Walter Danforth Bliss (1874-1956) was an American architect from California . Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
92-478: Sacramento Valley Station is an Amtrak railway station in the city of Sacramento, California , at 401 I Street on the corner of Fifth Street, built in 1926 on the site of China Slough . It is the thirteenth busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the second busiest in the Western United States. It is served by four different Amtrak train routes and connecting Amtrak Thruway motorcoaches. It
184-567: A "quasi-public corporation" to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains. Matters were brought to a head on June 21, 1970, when the Penn Central , the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy, filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains. In October 1970, Congress passed, and President Richard Nixon signed into law (against the objections of most of his advisors),
276-718: A "transitional CEO" who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership. On November 17, 2016, the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program. GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak. The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, to build
368-521: A day's pay for 100-to-150-mile (160 to 240 km) workdays. Streamliners covered that in two hours. Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s. Passenger service route-miles fell from 107,000 miles (172,000 km) in 1958 to 49,000 miles (79,000 km) in 1970, the last full year of private operation. The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks, airplanes, and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue. In direct response,
460-577: A large overhang of debt from years of underfunding. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch. Under Downs, Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a $ 2.3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis. However, Congress also instituted a "glide path" to financial self-sufficiency, excluding railroad retirement tax act payments. George Warrington became
552-482: A loop for light rail lines to enable through-running. As of May 2019, the streetcar project has been indefinitely stalled due to rising costs. Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation , doing business as Amtrak ( / ˈ æ m t r æ k / ; reporting marks AMTK , AMTZ ), is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of
644-634: A new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century-old tunnel, and the Portal North Bridge, to replace a century-old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure. Later projects of the Gateway Program, including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York, construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in
736-604: A red tile roof and terracotta trim, as well as large arches on the main facade. Inside, the waiting room has a mural by artist John A. MacQuarrie that depicts the celebration of the groundbreaking for the First transcontinental railroad on January 8, 1863, in Sacramento. The Central Pacific started from Sacramento and built east to Promontory Summit, Utah , where it met the Union Pacific Railroad . The station
828-512: A single daily round trip from Bakersfield by way of Modesto and Stockton with Sacramento as the northern terminus. Connections are available via Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach to five additional daily round trips that terminate in Oakland. The Capitol Corridor operates 15 round trips on weekdays and 11 on weekends; Sacramento is the eastern terminus for all trains except for one daily round trip which continues to Auburn. In FY2017, Sacramento
920-583: A transportation facility as the California High Speed Rail Project progresses, and when the planned Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Center is constructed along 5th Street between the Depot and the new platforms, all passenger services will leave and the historic structure will fully be available for use in other roles. The long-term plan also calls for integrating the proposed Sacramento Streetcar project as well as constructing
1012-781: A weekday commuter bus from Redding and Red Bluff to the Sacramento Valley Station. The original Sacramento station was the terminal of the Central Pacific Railroad . The present building, designed by the San Francisco architectural firm of Bliss and Faville for the Southern Pacific Railroad, was built in 1926 on the site of China Slough in the Renaissance Revival style. Decorative features include
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#17327905638671104-567: A year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. Politico noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes." Joseph H. Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008. In 2011, Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand
1196-698: Is also the western terminus for the Gold Line of the SacRT light rail system and the Route 30 bus serving California State University, Sacramento . Sacramento is served by four Amtrak routes: two daily long-distance routes, and two Amtrak California corridor routes with multiple daily trains, for a total of 38 daily trains on weekdays and 30 each day on weekends as of 2016. The California Zephyr and Coast Starlight are long-distance routes with one train per day in each direction. The San Joaquins operates
1288-490: Is currently still under review, including environmental evaluation and eventual RFPs for construction scheduled in the next 5–10 years. The city does not plan to immediately vacate the station, but services inside the main Head House building will slowly shift over the coming years as various projects to remodel and retrofit the facility and grounds progress. Eventually, however, the historic Head House will see less use as
1380-467: Is headed by a Board of Directors, two of whom are the Secretary of Transportation and CEO of Amtrak, while the other eight members are nominated to serve a term of five years. Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 miles (34,000 km) of track. It directly owns approximately 623 miles (1,003 km) of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track; the remaining mileage
