Sacramento Station
Encyclopedia
Sacramento Station is an Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 and Amtrak California
Amtrak California
Amtrak California is a brand name used by the Caltrans Division of Rail for all state-supported Amtrak rail routes within the U.S. State of California...

 train station in the city of Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, at 401 I Street on the corner of Fifth Street. Today it is served by 40 daily Amtrak and Amtrak California trains, many Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches, plus the newest extension of the Sacramento Regional Transit District
Sacramento Regional Transit District
The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority...

 light rail Gold Line and the Route 30 bus serving Sacramento State University. Amtrak California connecting Thruway Motorcoach service is also available in Sacramento at the State Capitol bus stop (SCS) for drop-off service only. No Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach passengers whose journey originates in Sacramento may depart from the State Capitol bus stop, with one exception: passengers originating in Sacramento may board the southbound Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach to Stockton if the passenger departing from Sacramento is connecting to Amtrak California's southbound San Joaquin train service in Stockton.

History

The original Sacramento station was the terminal of the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...

. The present building (built by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926) features a mural of the celebration of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Central Pacific started from Sacramento and built east to Promontory Summit, Utah, where it met the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

. The station is now owned by Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

. With the creation of Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 on May 1, 1971 the station became Amtrak-only. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1975 as "Southern Pacific Railroad Company's Sacramento Depot".

Present

In FY2010 Sacramento was the second busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 3000 passengers daily. It is Amtrak's seventh-busiest station nationwide.

Sacramento is served by the daily California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...

from Emeryville
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...

 to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 via Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...

; and the daily Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...

from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to Seattle via San Luis Obispo, Oakland, Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

 and Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. Sacramento is also served by Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

(San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

-Auburn
Auburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...

) and San Joaquins
San Joaquins
The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...

(Sacramento-Bakersfield) trains, with multiple departures daily.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District
Sacramento Regional Transit District
The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority...

 has a light rail station stop at Sacramento Valley Station between the tracks and the station which marks the western terminus of the Amtrak-Folsom
Folsom, California
Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....

 light rail line a.k.a. The Gold Line. The station is served by one Regional Transit bus, Route 30. There are Regional Transit buses to stops throughout the Sacramento area as well as E-tran
E-tran
e-tran is the public transit system for the city of Elk Grove, California and parts of south Sacramento. With currently 20 local routes, it began service on January 2, 2005. Nearby Sacramento RT formerly operated bus service in Elk Grove, but it mostly consisted of express bus routes linking Elk...

 busses to Elk Grove
Elk Grove, California
Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 153,015...

, the largest suburb of Sacramento.

Altamont Commuter Express
Altamont Commuter Express
The Altamont Commuter Express is a regional rail service in California connecting Stockton with San Jose....

, aka "ACE Train", has plans for a future Modesto-Sacramento line.

California High-Speed Rail

Sacramento is planned to be the north end of the California High-Speed Rail
California high-speed rail
The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned future high-speed rail system in the state of California and headed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Initial funding for the project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A...

 system, on which passengers will be able to get to Los Angeles Union Station in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Status of Station

The City of Sacramento plans to vacate the station, date unknown, by relocating rail services to new facility to the north of the existing station, approximate to the site of the original Central Pacific Station (1895-1926). Road overpasses have been constructed to allow the relocation of tracks.

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches

Amtrak California operates dedicated and guaranteed Thruway Motorcoach service on three separate routes extending the reach of trains to the north and east of the Sacramento Valley Station. All passengers travelling on Amtrak Thruway services must include travel on a train as part of their itinerary; traveling solely on Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches from one point to another is prohibited by California State law to prevent competition with privately operated bus lines such as Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Route 3 runs five times a day each way between Sacramento and the north end of the San Joaquin Valley, serving Marysville, Oroville, Chico, Corning, Red Bluff and Redding. One trip extends beyond Redding to the scenic California mountain communities of Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Yreka and the Southern Oregon communities of Ashland and Medford. All five trips flow through Sacramento to the south serving Elk Grove and Lodi en route to Stockton, California where passengers can connect to and from San Joaquin trains. Route 3 motorcoaches are supplemented by Amtrak's Coast Starlight train north of Sacramento which closely parallels the route as far north as Dunsmuir and the two have common stations in Chico, Redding and Dunsmuir.

