1.
Union Pacific Railroad
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The Union Pacific Railroad is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and it is also one of the worlds largest transportation companies. Union Pacific Railroad is the operating company of Union Pacific Corporation. Union Pacific Corporations main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the second largest freight railroad. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all freight rail lines in the U. S. The original company was incorporated on July 1,1862, under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. It was constructed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the Central Pacific Railroad line, the line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent Civil War. The two lines were joined together at Promontory Summit, Utah,53 miles west of Ogden on May 10,1869, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America. Under the guidance of its dominant stockholder Dr. Thomas Clark Durant, the namesake of the city of Durant, Iowa, the first rails were laid in Omaha. It built or purchased local lines that gave it access to Denver, Colorado, to Portland, Oregon and it also owned narrow gauge trackage into the heart of the Colorado Rockies and a standard gauge line south from Denver across New Mexico into Texas. UP was entangled in the Crédit Mobilier scandal, exposed in 1872 and its independent construction company the Crédit Mobilier had bribed congressmen. The UP itself was not guilty but it did get bad publicity, the financial crisis of 1873 led to financial troubles but not bankruptcy. The company was reorganized as the Union Pacific Railway on January 24,1880, the new company declared bankruptcy during the Panic of 1893. When it emerged in 1897 it reverted to the original name, the corporate headquarters of the Union Pacific Corporation were located in New York City from its initial founding in the 1860s until Drew Lewis became CEO in the mid-1980s. He relocated it to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, later the headquarters was shifted to Dallas, Texas, before relocating to Omaha to join the operating headquarters. From the ICC annual reports, except 1979 is from Moodys, on December 31,1925 UP-OSL-OWRN-LA&SL-StJ&GI operated 9,834 route-miles and 15,265 track-miles. At the end of 1980, Union Pacific operated 9,266 route-miles and 15,647 miles of track, Moodys shows 220,697 million revenue ton-miles in 1993 on the expanded system
2.
Island platform
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An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on twin-track routes due to pragmatic and cost-effective reasons, an alternative arrangement is to position side platforms on either side of the tracks. The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon the location, the island platform layout is a popular, cost-effective and practical solution in modern railway systems. Island platforms allow facilities such as escalators, elevators, shops, toilets and this is essential for wheelchair accessible stations. An island platform makes it easier for users and the infirm to change services between tracks. Additionally, an island platform layout eliminates the need to construct a crossover or subway between two platforms, however, island platforms may become overcrowded, especially at busy stations, and this can lead to safety issues such as Clapham Common and Angel on the London Underground. However, for the tracks to diverge around the platform, extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station. Track centers vary for rail systems throughout the world but are normally 3 to 5 meters, if the island platform is 6 meters wide, the tracks have to slew out by the same distance. While this is not a problem on a new line that is being constructed, in addition, a single island platform makes it quite difficult to have through tracks, which are usually between the local tracks. A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines is a pair of island platforms, high-speed trains can therefore pass straight through the station, while slow trains pass around the platforms. This arrangement also allows the station to serve as a point where trains can be passed by faster trains. The purpose of this design was to reduce unnecessary passenger congestion at a station with a high volume of passengers. Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway were constructed in this form and this was because the line was planned to connect to a Channel Tunnel. Island platforms are a normal sight on Indian railway stations. Almost all railway stations in India consist of island platforms, in Toronto,29 subway stations use island platforms. A slight disadvantage is that crossovers have to be rather long, in southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, PATCO uses island platforms in all of its 13 stations, to facilitate one-person train operation. Most elevated stations in Singapores Mass Rapid Transit system use island platforms, the exception is Dover MRT Station, which uses side platforms as it is built on an existing rail line. The planned Canberra MRT Station will also use side platforms, as it also be built on an existing rail line
3.
