Pacific Central Station

Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country The Canadian service to Toronto, Ontario, and the northern terminus of United States passenger railroad company Amtrak's Cascades service to Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The station, which is also Vancouver's main intercity bus terminal, is wheelchair-accessible and is staffed with full Via services. The station is a candidate for the northern terminus of a possible future high-speed rail line being considered primarily by the US state of Washington.^[3]

Pacific Central
General information
Location	1150 Station Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
Coordinates	49°16′25″N 123°05′53″W
Owned by	Via Rail
Platforms	3 island platforms
Tracks	7
Bus stands	24
Bus operators	Amtrak Thruway BC Ferries Connector Ebus FlixBus Greyhound Lines Rider Express Transportation YVR Skylynx
Connections	Main Street–Science World TransLink: 3, 8, 19, 22, 23
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Pratt and Ross
Architectural style	Beaux-Arts[1]
Other information
Status	Staffed station
Station code	Amtrak: VAC Via Rail: VCVR
IATA code	XEA
History
Opened	November 2, 1919 (1919-11-02)
Previous names	Canadian National Railway Station False Creek Station
Passengers
FY 2023	221,390[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Via Rail Following station Terminus The Canadian Mission Harbour toward Toronto Abbotsford One-way operation Preceding station Amtrak Following station Bellingham toward Eugene Amtrak Cascades Terminus
Former services Preceding station Rocky Mountaineer Following station Terminus First Passage to the West Kamloops towards Banff Journey Through the Clouds Kamloops towards Jasper Seattle Terminus Coastal Passage Rocky Mountaineer towards Banff or Jasper Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station Terminus Main Line New Westminster toward Montreal Preceding station Via Rail Following station Terminus Super Continental Jasper toward Toronto Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station New Westminster toward Seattle Vancouver, BC – Seattle Terminus
Heritage Railway Station (Canada)
Designated	1991
Reference no.	4527
Location Pacific Central Station Location in Vancouver Show map of Greater Vancouver Regional District Pacific Central Station Location in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia Pacific Central Station Location in Canada Show map of Canada

History

The station in 1918, then known as False Creek Station. Shows the land around the building being filled in.

The station's arrivals and departures board in 1981

The station was built in 1917 by the Canadian Northern Railway as the terminus of its line to Edmonton.^[4] The station was built on reclaimed land that previously was planned for dredging to create a canal between False Creek and Burrard Inlet.^[5] It was originally named False Creek Station and was designed by the architecture firm Pratt and Ross.^[6] The station was dedicated on November 2, 1919, a day after the first Canadian National Railway (CNR) trains began using the station.^[7][8]

On April 1, 1962, Great Northern Railway closed its neighbouring Vancouver station and relocated its passenger operations to the CNR station.^[9] The railway (and its successor Burlington Northern Railroad) ran its International passenger service between Seattle and the CNR station until May 1, 1971. Amtrak then resumed the Seattle–Vancouver service as the Pacific International from July 1972 until September 30, 1981, when the service was eliminated due to budget cuts.^[10][11]

In the late 1970s, the Canadian federal government nationalized passenger rail service, founding Via Rail to take control of money-losing passenger operations from CNR and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In June 1979, Via Rail decided to consolidate its Vancouver operations at the CNR station.^[12][13] By the end of October 1979, the former CPR Waterfront station was closed, and CPR's legacy passenger services were transferred to the CNR station.^[14][15]

In January 1991, Greyhound Canada announced that it wanted to relocate its Vancouver bus terminal in Larwill Park, which included the operations of other bus companies that sublet its space, to the former CNR station.^[16] The deal was finalized in September 1991. CNR would sell the train station to Via Rail, which had leased it from CNR since 1978, so that Via Rail could renovate the station. CNR would also lease 3,280 square metres (35,300 sq ft) of land behind the station to Greyhound, which would build a passenger shelter and bus stalls for its own operations and those of the other bus companies using that space. Station remodelling and bus station preparations would cost CA$8,400,000, of which Greyhound would spend $3.5 million.^[17][18][19] In connection with the station's upcoming ownership transfer and transformation into an intermodal facility, The Province newspaper held a contest in 1991 to rename the station, and Pacific Central Station was chosen.^[20] The station was designated a heritage railway station in late 1991 under the federal Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.^[5][1] The facility renaming became official in 1993, after the building refurbishment was completed.^[21] In 1994, the large neon Canadian National signage atop the building was replaced by the words Pacific Central using the same styling.^[22]

Cross-border service returned in 1995 when Amtrak introduced the Mount Baker International, which was later folded into the modern-day Cascades brand.^[23]

On November 8, 2010, the Canadian government announced a $5.1 million plan to rebuild parts of the station, including refurbishing windows, masonry, and the roof of the building.^[24]

Services

Rail

Amtrak Cascades

Amtrak Cascades provides two daily round trips between Vancouver and Seattle, Washington, with one daily train continuing to Portland, Oregon.

Amtrak passengers bound for the United States go through United States border preclearance inside the station prior to boarding in Vancouver, with a brief 10-minute stop at the Peace Arch Border Crossing for agents to collect forms. Canadian-bound passengers go through Canadian customs at the station upon arrival; northbound trains travelling towards Pacific Central Station do not stop at the border. This is in contrast to Amtrak's international services on the East Coast (Adirondack to Montreal and Maple Leaf to Toronto), where passengers are processed by customs immediately after passing over the border.

To enable customs processing away from the border crossing, Amtrak trains are sequestered inside a secure caged area at Pacific Central Station. Additionally, trains make no stops in Canada other than at Pacific Central Station.^[25]

Via Rail Canadian

Via Rail's Canadian train offers twice-weekly cross-country service to Toronto via Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg; weekly service to Edmonton (summer only).^[26]

Bus

Pacific Central Station is Vancouver's main intercity bus terminal.

Bus company	Destinations
Amtrak Thruway (operated by Cantrail)[27]	Seattle
BC Ferries Connector[28]	Victoria (via Tsawwassen ferry terminal)
Ebus	Kelowna, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Prince George
FlixBus[29]	Bellingham, Seattle
Greyhound Lines	Bellingham, Seattle
Rider Express[30]	Kamloops, Revelstoke, Banff, Calgary and Edmonton
YVR Skylynx	Squamish, Whistler

Public transit

Pacific Central Station is immediately adjacent to Main Street–Science World station on the Expo Line of Greater Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system.

See also

• Waterfront station (Vancouver), used by West Coast Express trains
• List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
• List of designated heritage railway stations of Canada