Pacific Central Station

Last updated

Pacific Central
Pacific Central 02.jpg
General information
Location1150 Station Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Coordinates 49°16′25″N123°05′53″W / 49.27361°N 123.09806°W / 49.27361; -123.09806
Owned by Via Rail
Platforms3 island platforms
Tracks7
Bus stands24
Bus operators
Connections
Construction
AccessibleYes
Architect Pratt and Ross
Architectural style Beaux-Arts [1]
Other information
StatusStaffed station
Station code
IATA code XEA
History
OpenedNovember 2, 1919 (1919-11-02)
Previous names
  • Canadian National Railway Station
  • False Creek Station
Passengers
FY 2023221,390 [2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station VIA Rail Canada simplified.svg Via Rail Following station
Terminus The Canadian Mission Harbour
toward Toronto
Abbotsford
One-way operation
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Bellingham
toward Eugene
Amtrak Cascades Terminus
Former services
Preceding station Rocky Mountaineer Following station
TerminusFirst Passage to the West Kamloops
towards Banff
Journey Through the Clouds Kamloops
towards Jasper
Seattle
Terminus
Coastal Passage Rocky Mountaineer
towards Banff or Jasper
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
TerminusMain Line New Westminster
toward Montreal
Preceding station VIA Rail Canada simplified.svg Via Rail Following station
Terminus Super Continental Jasper
toward Toronto
Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station
New Westminster
toward Seattle
Vancouver, BC – Seattle Terminus
Designated1991
Reference no. 4527
Pacific Central Station
Location
15 Metro Vancouver Regional District British Columbia.svg
Red pog.svg
Pacific Central Station
Location in Vancouver
Canada British Columbia location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Pacific Central Station
Location in British Columbia
Canada location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Pacific Central Station
Location in Canada

Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country The Canadian service to Toronto and the northern terminus of Amtrak's Cascades service to Seattle and Portland. The station is also Vancouver's main intercity bus terminal. The station is wheelchair accessible and is staffed with full Via services. The station is a candidate for the northern terminus of a possible future high-speed rail line being considered primarily by the US state of Washington. [3]

Contents

History

The station in 1918, then known as False Creek Station. Shows the land around the building being filled in. False Creek station e1f023f2-6300-48b0-806b-3a04ceb0b680-A09113.jpg
The station in 1918, then known as False Creek Station. Shows the land around the building being filled in.
The station's arrivals and departures board in 1981 Arrivals and departures board at Vancouver Pacific Central Station in 1981.jpg
The station's arrivals and departures board in 1981

Pacific Central Station was built in 1917 by the Canadian Northern Railway as the terminus of its line to Edmonton. [4] It was dedicated on November 2, 1919, a day after the first Canadian National trains began using the station. [5] [6] It was originally named False Creek Station and was designed by the architecture firm Pratt and Ross. [7] The building was designated a heritage railway station in 1991. [1]

Amtrak service to the terminal was originally offered on the Pacific International from 1972 to 1981, when it ceased due to budget cuts. [8] Cross-border service returned in 1995 with the introduction of the Mount Baker International , which was later folded into the modern-day Cascades brand. [9]

On November 8, 2010, the Canadian government announced a $5.1 million plan to rebuild parts of the station, including refurbishing windows, masonry, and the roof of the building. [10]

Services

Rail

Amtrak Cascades

Amtrak Cascades provides two daily round trips between Vancouver and Seattle, Washington, with one daily train continuing to Portland, Oregon.

Amtrak passengers bound for the United States go through United States border preclearance inside the station prior to boarding in Vancouver, with a brief 10-minute stop at the Peace Arch Border Crossing for agents to collect forms. Canadian-bound passengers go through Canadian customs at the station upon arrival; northbound trains travelling towards Pacific Central Station do not stop at the border. This is in contrast to Amtrak's international services on the East Coast ( Adirondack to Montreal and Maple Leaf to Toronto), where passengers are processed by customs immediately after passing over the border.

To enable customs processing away from the border crossing, Amtrak trains are sequestered inside a secure caged area at Pacific Central Station. Additionally, trains make no stops in Canada other than at Pacific Central Station. [11]

Via Rail Canadian

Via Rail's Canadian train offers twice-weekly cross-country service to Toronto via Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg; weekly service to Edmonton (summer only). [12]

Bus

Pacific Central Station is Vancouver's main intercity bus terminal.

