Pacific Central Station (Vancouver)

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The front of Pacific Central Station, as seen from Thornton Park.

Pacific Central Station (1150 Station Street, Vancouver, Canada V6A 4C7) 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. Until VIA Rail took over operations around 1979, passenger trains went further west to the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver, which is now used by the SkyTrain and the West Coast Express commuter railway.

Pacific Central Station is adjacent to Main Street SkyTrain station. The station is wheelchair-accessible and is staffed with full VIA services.

Rather than stopping for a customs inspection at the border, as happens with Toronto–New York City trains, passengers for the Amtrak trains to Seattle pass through U.S. border preclearance facilities and airport-style X-ray machines in the station before entering a special, caged platform where they can board the train. This is meant to expedite border-crossing times for the train, which otherwise might be delayed hours on an already four and a half hour trip to nearby Seattle. This arrangement, though common in airports, is seldom seen for railway services, apart from a few special express trains such as the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel or rail service between Geneva, Switzerland and points in France.

In addition to VIA Rail and Amtrak, Pacific Central Station is also served by intercity coaches run by Pacific Coach Lines and Greyhound Lines.