AC Transit
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AC Transit is an Oakland-based public transit agency serving the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. AC Transit also operates Transbay routes across San Francisco Bay to San Francisco and selected areas in San Mateo, AC Transit is constituted as a special district under California law. It is governed by seven elected members and it is not a part of or under the control of Alameda or Contra Costa counties or any local jurisdictions. Buses operate out of three operating divisions, Emeryville, East Oakland, and Hayward, the Operations Control Center is located in Emeryville. The Richmond operating division closed in 2011, the District is the public successor to the privately owned Key System. The Districts bus lines also serve parts of some other East Bay communities, including Milpitas, Pinole, most routes connect with regional train service, primarily BART, in addition to ACE and Amtrak, including the Capitol Corridor. While most AC Transit service consists of lines throughout the East Bay. Most of these run across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to connect communities as distant as El Sobrante, Bus service is also provided across the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges to the south. AC Transits primary hubs include BART stations, major shopping centers, and points of interest, most routes serve and/or terminate at BART stations, providing convenience for transit users. The hubs include, See also AC Transits page on fares and passes or AC Transits page on bus fares, on July 1,2014, AC Transit introduced a Day Pass, designed for customers taking more than two local buses in a day. The pass is good for unlimited rides on local routes from 3,01 a. m. to 3,00 a. m. Customers can obtain a Day Pass in one of two ways, Using Clipper, Customers keep cash value on their card. Once fares equalling the Day Pass price have been deducted, the Day Pass automatically activates, on subsequent rides, the card is tagged but no additional fare is deducted. On-Board, Customers deposit the amount in the farebox and request a Day Pass from the bus operator. On subsequent rides, the pass is swiped at the farebox, AC Transit fares are structured to promote the use of Clipper. Not only are local bus rides cheaper, but certain interagency transfers and day passes are easier to obtain, monthly passes are only available on Clipper. Local BART-to-bus transfer, $0.25 cash discount to and from BART with paper transfer issued at BART, applied as $0.50 Clipper discount on bus trip away from BART only. To transfer from AC Transit to another bus agency without Clipper, to transfer from another bus agency to AC Transit without Clipper, ask the other bus driver for a transfer. Notes, All fares are in USD,1 Issued upon request when full price is paid
4.
Amtrak
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Founded in 1971 to take over most of the remaining U. S. passenger rail services, it is partially government funded yet operated and managed as a for-profit corporation. Amtrak serves more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces, operating more than 300 trains each day over 21,300 miles of track, some track sections allow trains to run as fast as 150 mph. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served 30.8 million passengers and had $2.185 billion in revenue, nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas, 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D. C, the name Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track. From the mid-19th century until about 1920, nearly all intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, historically, U. S. passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. About 65,000 railroad passenger cars operated in 1929, from 1920 into the later 20th century, passenger rails popularity diminished and there was a series of pullbacks and tentative recoveries. Rail passenger revenues declined dramatically between 1920 and 1934 because of the rise of the automobile, in the same period, many travelers were lost to interstate bus companies such as Greyhound Lines. However, in the mid-1930s, railroads reignited popular imagination with service improvements and new, diesel-powered streamliners, such as the gleaming silver Pioneer Zephyr and Flying Yankee. Even with the improvements, on a basis, traffic continued to decline. World War II broke the malaise, passenger traffic soared sixfold thanks to troop movements, in 1946, there remained 45 percent fewer passenger trains than in 1929, and the decline quickened despite railroad optimism. Passengers disappeared and so did trains, few trains generated profits, most produced losses. Broad-based passenger rail deficits appeared as early as 1948, and by the mid-1950s, by 1965, only 10,000 rail passenger cars were in operation,85 percent fewer than in 1929. Passenger service was provided on only 75,000 miles of track, the 1960s also saw the end of railway post office revenues, which had helped some of the remaining trains break even. The causes of the decline of rail in the United States were complex. Until 1920, rail was the practical form of intercity transport. By 1930, the companies had constructed, with private funding. In 1916, the amount of track in the United States peaked at 254,251 miles, some rail routes had been built primarily to facilitate the sale of stock in the railroad companies, they were redundant from the beginning. These were the first to be abandoned as the financial positions deteriorated
5.