1472-536: Is now owned by the City of Sacramento. With the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the station became Amtrak-only. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as "Southern Pacific Railroad Company's Sacramento Depot". For most of Amtrak's first two decades, the only trains calling at Sacramento were long-distance routes. The California Zephyr and its predecessors have served
1564-537: Is now the second-busiest station in the Western United States, behind only Los Angeles Union Station , and the seventh-busiest station overall. The Sacramento Regional Transit Gold Line service was extended 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to Sacramento Valley Station on December 8, 2006. The City of Sacramento, in conjunction with the Sacramento Railyards Project, is undertaking an extensive multi-stage renovation project. The first stage, called
1656-640: Is over rail lines owned by other railroad companies. While most track speeds are limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) or less, several lines have been upgraded to support top speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), and parts of the Northeast Corridor support top speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h). In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $ 2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from
1748-616: Is owned by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line .) This mainline became Amtrak's "jewel" asset, and helped the railroad generate revenue. While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system, the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming. As a result, Amtrak's federal subsidy
1840-590: Is powered by overhead lines ; for the rest of the system, diesel-fueled locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in the frequency of service, from three-days-a-week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor. For areas not served by trains, Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses, vans, ferries and other modes. The most popular and heavily used services are those running on
1932-555: Is the largest host to Amtrak routes, with 6.3 million train-miles. Freight rail operators are required under federal law to give dispatching preference to Amtrak trains. However, Amtrak has accused freight railroads of violating or skirting these regulations, resulting in passenger trains waiting for freight traffic to clear the track. Walter Danforth Bliss Walter Danforth Bliss was born in Nevada in 1874. His parents were Duane Leroy Bliss and Elizabeth Bliss. He graduated from
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#17327905638672024-763: The California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver and revived the Auto Train , a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles. Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I-95 running between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando) on the Silver Star alignment. In 1980s and 1990s, stations in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. received major rehabilitation and
2116-442: The 10 largest metropolitan areas and 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles (645 km). In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways . Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation. Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. As
2208-876: The Atascadero Printery located at 6351 Olmeda in Atascadero, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Luis Obispo County, California . In 1924-1926, they designed the Southern Pacific Railroad Company's Sacramento Depot in Sacramento, California . It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Sacramento County, California , since April 21, 1975. From 1934 to 1936, they designed
2300-477: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains, ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country. The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old, worn out, and in need of replacement. As passenger service declined, various proposals were brought forward to rescue it. The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that
2392-1018: The COVID-19 pandemic , Amtrak continued operating as an essential service. It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17, and limited sales to 50% of capacity. Most long-distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020. In March 2021, following President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan announcement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state-supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance. This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas , Phoenix , Baton Rouge , Nashville , Chattanooga , Louisville , Columbus (Ohio) , Wilmington (North Carolina) , Cheyenne , Montgomery , Concord , and Scranton . Also in March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long-distance routes to daily schedules later in
2484-554: The California High-Speed Rail system. Greyhound Lines does not use Sacramento Valley Station for its competing intercity bus service; instead, its Sacramento terminal is located 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north, near the 7th & Richards / Township 9 RT Light Rail station. However, Phase 3 of the ongoing renovation project may include additional bus bays to allow Greyhound to use Sacramento Valley Station as well. Shasta Regional Transit Agency has proposed
2576-900: The Geary Theater , located at 415 Geary Street. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco, California , since May 27, 1975. It now houses the American Conservatory Theater . In 1910 and 1911, they designed the Banker's Hotel in Oakland, California . In 1911, they designed the Mission of the Good Samaritan building of the Episcopal Community Center in San Francisco. In 1912-1915, they designed
