Vancouver station (Washington)

This article is about the Amtrak station in Vancouver, Washington. For the Amtrak station in Vancouver, British Columbia, see Pacific Central Station.

Vancouver
Amtrak station
General information
Location	1301 West 11th Street Vancouver, WA
Coordinates	45.6287°N 122.6866°W / 45.6287; -122.6866
Owned by	City of Vancouver
Line(s)	Amtrak Cascades   Coast Starlight   Empire Builder
Platforms	2 side platforms, 2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Construction
Parking	Free
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	VAN
History
Opened	1908
Rebuilt	1988 (partial); 2008 (complete)
Passengers
2012	99,363  0.4% (Amtrak)
Services
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Vancouver, Washington is the third busiest Amtrak station in Washington, USA. 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 Coast Starlight and Cascades are boarded on the northwest side of the station. The station building is now open after extensive interior renovations.

Current Amtrak Service

The Coast Starlight and Empire Builder offer daily service each way on their routes, whereas eight Amtrak Cascades stop in Vancouver with four northbound and four southbound departures daily. Of the eighteen Washington stations served by Amtrak, Vancouver was the third busiest in FY11.

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 U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Photo Gallery

• 
  An Amtrak Cascades Talgo train comes to a stop at Vancouver.
• 
  The BNSF bridge over the Columbia is open for river traffic.
• 
  The Empire Builder comes off the bridge and swings east.
• 
  Amtrak's Empire Builder stops at the Vancouver station on its way east.
• 
  Amtrak's Empire Builder stops at the Vancouver station on its way east.
• 
  An Amtrak Talgo train heads out across the BNSF bridge.

External links

• Vancouver, WA – Amtrak
• Vancouver, WA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Vancouver(VAN) Station, Great American Stations website
• Vancouver, Washington Amtrak Station (The SubwayNut)