Sacramento Valley Rail Station

Infobox Station
name=Sacramento


image_size=
image_caption=Sacramento Valley Station
address=401 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
line=rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=California Zephyrrail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Capitol Corridorrail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Coast Starlightrail color box|system=Amtrak|line=San Joaquins
other=
platform=
tracks=
parking=
bicycle=
baggage_check=
passengers=970,939
pass_year=FY2007
pass_percent=5
pass_system=Amtrak
opened=
closed=
rebuilt=
ADA=yes
code=SAC
owned=
zone=
services=s-rail|title=Amtraks-line|system=Amtrak|line=California Zephyr|previous=Davis|next=Roseville
mpassengers=

Sacramento Valley Rail Station (SAC) is an Amtrak and Amtrak California train station which serves the city of Sacramento, California. It is located at 401 I street, on the corner of I Street and Fifth Street. Today it is served by 40 daily Amtrak and Amtrak California trains, many Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches, plus Regional Transit's new light rail line and local transit buses. 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 Sacramento station was originally the terminal for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The building's interior features a mural of the celebration of the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad started from Sacramento and built east to Promontory Point, Utah, where it met with the Union Pacific Railroad. The station is now owned by Union Pacific Railroad. With the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the station converted to an Amtrak-only station.

Present

As of Amtrak's 2007 fiscal year, Sacramento is the eighth-busiest Amtrak station in the system. It 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. 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.

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 provides five times a day service in each direction from Sacramento to the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley, serving the communities of Marysville, Oroville, Chico, Corning, Red Bluff and Redding. One of these five frequencies extends beyond Redding to the scenic Northern California mountain communities of Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Yreka and the Southern Oregon communities of Ashland and Medford. All five of these frequencies flow through Sacramento to the south as well serving the cities of Elk Grove and Lodi en route to Stockton, California where passengers can make conveniently scheduled connections 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 provides three times a day service in each direction from Sacramento through the Sierra Nevada Mountains serving the cities of Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn, Colfax, Soda Springs, Truckee, Reno (Nevada), and Sparks (Nevada). The line closely parallels that of Amtrak's "California Zephyr" and the two use the same stations with the exception of Soda Springs (the "Zephyr" does not hail there) and Sparks, Nevada, which is about three short blocks from the rail depot. Service on this route was reduced from four intercity trips per day in each direction to the current three when the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority took over management of the route in 2005. Unfortunately this downgrade in service 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 popular one-days trips into the heart of California utilizing this service.

Route 23 now only provides once a day in each direction Thruway Motorcoach Service 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 in each direction and one trip extended to the Capitol of Nevada, Carson City. However, Amtrak California is the sole remaining provider of 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 soon after legislation passed by the Lake Tahoe City Council, spelled an end to popular Greyhound service to the region.

tation amenities

* Station and service hours: 4:15 AM - 11:50 PM
* Ticket office hours: 4:15 AM - 11:45 PM
* Quick Track ticket machine hours: 4:14 AM - 11:50 PM
* Checked baggage hours: 4:15 AM - 11:50 PM(hours may vary by train status)

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

Parking

Effective in mid-December 2006, the City of Sacramento began operating and took responsibility for parking at the Sacramento Amtrak Station.

Taxis, rental cars and public transit

* Taxi companies: Yellow Cab, Rhino Cab
* Rental car companies: Hertz, Enterprise
* Regional Transit (RT) buses serve the station. As of early December 2006, RT light rail trains to downtown, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom began serving the station. With a transfer a few blocks from the station, passengers can connect to RT trains to the north east (Watt and I-80) or the south (Meadowview).

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 Dedicated, Guaranteed Amtrak Connections

Trains:

A=AM - P=PM

"Coast Starlight"
* #11 6:35A to Los Angeles from Seattle
* #14 11:59P to Seattle from Los Angeles

"California Zephyr"
* #6 11:14A to Chicago from Emeryville/SF
* #5 2:15P to Emeryville/SF from Chicago

"San Joaquins-Southbound"
* #702 6:35A to Bakersfield
* #704 4:25P to Bakersfield

"San Joaquins-Northbound"
* #701 12:30P from Bakersfield
* #703 11:25P from Bakersfield

"Capitol Corridor-Weekday Westbound Service"
* #521 4:30A to San Jose
* #523 5:30A to San Jose
* #525 6:20A to Oakland Coliseum
* #527 7:00A to San Jose
* #529 7:40A to Oakland Coliseum from Auburn
* #531 8:30A to Oakland Coliseum
* #533 9:20A to Oakland Coliseum
* #535 10:10A to San Jose
* #537 12:10P to San Jose
* #541 2:10P to Oakland
* #543 3:35P to San Jose
* #545 4:40P to Oakland
* #547 5:40P to San Jose
* #549 6:40P to Oakland
* #551 7:40P to Oakland
* #553 9:10P to Oakland

"Capitol Corridor-Weekday Eastbound Service"
* #518 6:28A from Oakland
* #520 7:38A from Oakland
* #522 8:28A from Oakland
* #524 9:45A from San Jose
* #526 11:13A from Oakland Coliseum
* #528 12:15P from San Jose
* #530 2:13P from Oakland
* #532 3:25P from San Jose
* #534 4:48P from Oakland
* #536 5:22P from Oakland to Auburn
* #538 6:10P from San Jose
* #540 6:48P from Oakland
* #542 7:35P from San Jose
* #544 8:55P from San Jose
* #546 10:25P from San Jose
* #548 11:18P from Oakland

"Capitol Corridor-Weekday/Holiday Westbound Service"
* #723 5:40A to San Jose
* #727 7:40A to San Jose
* #729 9:10A to Oakland Coliseum from Auburn
* #733 10:40A to San Jose
* #737 12:10P to San Jose
* #741 2:15P to San Jose
* #743 3:35P to San Jose
* #745 4:40P to Oakland
* #747 5:40P to San Jose
* #749 7:10P to Oakland
* #751 9:10P to Oakland

"Capitol Corridor-Weekday/Holiday Eastbound Service"
* #720 9:18A from Oakland
* #724 10:55A from San Jose
* #728 12:55P from San Jose
* #732 2:23P from Oakland
* #734 3:55P from San Jose
* #736 5:23P from San Jose
* #738 6:23P from Oakland
* #742 8:30P from San Jose to Auburn
* #744 8:55P from San Jose
* #746 9:53P from Oakland
* #748 10:55P from San Jose

External links

* [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/sacramento.htm Sacramento Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)]
* [http://www.360360.com/stations/sac.html Virtual 360 views]