2668-874: The Hellman-Ehrman Mansion . Together with William Baker Faville (1866-1946), whom he met at MIT, he designed the building for the Oakland Public Library located at 659 14th Street in Oakland, California , in 1900-1901. The construction was partly funded by the Carnegie Foundation . It now serves as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland , and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Alameda County, California , since August 11, 1983. In 1902, they designed
2760-658: The Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation. Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance. A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn
2852-765: The James Leary Flood Mansion in Nob Hill, San Francisco . In 1916, they designed the Southern Pacific Building located at 1 Market Street in San Francisco. The same year, they designed the Metropolitan Club of San Francisco, a women's private member's club located at 640 Sutter Street. In 1918, they designed Guigné Court , a 16,000-square-foot Mediterranean Revival estate in Hillsborough, California . It
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2944-770: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts , with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He started his career as a draftsman for McKim, Mead & White in New York City , the architectural firm of Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), William Rutherford Mead (1846-1928) and Stanford White (1852-1906). In 1903, he designed the private residence of banker Isaias W. Hellman (1842-1920) in Lake Tahoe , known as
3036-636: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail , but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak. Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1, 1976. (The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak. The route from New Haven to New Rochelle
3128-604: The Rialto Building located at 116 New Montgomery Street in San Francisco, it was later destroyed by a fire that same year . It was demolished in 1906, and they rebuilt it in 1910. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco, California , on January 3, 2011. From 1902 to 1904, they designed the second Saint Francis Hotel located at 301-345 Powell Street on Union Square in San Francisco. The first San Francis Hotel had been designed by Hart Wood (1880–1957). This new 250-room hotel
3220-501: The San Joaquins at Stockton. Sacramento Valley Station is the western terminus of the Gold Line , one of three routes of the SacRT light rail system. The station has a single side platform serving the single-track branch line, with a two-track layover yard to the west. Sacramento RT bus routes 30 and 38 stop directly at the station. However, many other RT bus routes terminate in downtown Sacramento, within several blocks of
3312-737: The Stockton United States Post Office located at 401 North San Joaquin Street in Stockton, California . It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Joaquin County, California , since February 10, 1983. Together with Hart Wood (1880–1957), in 1907 and 1908, they designed the Bank of California Building located at 400 California Street in San Francisco, California. He
3404-559: The 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses , air travel , and the car . New streamlined diesel-powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend. By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion. Traffic surged during World War II , which
3496-489: The 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces . Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track. Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for-profit organization . The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Amtrak
3588-620: The California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2.35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls , via Albany and Buffalo , which carried 613.2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021, and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394.3 thousand passengers that same year. Four of
3680-451: The DOT's analysis was far too optimistic, with director George Shultz arguing to cut the number of routes by around half. Nixon agreed with Shultz, and the public draft presented by Volpe on November 30 consisted of only 16 routes. The initial reaction to this heavily-cut-back proposed system from the public, the press, and congressmen was strongly negative. It made front-page headlines across
3772-467: The Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991, allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station. Despite the improvements, Amtrak's ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year, amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000. In the early 1990s, Amtrak tested several different high-speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor. An X 2000 train
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3864-478: The NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the high-speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from
3956-642: The NEC, including the Acela and Northeast Regional . The NEC runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. via New York City and Philadelphia. Some services continue into Virginia . The NEC services accounted for 4.4 million of Amtrak's 12.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short-haul corridors in California, the Pacific Surfliner , Capitol Corridor , and San Joaquins , which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses. Together
4048-813: The NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a "last hurrah" as demanded by the public. They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned. After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974, Louis W. Menk , chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad , remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak. Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself. Neither view had proved to be correct; popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined, while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible. The Rail Passenger Service Act gave