Route 20-A runs three times a day each way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Sacramento to Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn, Colfax, Soda Springs, Truckee, Reno (Nevada), and Sparks (Nevada). The line closely parallels Amtrak's California Zephyr and the two use the same stations with the exception of Soda Springs (the Zephyr does not stop there) and Sparks, Nevada, which is about three short blocks from the rail depot. Service on this route was reduced from four trips per day each way to the current three when the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority took over management of the route in 2005. This downgrade canceled the early morning westbound thruway and late evening eastbound return and has made it all but impossible for Northern Nevada or Sierra Nevada residents to make one-day trips into the heart of California using this service.

Route 20-C now only runs once a day each way from Sacramento along historic and scenic U.S. Highway 50 to Placerville and the majestic South Lake Tahoe. As recently as 2006 service along this corridor was offered three times a day each way and one trip extended to the capitol of Nevada, Carson City. Amtrak California now provides the only scheduled intercity passenger transportation to South Lake Tahoe. Greyhound Bus Lines was forced out of the Lake Tahoe vicinity after several of their passengers caused a riot in the vacation-oriented community shortly after the Year 2000 celebrations. The bus line was unable to operate enough buses to allow all of the passengers they had brought to the community to return home in a timely manner. This unfortunate event, and the subsequent legislation passed by the Lake Tahoe City Council, spelled an end to popular Greyhound service to the region.

Station amenities

The station has vending machines, restrooms, a screen for train status, and a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

.
  • Station and service hours: 4:15 AM – 11:50 PMThese hours may vary depending on train status
  • Ticket office hours: 4:15 AM – 11:45 PM
  • QuikTrak ticket machine hours: 4:14 AM – 11:50 PM
  • Checked baggage hours: 4:15 AM – 11:50 PM


Parking

Effective in mid-December 2006, the City of Sacramento began operating and took responsibility for parking at the Sacramento Amtrak Station. Parking is found all around the station in numbered stalls. As of September 2010, parking is $1.00 per 20 minutes with a $9.00 daily maximum. If you cannot return to your car before your parking time expires, you may call (916) 722-7275 to add time to your meter (you need to know your parking stall number).

Taxis and rental cars

  • Taxi companies: Yellow Cab
    Yellow Cab
    There are many Yellow Cabs taxicab operators around the world . The original Yellow Cab Company, based in Chicago, Illinois is one of the largest taxicab companies in the United States.- History :...

    , Rhino Cab
  • Rental car companies: Hertz
    Hertz
    The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

    , Enterprise
    Enterprise Rent-A-Car
    Enterprise Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company formed in 2009 to operate rental car subsidiaries: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent A Car, WeCar and its commercial fleet management, used car sales, and commercial truck rental operations.Enterprise Holdings was formed as...


Public Transportation

  • A Sacramento Regional Transit District
    Sacramento Regional Transit District
    The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority...

     (RT) bus line, Route 30 serves the station, this line also serves Sacramento State University. In early December 2006, the light rail Gold Line was extended to the station (serving points between the City of Sacramento and the City of Folsom. With a transfer in downtown passengers can connect to the Blue Line (serving points to the north along the I-80 corridor to Watt Station and south to Meadowview Station.

Nearby hotels and points of interest

  • Holiday Inn
    Holiday Inn
    Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...

     (3 blocks).
  • Vagabond Inn
    Vagabond Inn
    The Vagabond Inn is an upper-end economy and mid-priced chain of hotels and motels located on the West Coast of the United States. The Vagabond Inn brand is franchised by Vagabond Franchise System, Inc. There are 43 locations in California and Nevada. The hotels are generally located near...

     Executive
  • La Quinta Inn
    La Quinta Inn
    La Quinta Inn is a chain of limited service hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico. LQ Management LLC, the owner, has its headquarters in the Las Colinas area of Irving, Texas, near Dallas....