Bus companyDestinations
Amtrak Thruway (operated by Cantrail) [13] Bellingham, Seattle
BC Ferries Connector [14] Victoria (via Tsawwassen ferry terminal)
Ebus Kelowna, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Prince George
FlixBus [15] Bellingham, Seattle
Greyhound Lines Bellingham, Seattle
Rider Express [16] Kamloops, Revelstoke, Banff, Calgary and Edmonton
YVR Skylynx Squamish, Whistler

Public transit

Pacific Central Station is immediately adjacent to Main Street–Science World station on the Expo Line of Greater Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Maple Leaf</i> (train) International passenger train operated by Amtrak and Via Rail

The Maple Leaf is an international passenger train service operated by Amtrak and Via Rail between New York Penn Station in New York City and Union Station in Toronto via Amtrak's Empire Corridor, and the south western part of Via Rail's Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Daily service is offered in both directions; the 544-mile (875 km) trip takes approximately 12 hours, including two hours for U.S. or Canadian customs and immigration inspection at either Niagara Falls, New York, or Niagara Falls, Ontario. Although the train uses Amtrak rolling stock exclusively, the train is operated by Via Rail crews while in Canada and by Amtrak crews in the United States. Service began in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Union Station</span> Main railway station in Dallas, Texas, United States

Dallas Union Station, officially Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, also known as Dallas Union Terminal, is a large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, behind Fort Worth Central Station and San Antonio station. It serves DART light rail Blue and Red lines, Trinity Railway Express commuter rail and Amtrak inter-city rail. It is located on Houston Street, between Wood and Young Streets, in the Reunion district of Downtown Dallas. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Street Station</span> Amtrak and commuter train station in Seattle, Washington, United States

King Street Station is a train station in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Cascades, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder, as well as Sounder commuter trains run by Sound Transit. The station also anchors a major transit hub, which includes Link light rail at International District/Chinatown station and Seattle Streetcar service. It is located at the south end of Downtown Seattle in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, near the intersection of South Jackson Street and 4th Avenue South, and has four major entrances. It is the 15th-busiest station on the Amtrak system, serving as the hub for the Pacific Northwest region.

<i>Adirondack</i> (train) Amtrak service between New York City, NY and Montreal, QC

The Adirondack is a daily intercity passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The scenic route follows the Empire Corridor through the Hudson Valley with major stops in Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Albany–Rensselaer, and Schenectady. North of Saratoga Springs the route runs between the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain until crossing the Canada–U.S. border at Rouses Point. Trains take approximately 11 hours to travel the 381-mile (613 km) route.

Amtrak<i> Cascades</i> Amtrak service between Vancouver, BC, and Eugene, OR

The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The 467-mile (752 km) corridor runs from Vancouver, British Columbia, through Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, to Eugene, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Union Station</span> Train station in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Portland Union Station is a train station in Portland, Oregon, United States, situated near the western shore of the Willamette River in Old Town Chinatown. It serves as an intermediate stop for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight routes and, along with King Street Station in Seattle, is one of two western termini of the Empire Builder. The station is a major transport hub for the Portland metropolitan area with connections to MAX Light Rail, the Portland Streetcar, and local and intercity bus services. The station building contains Wilf's Restaurant & Bar on the ground level and offices on the upper floors. It also has Amtrak's first Metropolitan Lounge on the West Coast, which is reserved for first-class sleeping car and business-class passengers.

<i>Vermonter</i> (train) Amtrak passenger train in the northeast United States

The Vermonter is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between St. Albans, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., via New York City. It replaced the overnight Montrealer, which terminated in Montreal until 1995. Amtrak receives funding from the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont for Vermonter operations north of New Haven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace Arch Border Crossing</span> Border crossing between Canada and the United States

The Peace Arch Border Crossing is the common name for the Blaine–Douglas crossing which connects the cities of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia on the Canada–United States border. I-5 on the American side joins BC Highway 99 on the Canadian side. Being the most direct route between the major cities of Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, the crossing is the third-busiest on the border with up to 4,800 cars a day. Trucks and other commercial vehicles are prohibited from this location and use the Pacific Highway Border Crossing, which is 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) eastward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Central Station</span> Railway station in Montreal, Canada

Montreal Central Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-busiest train station in Canada, after Toronto Union Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center</span> Amtrak train station near downtown Kelso, Washington

The Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center is an Amtrak train station located near downtown Kelso, Washington, United States. The station also serves the neighboring city of Longview, which is located just across the Cowlitz River. The station is served by Cascades and Coast Starlight trains. Greyhound Lines provides national and regional bus service, while RiverCities Transit provides local transit. Shuttle vans, taxis and rental cars can also be hired at the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States border preclearance</span> Border security procedures

United States border preclearance is the United States Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) practice of operating prescreening border control facilities at airports and other ports of departure located outside of the United States pursuant to agreements between the United States and host countries. Travelers are subject to immigration and customs inspections by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before boarding their transportation onward to the United States. Preclearance applies to all passengers regardless of their nationality or purpose of travel. Upon arrival, precleared passengers arrive in the United States as domestic travelers, but may still be subject to re-inspection at the discretion of CBP. This process is intended to streamline border procedures, reduce congestion at American ports of entry, and facilitate travel into airports that otherwise lack immigration and customs processing facilities for commercial flights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niagara Falls station (Ontario)</span> Railway station in Niagara Falls, Canada

