Ephrata station

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 transport next to the station while local transit is provided by the Grant Transit Authority.[4]

Ephrata, WA
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Location24 Alder Street
Ephrata, Washington
United States
Coordinates47.32089°N 119.54935°W / 47.32089; -119.54935
Owned byCity of Ephrata
Line(s)BNSF Railway Columbia River Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsNorthwestern Trailways, Grant Transit Authority, Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Construction
ParkingYes; free
Other information
Station codeEPH
History
Rebuilt1994
Traffic
Passengers (2018)3,503[1]  6.39%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Wenatchee
toward Seattle
 Empire Builder Spokane
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Wenatchee
toward Seattle
 North Coast Hiawatha Spokane
toward Chicago
Location
Ephrata, WA
Location in Washington
Ephrata, WA
Location in the United States

History

Passenger 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 Wentachee.[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]

Boardings and alightings
Year 2011[17]2012[18]2013[19]2014[20]2015[21]2016[22]2017[23]2018 [1]
Total 3,0633,8743,7503,5763,4433,5093,7423,503
YOY Difference -811-124-174-13366233-239
YOY Difference % -26.48%-3.20%-4.64%-3.72%1.92%6.64%-6.39%

Notes and references
  1. "Fact sheet: Amtrak in Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  2. "Amtrak - Great American Stations". Amtrak. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2008, State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. October 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  4. "Daily Trailways Service Schedule". Northwestern Trailways. 2006-09-01. Archived from the original on 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
  5. Starmont, Leon (February 22, 1948). "Ephrata: Desert Oasis Now a Thriving Capital". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Goodbye To Some Old Friends". Grant County Journal. May 6, 1971. p. 1.
  7. "Amtrak Causes Changes in Ephrata's Mail Service". Spokane Chronicle. May 6, 1971. p. 3. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Amtrak Plans Ephrata Stop This Summer". Spokane Chronicle. May 3, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Depot Shut". Spokane Chronicle. December 7, 1973. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Allen, Rob (March 4, 1977). "Passenger trains to skip Ephrata". The Spokesman-Review. p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Ephrata ticket sales to be halted". The Spokesman-Review. October 26, 1977. p. 6. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Gilmore, Susan (September 30, 1979). "Few would mourn last Amtrak train through Wenatchee". The Seattle Times. p. A22.
  13. "Seattle-Spokane Amtrak route returns". The Seattle Times. October 26, 1981. p. C2.
  14. Moody, Dick (May 5, 1983). "'Train nut' got Amtrak to stop". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Basin transit center dedicated". The Wenatchee World. November 4, 1994. p. 10.
  16. "Hundreds greet arrival of special train in Ephrata". The Wenatchee World. November 8, 1994. p. 10.
  17. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2011: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2011. p. 1. Retrieved 6 Jan 2015.
  18. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. p. 1. Retrieved 6 Jan 2015.
  19. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. p. 1. Retrieved 6 Jan 2015.
  20. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2014: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. p. 1. Retrieved 12 Jan 2016.
  21. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2015: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. p. 1. Retrieved 12 Jan 2016.
  22. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 20165, State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2016. Retrieved 17 Jan 2017.
  23. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017, State of Washington" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. Nov 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
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