California Zephyr
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The California Zephyr is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, via Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. At 2,438 miles it is Amtraks longest route after the Texas Eagle, Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. It was scheduled to pass through the most spectacular scenery on its route in the daylight. Since 1983 the California Zephyr name has applied to the Amtrak service, which operates daily and is a hybrid of the route of the original Zephyr and its former rival. During fiscal year 2012, the California Zephyr carried more than 376,000 passengers, the train had a total revenue of $47,605,728 in 2012, a 6. 4% increase on 2011. Cars owned by different railroads ran together, cars cycled in and out for service, repairs, and varying passenger loads with the seasons. The first train was named in San Francisco by Eleanor Parker while California Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight, mayor of San Francisco Elmer Robinson, for the inaugural run in 1949, every woman on the train was given silver and orange orchids flown from Hilo, Hawaii. The car hostesses were known as Zephyrettes, in summer 1954 the schedule for 2,532 miles Chicago to San Francisco was 50hr 50min. An eastbound California Zephyr through Ruby Canyon saw the trains first birth on March 1,1955, the California Zephyr was not immune to falling passenger travel in the 1960s, moreover, it began to lose money even when sold out. The Western Pacific applied to discontinue its portion in 1966 but the Interstate Commerce Commission refused after public outcry. The D&RGW made the same request in 1969 and in 1970 the ICC permitted Western Pacific to end its portion, provided the D&RGW, the last westbound California Zephyr to the west coast left Chicago on March 22,1970 and arrived in Oakland two days later. The California Zephyr had operated for 21 years and 2 days, east of Salt Lake City the train was reduced to a tri-weekly schedule, operating as California Service on the Burlington and as the Rio Grande Zephyr on the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande portion of the train was extended beyond Salt Lake to Ogden, Utah, allowing Nevada and this continued until the creation of Amtrak on May 1,1971. After debuting on the Denver Zephyr in 1936, they served on the California Zephyr from 1949 until it was discontinued in 1970, at any one time, there were 10 or 11 Zephyrettes who were actively employed. When Amtrak revived the California Zephyr in 1983 it invited a former Zephyrette, Beulah Bauman, a pair of the Western Pacifics Budd Rail Diesel Cars, replacements for the Royal Gorge, also picked up the name Zephyrette. At the last minute, the Rio Grande refused to join Amtrak and this forced Amtrak on to the Union Pacifics Overland Route through southern Wyoming instead of Colorado. The Rio Grande continued to operate the Rio Grande Zephyr between Denver and Ogden, in 1983 the D&RGW elected to join Amtrak, citing increasing losses in passenger operations. Amtrak re-routed the San Francisco Zephyr over the D&RGWs Moffat Subdivision between Denver and Salt Lake City, its preference from 1971
6.
Richmond station (California)
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Richmond Station is an at-grade Bay Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak station located in Richmond, California. Each system is served by an island platform, the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, and California Zephyr stop here and connect to BART. The station was rebuilt and rededicated on October 18,2007, the Metro Walk - Richmond Transit Village is adjacent, north of the station is a BART rail yard. This station has identified as an important hub in the transportation network for metropolitan. Around that same time the Southern Pacific Railroad opened a station just south of the current station at MacDonald Avenue, BART service at this station began along dedicated tracks that paralleled the SP line on January 29,1973. Amtrak service to the station started, using the SP lines tracks, a station house for the Amtrak service was constructed in 1984. A transit village and rebuild of the approach to the station was started in 2007. A transit store opened at the station in August 2008, joining other major stations in the system, the Coast Starlight no longer stops at Richmond as of January 14,2013. The station is served by two bus agencies, AC Transit provides a variety of local and regional service. Routes 70,71, 72M,74, and 76 provide local intra-city service and also feeder service into the BART, routes 376 and 800 both provide late night service. It is the route in the All Nighter regional Bay Area network. There is also a free Kaiser Shuttle service to the nearby Richmond Medical Center, of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, Richmond was the 16th-busiest in FY2012, boarding or alighting an average of about 773 passengers daily. List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations BART - Richmond Station Overview Capitol Corridor Richmond Station Page Amtrak Station Information Page Richmond --Great American Stations
7.
