Spokane Intermodal Center

The Spokane Intermodal Center is an intermodal transport facility located in Spokane, Washington, United States. It serves as a service stop for the Amtrak Empire Builder, as well as the Greyhound, Trailways, and Jefferson Lines station for Spokane. The Empire Builder provides service daily between Chicago, Illinois and Spokane before continuing on to Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon.^{[Note 1]}

Spokane Intermodal Center
General information
Location	221 West 1st Avenue Spokane, Washington^[1] United States
Coordinates	47°39′23″N 117°24′55″W / 47.6563°N 117.4153°W / 47.6563; -117.4153
Owned by	City of Spokane
Line(s)	BNSF Spokane Subdivision
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	5
Connections	Amtrak Thruway Greyhound Lines Northwestern Trailways Jefferson Lines Travel Washington Spokane Transit Authority
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: SPK
History
Opened	March 5, 1891 (1891-03-05)^[2]
Rebuilt	1994
Passengers
FY 2022	34,053^[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Ephrata toward Seattle Empire Builder Sandpoint toward Chicago Pasco toward Portland
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Ephrata toward Seattle North Coast Hiawatha Sandpoint toward Chicago Expo '74 Terminus Preceding station Northern Pacific Railway Following station Marshall toward Seattle or Tacoma Main Line Hauser toward St. Paul Marshall toward Coulee City Washington Central Branch Terminus Terminus Spokane – Lewiston Marshall toward Lewiston Preceding station Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Following station Marshall toward Portland Main Line Terminus Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station Cheney towards Seattle or Tacoma Main Line Dishman towards Chicago
Location
Spokane Intermodal Center Location in Washington Show map of Washington (state) Spokane Intermodal Center Location in the United States Show map of the United States

The station was built in 1891 for the Northern Pacific Railway. It was remodeled in 1994 to allow buses to share the station, creating an intermodal facility.

Since 1981, when the westbound Empire Builder arrives in the middle of the night, the first six Superliner cars (five passenger cars, a diner and a baggage car) go to King Street Station in Seattle, while a single locomotive from Spokane takes the last four cars (the Sightseer Lounge, two coaches and a sleeper) to Portland Union Station. The eastbound trains join in Spokane in the middle of the night and run combined to Chicago Union Station. (The next eastbound stop is in Sandpoint, Idaho and the next westbound stops are in Ephrata, Washington for the Seattle section and Pasco, Washington for the Portland section.) In pre-Amtrak days, the Empire Builder split into Seattle and Portland sections at Spokane for most of the 1940s and 1950s.^[5][6]

The station located just north of Interstate 90 and is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southwest of the Spokane Center of the University of Washington and 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the campus of Gonzaga University.

The station, parking lot, and passenger platform are owned by the City of Spokane. The tracks are owned by BNSF Railway.^[7]

Boardings and alightings

 

The boarding platform as the westbound train is reconfigured

Year	2011^[8]	2012^[9]	2013^[10]	2014^[11]	2015^[12]	2016^[13]	2017^[14]	2018 ^[15]
Total	46,798	62,773	63,975	53,500	50,365	51,211	50,347	46,784
YOY Difference	-	15,975	1,202	-10,475	-3,135	846	-864	-3,563
YOY Difference %	-	34.14%	1.91%	-16.37%	-5.86%	1.68%	-1.69%	-7.08%

Notes

1. As of October 6, 2013, the westbound trains (Routes 7 & 27) are scheduled to arrive together at 1:40 am and depart to Seattle (Route 7) at 2:15 am and to Portland (Route 27) at 2:45 am. The eastbound train from Portland (Route 28) is scheduled to arrive at 12:13 and the train from Seattle (Route 8) at 12:45 am. Both trains are scheduled to depart together at 1:30 am.^[4]

References

1. "Spokane, WA (SPK)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
2. "One of the Finest: The New Northern Pacific Passenger Depot Opened". Spokane Falls Review. March 5, 1891. p. 5. Retrieved January 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
4. "Empire Builder" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. October 6, 2013. p. 2. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
5. May 4, 1947, Great Northern timetable http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder194706.html
6. June 10, 1956, Great Northern timetable http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder195607.html
7. "Great American Stations: Spokane, WA (SPK)". greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
8. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2011: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2011. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
9. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
10. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
11. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2014: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
12. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2015: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
13. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2016: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2016. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
14. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017, State of Washington" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
15. "Fact sheet: Amtrak in Washington" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2019.

External links

  Media related to Spokane Intermodal Center at Wikimedia Commons

• Spokane, WA – Amtrak
• Spokane, WA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Spokane Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)