Sparks, NV | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Former Amtrak inter-city rail station | |||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Nugget Avenue, east of 11th Street SP/UP Rail Yard Sparks, Nevada 89431 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 39°31′54″N119°45′07″W / 39.5316°N 119.7519°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Union Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | SPR | ||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | May 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Location in Nevada |
The Sparks station is a former passenger train station in Sparks, Nevada. Amtrak service commenced when the company assumed passenger operations in the United States in 1971. [1] Prior to closing in 2009, it was served daily by Amtrak's (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) California Zephyr , running once daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California (in the San Francisco Bay Area). [2] Although the California Zephyr still passes through Sparks, it no longer stops at the station.
In May 2009, the station was closed because of its proximity to Reno (three track miles (4.8 km) to the west). Safety issues also played a part, as the former station was in a freight yard and what appears to be the station building is actually a Union Pacific yard office. Amtrak Thruway bus services continue to stop nearby at Nugget Casino Resort. Freight operations continue under Union Pacific.
The Ethan Allen Express is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a 310-mile (500 km) north–south route with a 7-hour 35 minute scheduled running time. The train is subsidized by New York and Vermont for the portion north of Albany. It is named for Vermont cofounder and American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
The California Zephyr was a passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Oakland, California via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Winnemucca, Oroville and Pleasanton. It was operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) and Western Pacific (WP) railroads, all of which dubbed it "the most talked about train in America" on March 19, 1949, with the first departure the following day. The train was scheduled to pass through the most spectacular scenery on its route in the daylight. The original train ceased operation in 1970, though the D&RGW continued to operate its own passenger service, the Rio Grande Zephyr, between Salt Lake City and Denver, using the original equipment until 1983. In 1983 a second iteration of the California Zephyr, an Amtrak service, was formed. The current version of the California Zephyr operates partially over the route of the original Zephyr and partially over the route of its former rival, the City of San Francisco.
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Sacramento Valley Station is an Amtrak railway station in the city of Sacramento, California, at 401 I Street on the corner of Fifth Street. It is the seventh busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the second busiest in the Western United States. It is served by four different Amtrak train routes and connecting Amtrak Thruway motorcoaches. It is also the western terminus for the Gold Line of the Sacramento RT Light Rail system and the Route 30 bus serving Sacramento State University.
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Winnemucca station is an Amtrak train station in Winnemucca, Nevada. It is served by one daily train in each direction on the California Zephyr.
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