Chicago Union Station
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Chicago Union Station is a major railroad station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, replacing an earlier station built in 1881. It is the only remaining intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between West Adams Street and West Jackson Boulevard, just outside the Chicago Loop, including approach and storage tracks, it is about nine and a half city blocks in size. Its facilities are underground, buried beneath streets and skyscrapers. Chicago Union Station is the third-busiest rail terminal in the United States, after Grand Central Terminal and it is Amtraks overall fourth-busiest station. It handles approximately 120,000 passengers on a weekday and is one of Chicago’s most iconic structures, reflecting the city’s strong architectural heritage. In addition to standing out architecturally, Union Station has features that reflect its commitment to sustainability, in 2011, its lighting system was replaced with more energy-efficient light bulbs and motion sensors, reducing the station’s carbon footprint by 4 million tons annually. Chicago Union Station was designated as one of America’s “Great Places” in 2012 by the American Planning Association. The “Great Places” program by APA highlights places streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces around America that exhibit “exemplary character, quality, and planning. ”These places are unique in their cultural and historical significance, sense of community, and vision. Other criteria include “architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement. ”Chicago Union Station is considered a “Great Public Space” by APA and these spaces are safe and inviting, well-maintained, and attractive, both visually and in functionality. In addition, local culture and history are reflected within the space, Union Station is laid out with a double stub-end configuration, with 10 tracks coming into the station from the north and 14 from the south. Because passenger trains do not pass through Union Station, all passengers traveling through Chicago must change trains to reach their final destination. There are 2 through tracks to allow out-of-service equipment moves between the north and south side, including one with a platform to allow extra long trains to board, between the north and south sides of the station is a passenger concourse. Passengers can walk through the concourse to get from any platform to any other without stairs or elevators, odd-numbered platforms are on the north half of the station, and even-numbered platforms on the south half. The north tracks are used by Amtrak for the Hiawatha Service and the Empire Builder, and by Metra for the Milwaukee District West, Milwaukee District North, the south tracks are used for all of the other Amtrak and Metra services. Two station management structures, one on side of the terminal, monitor train-to-track assignments. The concourse also has a level between platform and street level, containing a food court featuring local vendors as well as national chains. Located west of Canal Street, Union Stations headhouse occupies a city block
8.
Capitol Corridor
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The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Capitol Corridor trains operate between San Jose and Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 880 and Interstate 80, one train a day continues through the eastern Sacramento suburbs to Auburn, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Capitol Corridor trains started in 1991, the Capitol Corridor is named because it links the location of Californias first state capitol, San Jose, with the current location, Sacramento. The rail route also travels near historical state capitol locations of Vallejo, at the start of the 1990s three Amtrak trains operated in the Bay Area, the long-distance California Zephyr and Coast Starlight, and the short-distance San Joaquin. Only the Coast Starlight ran once a day between San Jose and Sacramento, and at inconvenient times, the last local service between the two former capitals was the Southern Pacifics Senator which ran between Oakland and Sacramento until May 31,1962. In 1990 California voters passed two propositions providing $105 million to expand service along the route, the new service, named Capitols, debuted on December 12,1991 with three daily round-trips between San Jose and Sacramento. Of these, a single round-trip continued to Roseville, an eastern Sacramento suburb, the service was later renamed Capitol Corridor to avoid confusion with the Capitol Limited, which runs between Washington, D. C. and Chicago. In 1998 there was one round trip train that ran as far as Colfax, today, most eastbound Capitol Corridor trains terminate in Sacramento, with Amtrak Thruway bus connections to destinations farther east. Only one daily train runs as far as Auburn, new stations have been proposed along the route at Hercules, Benicia, northern Fairfield/Vacaville and Dixon. The northern Fairfield–Vacaville station is being developed by the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville near the corner of Peabody Road, the station is being planned and paid for by BART and the city of Union City. Preliminary work had started to add second pair of tracks between Oakland and San Jose, which would enable most trains to run from Sacramento to San Jose, an expansion to Truckee, California and Reno, Nevada on the UP line over Donner Pass has been considered. Revenue in FY2012 was $27,927,540, an 8. 6% increase over FY2011 and it is the fourth busiest Amtrak route by ridership, surpassed only by the Northeast Regional, Acela Express, and Pacific Surfliner. As of 2013 Sacramento is the busiest station on the route, the Capitol Corridor is used by commuters between the Sacramento area and the Bay Area as an alternative to driving on congested Interstate 80. Monthly passes and discounted tickets are available. Starting on August 28,2006 the Capitol Corridor had 16 weekday trains each way between Oakland and Sacramento, up from twelve in 2005 and three in 1992, according to its management, ridership on the Capitol Corridor trains tripled between 1998 and 2005. Starting August 13,2012 the Capitol Corridor dropped from 16 to 15 weekday trains each way between Oakland and Sacramento, as of February 2013 no weekday trains run the full length of the line between Auburn and San Jose. The single departure from Auburn runs to Oakland Coliseum, of the 14 westward departures from Sacramento seven run to San Jose, seven trains run San Jose to Sacramento, six downtown Oakland to Sacramento, one Coliseum to Sacramento and one Oakland to Auburn. When the Capitol Corridor debuted in 1991, it used Amtrak F40PH locomotives, Dash 8 locomotives were also used as they were brand new at the time
9.
