieved January 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  15. ↑ "Basin transit center dedicated". The Wenatchee World . November 4, 1994. p. 10.
  16. ↑ "Hundreds greet arrival of special train in Ephrata". The Wenatchee World. November 8, 1994. p. 10.

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