Ephrata is a train station on Amtrak's Empire Builder line in Ephrata, Washington. The station and parking are owned by the city government, while the track and platforms are owned by BNSF Railway.[2][3] Northwestern Trailways provides inter-city bus transportation next to the station while local transit is provided by the Grant Transit Authority.[4]
Ephrata, WA | |||||||||||||||||
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 Ephrata station with Grant Transit Authority bus | |||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||
| Location | 24 Alder Street Ephrata, Washington United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 47°19′15″N 119°32′58″W / 47.32089°N 119.54935°W | ||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | City of Ephrata | ||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | BNSF Columbia River Subdivision | ||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  Amtrak Thruway Grant Transit Authority Northwestern Trailways | ||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||
| Station code | Amtrak: EPH | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||
| FY 2023 | 2,554[1] (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||
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History
editPassenger rail service to Ephrata began in 1893 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway, particularly services like the Empire Builder and Western Star. Ephrata was the smallest town to be served by Great Northern's streamlined passenger trains through the mid-20th century.[5] After Amtrak took over the national passenger rail network in 1971, the Western Star was eliminated and the Empire Builder stopped serving Ephrata.[6] The loss of passenger rail service also affected postal deliveries to Ephrata, which were switched from trains to trucks.[7] Amtrak service to Ephrata began on June 11, 1973, with a routing change for the North Coast Hiawatha.[8] The trains stopped at an existing depot that served freight until December 1973.[9]
The Ephrata stop served few passengers and was slated for closure as part of cuts in 1977,[10] but was kept as an unstaffed station.[11] The North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979, ending passenger service to Ephrata and Wenatchee.[12] The Empire Builder returned to its original route in 1981, restoring passenger service to Ephrata.[13][14] The existing Amtrak station was renovated and expanded to include a new multimodal transportation center and office space for the local chamber of commerce, re-opening on November 7, 1994.[15][16]
Notes and references
edit- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Amtrak - Great American Stations". Amtrak. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2008, State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. October 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
- ^ "Daily Trailways Service Schedule". Northwestern Trailways. September 1, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
- ^ Starmont, Leon (February 22, 1948). "Ephrata: Desert Oasis Now a Thriving Capital". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Goodbye To Some Old Friends". Grant County Journal. May 6, 1971. p. 1.
- ^ "Amtrak Causes Changes in Ephrata's Mail Service". Spokane Chronicle. May 6, 1971. p. 3. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Amtrak Plans Ephrata Stop This Summer". Spokane Chronicle. May 3, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Depot Shut". Spokane Chronicle. December 7, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Allen, Rob (March 4, 1977). "Passenger trains to skip Ephrata". The Spokesman-Review. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ephrata ticket sales to be halted". The Spokesman-Review. October 26, 1977. p. 6. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gilmore, Susan (September 30, 1979). "Few would mourn last Amtrak train through Wenatchee". The Seattle Times. p. A22.
- ^ "Seattle-Spokane Amtrak route returns". The Seattle Times. October 26, 1981. p. C2.
- ^ Moody, Dick (May 5, 1983). "'Train nut' got Amtrak to stop". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Basin transit center dedicated". The Wenatchee World. November 4, 1994. p. 10.
- ^ "Hundreds greet arrival of special train in Ephrata". The Wenatchee World. November 8, 1994. p. 10.
External links
edit- Ephrata, WA – Amtrak
- Ephrata, WA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- Current and former Ephrata Amtrak Stations (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
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