Union Station (Los Angeles)
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Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Station, approved in a controversial ballot measure in 1926 and built in the 1930s, it served to consolidate rail services from a number of railroads into one terminal station. Conceived on a scale, Union Station became known as the Last of the Great Railway Stations built in the United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, today, the station is a major transportation hub for Southern California, serving almost 110,000 passengers a day. Three of Amtraks long distance trains originate and terminate here, the Coast Starlight to Seattle, the Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle to Chicago, the state-supported Amtrak California Pacific Surfliner regional trains run frequently to San Diego and also to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The station is the hub of the Metrolink commuter trains, and several Metro Rail subway and light rail lines serve it as well, the Patsaouras Transit Plaza, on the east side of the station, serves dozens of bus lines operated by Metro and several other municipal carriers. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles original Chinatown. ”The Times also attacked the elevateds for blocking out the California sun, two questions were put to vote in 1926. First, the voters approved Union Station instead of elevated railways by 61.3 to 38.7 percent margin. Second, the electorate voted in favor of the Los Angeles Plaza as the site of the new station but by a much smaller 51.1 to 48.9 percent margin. The glamorous new station took over from La Grande Station which had suffered damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and Central Station. Passenger service was provided by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, the famed Super Chief luxury train carried Hollywood stars and others to Chicago and thence the East Coast. Union Station saw heavy use during World War II, but later saw declining patronage due to the popularity of air travel. No one was killed or injured, but the engineer lost his job, the station was designated as a Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No.101 on August 2,1972 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The first commuter service to Union Station was the short-lived CalTrain that began operating on October 18,1982 between Los Angeles and Oxnard. The service faced economic and political problems from the start and was suspended in March 1983, the next attempt at commuter rail came in 1990 with the launch of the Amtrak-operated Orange County Commuter. The once-daily round-trip served stations between Los Angeles and San Juan Capistrano, Metrolink commuter rail service began on October 26,1992, with Union Station as the terminus for the San Bernardino Line, the Santa Clarita Line and the Ventura County Line. In January 1993, Metros Red Line subway began service to the station, the Orange County Commuter train was discontinued on March 28,1994 and replaced by Metrolinks Orange County Line
10.