Niagara Falls station is a railway station in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It is served by the Maple Leaf train between Toronto and New York City and is the terminus of GO Transit's Lakeshore West line towards Toronto. The Gothic Revival station building, which was built in 1879 by the Great Western Railway, is a designated heritage railway station. It is also listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everett Station</span> Amtrak and commuter train station in Everett, Washington

Everett Station is an train station serving the city of Everett, Washington, United States. The station has been served by Cascades and Empire Builder since opening in 2002, replacing an earlier station near the Port of Everett. The four-story building also houses social service programs and is the center of a 10-acre (4 ha) complex that includes parking lots and a large bus station used primarily by Community Transit, Everett Transit, and Sound Transit Express. The station has served as the northern terminus of the Sounder N Line since 2003 and the Swift Blue Line since 2009. It consists of two side platforms, one serving Amtrak and the other serving Sounder commuter trains. Everett Station also functions as a park and ride, with 1,067 short-term parking spaces located in lots around the station after it was expanded by Sound Transit in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor Station (Montreal)</span> Office building, and formerly train station in Quebec, Canada

Windsor Station is a former railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It used to be the city's Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station, and served as the headquarters of CPR from 1889 to 1996. It is bordered by Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal to the north, Peel Street to the east, Saint Antoine Street to the south and the Bell Centre to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Lambert station</span> Railway station in Quebec, Canada

Saint-Lambert station in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada, serves Exo commuter rail, Via Rail and Amtrak intercity rail, and RTL buses. It is located at 329 Avenue Saint-Denis at the corner of Avenue Victoria.

<i>International</i> (Amtrak train) American named passenger train (1982–2004)

The International was a named passenger train operated between Chicago and Toronto. It was originally an overnight train operated by the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada and its successors the Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Western Railroad, running as far as Montreal. The train was cut back to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1970 and discontinued in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonds station (Washington)</span> Amtrak and commuter train station in Edmonds, Washington

Edmonds station is a train station serving the city of Edmonds, Washington, in the United States. The station is served by Amtrak's Cascades and Empire Builder routes, as well as Sound Transit's N Line, a Sounder commuter rail service which runs between Everett and Seattle. It is located west of Downtown Edmonds adjacent to the city's ferry terminal, served by the Edmonds–Kingston ferry, and a Community Transit bus station. Edmonds station has a passenger waiting room and a single platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niagara Falls station (New York)</span> Train station in Niagara Falls, New York

The Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center is an intermodal transit complex in Niagara Falls, New York. It serves Amtrak trains and Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority buses, houses U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices servicing the Canada–United States border, and houses the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Transcon</span> Railroad route in the United States

The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Northwest Corridor</span> Higher-speed rail corridor in the United States

The Pacific Northwest Corridor or the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor is one of eleven federally designated higher-speed rail corridors in the United States and Canada. The 466-mile (750 km) corridor extends from Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, British Columbia, via Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region. It was designated a high-speed rail corridor on October 20, 1992, as the one of five high-speed corridors in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).

References

  1. 1 2 "Canadian National Railways / Via Rail Station". Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. September 1, 1991. Retrieved April 26, 2017. 1150 Station Street, Vancouver, British Columbia
  2. "Pacific Central Station (VAC)". Great American Stations. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  3. "Surrey could be the location of Metro Vancouver's station for high-speed rail to Seattle". DailyHive. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  4. "HistoricPlaces.ca – HistoricPlaces.ca". www.historicplaces.ca. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  5. "New C. N. Station is Declared Open By Mayor Gale". The Vancouver Sun. November 2, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  6. "C.N.R. Trains Today Enter and Leave Fine New Depot". The Province. November 1, 1919. p. 12. Retrieved January 24, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  7. Mackie, John (November 14, 2012). "This day in history: November 2, 1919". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  8. "Amtrak train ends run". The Province. October 1, 1981. p. A6. Retrieved January 24, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  9. Daniels, Alan (May 25, 1995). "Seattle-Vancouver train service back on track". The Vancouver Sun. p. A1. Retrieved January 24, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  10. "Ottawa to fund multi-million reno of Vancouver train station". Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  11. Fesler, Stephen (November 22, 2019). "Amtrak Cascades Could Get Customs Preclearance in Canada Shaving At Least 10 Minutes Off Trip". The Urbanist. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  12. "Vancouver, BC – Pacific Central Station (VAC) – Great American Stations". greatamericanstations.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  13. "Home". Cantrail - Takes you away. August 8, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  14. "Schedules". BC Ferries Connector. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  15. Chiappetta, Felicia (May 24, 2022). "New bus service will get you from Vancouver to Seattle for just $18". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  16. "Locations". Rider Express. Retrieved May 25, 2022.