Centennial 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.

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

Olympia–Lacey, WA
Station house at Centennial Station
General information
Location6600 Yelm Highway SE
Lacey, Washington[1]
United States
Coordinates46.99145°N 122.79403°W / 46.99145; -122.79403
Owned byBNSF Railway and Intercity Transit[2]
Line(s)BNSF Seattle Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsIntercity Transit
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: OLW
History
OpenedOctober 28, 1990 (1990-10-28)
Passengers
FY 202240,882[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Centralia
toward Eugene–Springfield
 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–Springfield
 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 is located in Washington (state)
Olympia–Lacey, WA
Olympia–Lacey, WA
Location in Washington
Olympia–Lacey, WA is located in the United States
Olympia–Lacey, WA
Olympia–Lacey, WA
Location in 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 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. "Great American Stations: Olympia-Lacey, WA (OLW)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. 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. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  5. "Route 94". www.intercitytransit.com. Intercity Transit. Archived 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. "Train Platform Improved at Olympia/Lacey Centennial Station". 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.

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