Coast Starlight
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The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California, via the San Francisco Bay Area, the train was the first to offer direct service between the two cities. Its name is a combination of two Southern Pacific Railroad trains, the Coast Daylight and the Starlight, the train has operated continuously since Amtraks formation in 1971. Unique among Amtraks long-distance trains, the features a Hi-Level lounge for sleeping car passengers named the Pacific Parlour Car. Before the formation of Amtrak, no one passenger train ran the length of the West Coast, the closest equivalent was SPs West Coast, which ran via the San Joaquin Valley from Los Angeles to Portland, with through cars to Seattle via the Great Northern Railway. Southern Pacific Railroad had the Coast Daylight between Los Angeles and San Francisco and the Cascade between Oakland and Portland. SP also ran trains between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area – the all-sleeping car Lark on the coast route. Service from Portland north to Seattle was provided by Union Pacific, in 1970, Great Northern and Northern Pacific were merged into Burlington Northern Railroad, which continued to provide service. Trains south from Los Angeles to San Diego were Santa Fes San Diegans, with the start of Amtrak operations on May 1,1971 a single train began running between Seattle and San Diego. The unnamed train ran three days a week, on the four days another unnamed train ran between Oakland and Los Angeles. On November 14 Amtrak officially dubbed this dual operation as Coast Daylight-Starlight, the Los Angeles–San Diego through-running ended with the June 11,1972 timetable change, replaced by a third San Diegan. In June 1973 Amtrak began running the combined Coast Daylight-Starlight daily, positive response led to Amtrak to retain this service, and the Coast Daylight name was dropped on May 19,1974. With the November 10,1996 timetable change, Amtrak added through coaches between Seattle and San Diego attached to the last Amtrak San Diegan train of the evening. They were coupled onto the first morning train back to Los Angeles where they were re-coupled to the Coast Starlight to Seattle and this was discontinued with the October 26,1997 timetable change because of train 11s poor timekeeping. By mid-summer in 2006 delays of 5–11 hours were common, critics dubbed the train the Star-late. During early summer 2008, the Coast Starlight was relaunched with new amenities, in July 2008, the Pacific Parlour cars had been refurbished and were back in service as part of the relaunch. This was much anticipated, due to the success of Amtraks re-launches of the Empire Builder, between FY2008 and FY2009, ridership on the Coast Starlight jumped 15% from 353,657 passengers to 406,398 passengers. Operating conditions on the UP improved as well, by May 2008 on-time performance had jumped to 86%, during Season 9 of Reading Rainbow in 1991, the Coast Starlight was used as several segments in the episode Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express
11.
King Street Station
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King Street Station is a train station in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located between South King and South Jackson streets and Second and Fourth Avenues South in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, the station is just south of downtown. Built between 1904 and 1906, it served the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway from its opening on May 10,1906, until the creation. King Street Station was Seattles primary train terminal until the construction of the adjacent Oregon & Washington Depot, later named Union Station, King Street Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register in 1973. King Street Station was purchased by the City of Seattle in 2008 for $10 and, with enough funds finally in place, the station is served by Amtrak Cascades, Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight trains, and by Sound Transits Sounder commuter trains. King St. Station is also the Seattle terminus for the Rocky Mountaineers luxury excursion train, for the first nine months of 2006, Sounder service boarded almost 1.2 million passengers at King Street Station. In 2016, Seattle was the 15th busiest station in the national Amtrak System, built between 1904 and 1906 by the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, the station replaced an antiquated station on Railroad Avenue, todays Alaskan Way. Designed by the firm of Reed and Stem of St, the depots 242-foot tower was modeled after Campanile di San Marco in Venice, Italy, making it the tallest building in Seattle at the time of its construction. This tower contained four huge mechanical clock faces built by E. Howard & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, at the time of installation it was said to be the second largest timepiece on the Pacific Coast, second only to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, California. Over the years, remodeling concealed the stations original ornate interior, after the remodel, the only original remaining features left visible in the main waiting area were the terrazzo tile floor and the clock on the west wall above the restrooms. From a practical standpoint, the station is close to downtown, however, unlike cities such as Boston, it is not near the intercity bus terminal, although the station is less than a block from the International District of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. For many years, the upper entrance off of Jackson Street was not used. Instead, the entrance was located on the first floor off of a small parking lot. Plans to restore the building to its former prominence, including cosmetic renovations to both the station interior and exterior, began in 2003. As part of renovations the Compass Room and restrooms were refurbished. New mahogany entry doors and wood framed windows were installed in the waiting room, new brass door hardware and reproduction period light fixtures and plaster decorative work were included to reproduce the former character of the stations interior. In November,2006, the Office of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced an agreement between the City of Seattle and BNSF Railway to purchase the station for $1. The Seattle City Council formalized the agreement by passing legislation in December,2006, the deal, revised to $10, was signed March 5,2008
AC Transit: 29, 36, 57