  • Best Western
    Best Western
    Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...

  • California State Railroad Museum
    California State Railroad Museum
    The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, USA, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento at 111 I Street....

     (2 blocks)
  • Old Sacramento (3 blocks) Redeveloped shops and restaurants
  • California State Capitol
    California State Capitol
    The California State Capitol is home to the government of California. The building houses the bicameral state legislature and the office of the governor....

     (9 blocks)
  • Crocker Art Museum
    Crocker Art Museum
    The Crocker Art Museum is one of the leading arts institutions in California, and the longest continuously operating art museum in the West. Located in Sacramento, California, the Crocker has been an art innovator since 1885...

     (6 blocks) oldest art museum in the Western United States

Routes

  • Coast Starlight
    Coast Starlight
    The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...

    Los Angeles-Seattle
  • California Zephyr
    California Zephyr
    The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...

    Emeryville-Chicago
  • San Joaquins
    San Joaquins
    The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...

    Sacramento-Bakersfield
  • Capitol Corridor
    Capitol Corridor
    The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

    San Jose-Auburn
  • Thruway Motorcoach

Trains

A=AM - P=PM
Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...

  • #11 6:35A to Los Angeles from Seattle
  • #14 11:59P to Seattle from Los Angeles


San Joaquins
San Joaquins
The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...

-Southbound
  • #702 6:35A to Bakersfield
  • #704 4:25P to Bakersfield


California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...

  • #6 11:14A to Chicago from Emeryville/SF
  • #5 2:15P to Emeryville/SF from Chicago


San Joaquins
San Joaquins
The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...

-Northbound
  • #701 12:30P from Bakersfield
  • #703 11:25P from Bakersfield


Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

-Weekday Westbound Service
  • #521 4:30A to San Jose
  • #523 5:30A to San Jose
  • #525 6:20A to Oakland Coliseum
  • #527 7:00A to San Jose
  • #529 7:40A to Oakland Coliseum from Auburn
  • #531 8:30A to Oakland Coliseum
  • #533 9:20A to Oakland Coliseum
  • #535 10:10A to San Jose
  • #537 12:10P to San Jose
  • #541 2:10P to Oakland
  • #543 3:35P to San Jose
  • #545 4:40P to Oakland
  • #547 5:40P to San Jose
  • #549 6:40P to Oakland
  • #551 7:40P to Oakland
  • #553 9:10P to Oakland


Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

-Weekday Eastbound Service
  • #518 6:28A from Oakland
  • #520 7:38A from Oakland
  • #522 8:28A from Oakland
  • #524 9:45A from San Jose
  • #526 11:13A from Oakland Coliseum
  • #528 12:15P from San Jose
  • #530 2:13P from Oakland
  • #532 3:25P from San Jose
  • #534 4:48P from Oakland
  • #536 5:22P from Oakland to Auburn
  • #538 6:10P from San Jose
  • #540 6:48P from Oakland
  • #542 7:35P from San Jose
  • #544 8:55P from San Jose
  • #546 10:25P from San Jose
  • #548 11:18P from Oakland

Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

-Weekend/Holiday Westbound Service
  • #723 5:40A to San Jose
  • #727 7:40A to San Jose
  • #729 9:10A to Oakland Coliseum from Auburn
  • #733 10:40A to San Jose
  • #737 12:10P to San Jose
  • #741 2:15P to San Jose
  • #743 3:35P to San Jose
  • #745 4:40P to Oakland
  • #747 5:40P to San Jose
  • #749 7:10P to Oakland
  • #751 9:10P to Oakland


Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...

-Weekend/Holiday Eastbound Service
  • #720 9:18A from Oakland
  • #724 10:55A from San Jose
  • #728 12:55P from San Jose
  • #732 2:23P from Oakland
  • #734 3:55P from San Jose
  • #736 5:23P from San Jose
  • #738 6:23P from Oakland
  • #742 8:30P from San Jose to Auburn
  • #744 8:55P from San Jose
  • #746 9:53P from Oakland
  • #748 10:55P from San Jose


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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