Pacific Central Station

Pacific Central
Location	1150 Station Street Vancouver, BC Canada
Coordinates	49°16′25″N 123°05′53″W / 49.27361°N 123.09806°WCoordinates: 49°16′25″N 123°05′53″W / 49.27361°N 123.09806°W
Owned by	Via Rail[1]
Platforms	3 island platforms
Tracks	7
Train operators	3
Bus stands	24
Bus operators	Pacific Coach Lines Greyhound Canada BoltBus Malaspina bus
Connections	Main Street–Science World
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Architect	Pratt and Ross
Architectural style	Beaux-Arts style[2]
Other information
Station code	Amtrak code:VAC IATA: XEA VIA Rail: VCVR
History
Opened	1919 (Canadian Northern Railway)
Traffic
Passengers (2011)	149,691[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Via Rail   Following station Terminus Canadian Mission Harbour toward Toronto Amtrak Bellingham toward Eugene–Springfield Amtrak Cascades Terminus Rocky Mountaineer Seattle Terminus Coastal Passage Rocky Mountaineer (Vancouver) toward Banff or Jasper   Former services   Rocky Mountaineer Terminus First Passage to the West Kamloops toward Calgary Journey through the Clouds Kamloops toward Jasper
Heritage Railway Station (Canada)
Designated	1991
Reference no.	4527

Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is a railway station which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country The Canadian to Toronto and the northern terminus of Amtrak’s Cascades to Seattle and Portland. The station also provides intercity coach service, being the head office and bus depot of Pacific Coach Lines^[4] and the main Vancouver terminal for Greyhound Canada.^[5] Also Malaspina bus, which serves the Sunshine Coast communities of Gibsons, Sechelt and Powell River. The station is wheelchair-accessible and is staffed with full Via services.

The Amtrak Cascades provides two daily round trips from Vancouver. One goes to Seattle, Washington; the other continues on to Portland, Oregon. Rather than stopping for an immigration inspection at the border, as happens with the Adirondack to Montreal and Maple Leaf to Toronto, Amtrak passengers go through Canadian customs at the station upon arrival. Passengers bound for the United States go through United States border preclearance prior to boarding in Vancouver.

The Rocky Mountaineer operated from Pacific Central Station until moving to the nearby Rocky Mountaineer Station in 2005; they began to use Pacific Central Station again for their new Coastal Passage route in 2013. The station is used for the international trip section between Vancouver and Seattle. While the route section between Vancouver to Jasper and Banff operates out of the Rocky Mountaineer Station.

Service

Pacific Central Station at dawn.

• Via Rail
  • The Canadian: Daily cross-country service to Toronto
• Amtrak
  • Amtrak Cascades: Twice Daily cross-border service to Seattle, Portland
• Rocky Mountaineer
• Pacific Coach Lines
• Greyhound Canada
• Malaspina bus
• BoltBus
  • Daily coach service to Bellingham and Seattle

Facility

The building was designated a heritage railway station in 1991.^[2] 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.^[6]

Public Transit

Pacific Central Station is immediately adjacent to SkyTrain's Main Street – Science World Station. Westbound trains on the Expo Line go into downtown Vancouver near hotels, office towers, shopping, businesses and other attractions toward Waterfront Station (formerly the Canadian Pacific station), which offers connections to the Seabus, West Coast Express commuter trains and other metro lines. Eastbound trains on the Expo Line ferries locals into the suburbs, such as Burnaby Coquitlam, Surrey, and New Westminster.

See also

• List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
• Main Street – Science World Station

References

1. Great American Stations: Vancouver
2. "Canadian National Railways / VIA Rail Station". Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. 1 September 1991. Retrieved January 2016. 1150 Station Street, Vancouver, British Columbia
3. "Amtrak Cascades: 2011 Performance D" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-04-10.
4. Pacific Coach - Head Office
5. Greyhound Canada: Vancouver Main Terminal
6. "Ottawa to fund multi-million reno of Vancouver train station". The Province. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.

External links

• Via Rail page for Vancouver train station (Pacific Central Station)

Media related to Vancouver Pacific Central Station at Wikimedia Commons