Centennial Station

For the station in Markham, Canada, see Centennial GO Station.

The Centennial Station (also known as Olympia–Lacey) is a train station located immediately south of Lacey, Washington, United States, that also serves the capital city of Olympia. The station is served by Amtrak's (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Cascades and Coast Starlight.

Olympia–Lacey, WA
Station house at Centennial Station
General information
Location	6600 Yelm Highway SE Lacey, Washington^[1] United States
Coordinates	46°59′29″N 122°47′39″W / 46.99145°N 122.79403°W / 46.99145; -122.79403
Owned by	BNSF Railway and Intercity Transit^[2]
Line(s)	BNSF Seattle Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Intercity Transit
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: OLW
History
Opened	October 28, 1990; 33 years ago (1990-10-28)
Passengers
FY 2022	40,882^[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Centralia toward Eugene Amtrak Cascades Tacoma Dome toward Vancouver, British Columbia Centralia toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Tacoma Dome toward Seattle
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Centralia toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Tacoma toward Seattle Centralia toward Eugene Amtrak Cascades Tacoma toward Vancouver, British Columbia Tacoma toward Seattle Pioneer Discontinued in 1997 Centralia toward Chicago Joint Great Northern/Northern Pacific/ Union Pacific service at East Olympia Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kyro toward Seattle Preceding station Northern Pacific Railway Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kryo toward Seattle Preceding station Union Pacific Railroad Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kryo toward Seattle
Location Olympia–Lacey, WA Location in Washington Show map of Washington (state) Olympia–Lacey, WA Location in the United States Show map of the United States

Local transit connections are provided by Intercity Transit. Bus routes 64 and 94 connect to Lacey and Olympia Transit Centers.^[4][5]

History

The original Union Pacific East Olympia station in East Olympia was demolished in the late 1960s. It was used by the pool trains that ran between Seattle and Portland by all three railroads that used the line, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific. Northern Pacific also had a station at Kyro, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of the current station. Amtrak trains during the 1970s and 1980s used a wooden shelter as East Olympia's passenger train station. However, the station site was remote and had no public transport, no lighting and a pot-holed gravel parking lot with a public telephone that rarely worked.^[6][7]

A new Amtrak station to replace East Olympia was proposed in the late 1980s, to be located on county-owned land facing the Yelm Highway.^[7] Centennial Station opened on October 28, 1990, with temporary lighting for the 800-foot-long (240 m) platform and portable toilets, as well as a 36-space parking lot.^[8] The first phase of the project—installing permanent lighting and landscaping—was completed in December at a cost of $385,000.^[9] A 60 percent increase in ridership was reported for that month, with over 2,000 passengers using Centennial Station compared to 1,302 in December 1989 at the former East Olympia stop.^[10]

The station's depot was built by the non-profit Amtrak Depot Committee, which began raising funds in 1987 and aimed to open a permanent station in time for the state centennial in 1989.^[6] The committee raised $500,000 through government grants, business contributions, individual donations, and the sale of engraved bricks that were later laid in the station plaza.^[11] Centennial Station's depot and waiting area opened to the public on May 1, 1993, following the delayed installation of a sewer system.^[6][12]

It is believed to be the only Amtrak station in the nation both built^{[citation needed]} and operated entirely by volunteers.^[13] The train station was sold to Intercity Transit for $1 in September 1993, while the Amtrak Depot Committee remained the main operators of the facility.^[14] The committee also raised $10,000 to install a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) clocktower in the courtyard, which was dedicated on November 14, 1994, as part of a ceremony for the Talgo trainsets entering service on the Seattle–Portland corridor.^[15] Despite early proposals to bypass the Olympia area in favor of a shorter route via Roy,^[16] Amtrak's rebranded Cascades service with Talgo trainsets debuted at the station in 1999.^[17] The station's parking lot was expanded to 133 stalls as part of an improvement project that was completed in 2001.^[18] A second improvement project, completed in 2003, included a rebuilt train platform for accessibility and the installation of an electronic information kiosk.^[13][19]

References

1. "Lacey, WA – Olympia (OLW)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
2. . amtrak.com. Amtrak. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
4. "Route 64". www.intercitytransit.com. Intercity Transit. from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
5. "Route 94". www.intercitytransit.com. Intercity Transit. from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
6. Hall, C.B. (February 21, 2012). "Amtrak finds it hard to take citizens' help, even when they build a station". Crosscut.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
7. Painter, Virginia (February 7, 1988). "East Olympia clings to train depot". The Olympian. p. A1. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Simons, Char (October 29, 1990). "Train station opens for business". The Olympian. p. C1. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Brown, Cindy D. (December 10, 1990). "Santa to arrive on Amtrak train at new station". The Olympian. p. C1. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "New Amtrak station boasts ridership up 60 percent". The Olympian. February 28, 1991. p. C1. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Satir, F.E. (March 9, 1997). "Volunteers transform 'Amshack' into showplace". The Olympian. p. D1. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Smith, Jeff (May 2, 1993). "At last, doors open to Amtrak depot". The Olympian. p. C1. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
13. . Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
14. Coffidis, Joel (September 22, 1993). "Volunteers sell train station to IT for $1". The Olympian. p. C3. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Coffidis, Joel (November 13, 1994). "New courtyard clock to welcome Talgo's return to depot". The Olympian. p. C1. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Parlow, Bob (January 19, 1996). "State may bypass Centennial station". The Olympian. p. C1. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Parlow, Bob (December 13, 1998). "States jump-starting rail corridor". The Olympian. p. C5. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Amtrak station gets more parking". The Olympian. August 5, 2001. p. C1.
19. "Upgrades finished at Amtrak depot". The Olympian. August 5, 2003. p. B3. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

  Media related to Centennial Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Olympia, WA – Amtrak
• Olympia, WA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)