Sacramento Station

Sacramento Station (SAC) is an Amtrak and Amtrak California train station in the city of Sacramento, California, at 401 I Street on the corner of Fifth Street. Today it is served by 40 daily Amtrak and Amtrak California trains, many Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches, plus the newest extension of the Sacramento Regional Transit District light rail Gold Line and the Route 30 bus serving Sacramento State University. Amtrak California connecting Thruway Motorcoach service is also available in Sacramento at the State Capitol bus stop (SCS) for drop-off service only. No Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach passengers whose journey originates in Sacramento may depart from the State Capitol bus stop, with one exception: passengers originating in Sacramento may board the southbound Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach to Stockton if the passenger departing from Sacramento is connecting to Amtrak California's southbound San Joaquin train service in Stockton.

History

The original Sacramento station was the terminal of the Central Pacific Railroad. The present building (built by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926) features a mural of the celebration of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Central Pacific started from Sacramento and built east to Promontory Summit, Utah, where it met the Union Pacific Railroad. The station is now owned by Union Pacific Railroad. With the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971 the station became Amtrak-only. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as "Southern Pacific Railroad Company's Sacramento Depot".^[2]

Present

In FY2010 Sacramento was the second busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 3000 passengers daily.^[1] It is Amtrak's seventh-busiest station nationwide.

Sacramento is served by the daily California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago via Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha; and the daily Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle via San Luis Obispo, Oakland, Eugene and Portland. Sacramento is also served by Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor (San Jose-Auburn) and San Joaquins (Sacramento-Bakersfield) trains, with multiple departures daily.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District has a light rail station stop at Sacramento Valley Station between the tracks and the station which marks the western terminus of the Amtrak-Folsom light rail line a.k.a. The Gold Line. The station is served by one Regional Transit bus, Route 30. There are Regional Transit buses to stops throughout the Sacramento area as well as E-tran busses to Elk Grove, the largest suburb of Sacramento.

Altamont Commuter Express, aka "ACE Train", has plans for a future Modesto-Sacramento line.

California High-Speed Rail

Sacramento is planned to be the north end of the California High-Speed Rail system, on which passengers will be able to get to Los Angeles Union Station in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Status of Station

The City of Sacramento plans to vacate the station, date unknown, by relocating rail services to new facility to the north of the existing station, approximate to the site of the original Central Pacific Station (1895-1926). Road overpasses have been constructed to allow the relocation of tracks.

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches

Amtrak California operates dedicated and guaranteed Thruway Motorcoach service on three separate routes extending the reach of trains to the north and east of the Sacramento Valley Station. All passengers travelling on Amtrak Thruway services must include travel on a train as part of their itinerary; traveling solely on Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches from one point to another is prohibited by California State law to prevent competition with privately operated bus lines such as Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Route 3 runs five times a day each way between Sacramento and the north end of the San Joaquin Valley, serving Marysville, Oroville, Chico, Corning, Red Bluff and Redding. One trip extends beyond Redding to the scenic California mountain communities of Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Yreka and the Southern Oregon communities of Ashland and Medford. All five trips flow through Sacramento to the south serving Elk Grove and Lodi en route to Stockton, California where passengers can connect to and from San Joaquin trains. Route 3 motorcoaches are supplemented by Amtrak's Coast Starlight train north of Sacramento which closely parallels the route as far north as Dunsmuir and the two have common stations in Chico, Redding and Dunsmuir.

Route 20-A runs three times a day each way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Sacramento to Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn, Colfax, Soda Springs, Truckee, Reno (Nevada), and Sparks (Nevada). The line closely parallels Amtrak's California Zephyr and the two use the same stations with the exception of Soda Springs (the Zephyr does not stop there) and Sparks, Nevada, which is about three short blocks from the rail depot. Service on this route was reduced from four trips per day each way to the current three when the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority took over management of the route in 2005. This downgrade canceled the early morning westbound thruway and late evening eastbound return and has made it all but impossible for Northern Nevada or Sierra Nevada residents to make one-day trips into the heart of California using this service.

Route 20-C now only runs once a day each way from Sacramento along historic and scenic U.S. Highway 50 to Placerville and the majestic South Lake Tahoe. As recently as 2006 service along this corridor was offered three times a day each way and one trip extended to the capitol of Nevada, Carson City. Amtrak California now provides the only scheduled intercity passenger transportation to South Lake Tahoe. Greyhound Bus Lines was forced out of the Lake Tahoe vicinity after several of their passengers caused a riot in the vacation-oriented community shortly after the Year 2000 celebrations. The bus line was unable to operate enough buses to allow all of the passengers they had brought to the community to return home in a timely manner. This unfortunate event, and the subsequent legislation passed by the Lake Tahoe City Council, spelled an end to popular Greyhound service to the region.

Station amenities

The station has vending machines, restrooms, a screen for train status, and a Starbucks.

• Station and service hours: 4:15 AM – 11:50 PM^{[* 1]}
• Ticket office hours: 4:15 AM – 11:45 PM^{[* 1]}
• QuikTrak ticket machine hours: 4:14 AM – 11:50 PM^{[* 1]}
• Checked baggage hours: 4:15 AM – 11:50 PM^{[* 1]}

Parking

Effective in mid-December 2006, the City of Sacramento began operating and took responsibility for parking at the Sacramento Amtrak Station. Parking is found all around the station in numbered stalls. As of September 2010, parking is $1.00 per 20 minutes with a $9.00 daily maximum. If you cannot return to your car before your parking time expires, you may call (916) 722-7275 to add time to your meter (you need to know your parking stall number).

Taxis and rental cars

• Taxi companies: Yellow Cab, Rhino Cab, Kmm Cab Co
• Rental car companies: Hertz, Enterprise

Public Transportation

• A Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) bus line, Route 30 serves the station, this line also serves Sacramento State University. In early December 2006, the light rail Gold Line was extended to the station (serving points between the City of Sacramento and the City of Folsom. With a transfer in downtown passengers can connect to the Blue Line (serving points to the north along the I-80 corridor to Watt Station and south to Meadowview Station.

Nearby hotels and points of interest

• Holiday Inn (3 blocks).
• Vagabond Inn Executive
• La Quinta Inn
• Best Western
• California State Railroad Museum (2 blocks)
• Old Sacramento (3 blocks) Redeveloped shops and restaurants
• California State Capitol (9 blocks)
• Crocker Art Museum (6 blocks) oldest art museum in the Western United States

Routes

• Coast Starlight Los Angeles-Seattle
• California Zephyr Emeryville-Chicago
• San Joaquins Sacramento-Bakersfield
• Capitol Corridor San Jose-Auburn
• Thruway Motorcoach

Trains

A=AM - P=PM

References

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – Sacramento, CA
• Sacramento Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
• Virtual 360 views