4140-421: The NRPC had hired Lippincott & Margulies to create a brand for it and replace its original working brand name of Railpax. On March 30, L&M's work was presented to the NRPC's board of incorporators, who unanimously agreed on the "headless arrow" logo and on the new brand name "Amtrak", a portmanteau of the words America and trak , the latter itself a sensational spelling of track . The name change
4232-414: The Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr. came out of retirement to lead Amtrak. During his time at Southern, Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak's prior managers, who all came from non-railroading backgrounds. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House. Despite frequent clashes with
4324-438: The North wing of the station and are more passenger-friendly. The station renovation was officially concluded on February 23, 2017, with a grand re-opening hosted by city officials. The third and final stage, called the Sacramento Valley Station Intermodal Phase III, will consist of continued station improvements, including the light rail trackage realignment into a downtown loop, addition of a new bus loop and terminal adjacent to
4416-447: The Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or are extensions from it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut, and Metrolink in Southern California. Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston , and Washington, D.C. , as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg ,
4508-498: The Northeast Corridor, state-supported short-haul service outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network. Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium-haul routes outside of
4600-406: The November 30th draft. These required routes only had their endpoints specified; the selection of the actual routes to be taken between the endpoints was left to the NRPC, which had just three months to decide them before it was due to start service. Consultants from McKinsey & Company were hired to perform this task, and their results were publicly announced on March 22. At the same time,
4692-474: The Rail Passenger Service Act. Proponents of the bill, led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains. They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), a quasi-public corporation that would be managed as a for-profit organization , but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains – while many involved in drafting
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#17327905638674784-473: The Reagan administration over funding, Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis, John H. Riley , the head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and with members of Congress. Limited funding led Claytor to use short-term debt to fund operations. Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s, high-speed Washington–New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules. Travel time between New York and Washington, D.C.
4876-448: The Sacramento Valley Station Intermodal Phase I, was completed on August 13, 2012, with the complete relocation of all heavy-rail passenger platforms (Amtrak) approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) further north from their previous location. Sacramento Regional Transit Gold Line light rail operations remain in their original location directly behind the station depot. The second stage, called the Sacramento Valley Station Intermodal Phase II,
4968-401: The Secretary of Transportation, at that time John A. Volpe , thirty days to produce an initial draft of the endpoints of the routes the NRPC would be required by law to serve for four years. On November 24 Volpe presented his initial draft consisting of 27 routes to Nixon, which he believed would make a $ 24 million profit by 1975. The Office of Management and Budget , however, believed Volpe and
5060-455: The bill did not believe the NRPC would actually be profitable, this was necessary in order for the White House and more conservative members of Congress to support the bill. There were several key provisions: Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970, only six declined to join the NRPC. Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short-lived. The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed
5152-433: The busiest, most complex section of the Northeast Corridor. In June 2017, it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak's next President & CEO. Anderson began the job on July 12, assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as "co-CEOs" until the end of the year. On April 15, 2020, Atlas Air Chairman, President and CEO William Flynn
5244-434: The corridor to make it suitable for higher-speed electric trains. The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven, Connecticut , to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454-mile (731 km) route, and several grade crossings were improved or removed. Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in
5336-477: The country and it was quickly leaked that the DOT had wanted a far larger system than the White House would approve of. The ICC produced its own report on December 29, criticising the proposed draft and arguing for the inclusion of fifteen additional routes, giving further ammunition to the congressmen who wanted an expanded system. Further wrangling between the DOT and the White House produced the final list of routes on January 28, 1971, adding five additional routes to
5428-480: The ex- New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad 's Chicago to Detroit route. The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff. At some stations, Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning, prompting complaints from passengers. Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted, temporarily cancelled, or replaced with buses. On
5520-462: The high-speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC, under the Hudson River in new tunnels, and double-tracking the line to Newark, NJ , called the Gateway Program , initially estimated to cost $ 13.5 billion (equal to $ 18 billion in 2023). From May 2011 to May 2012, Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day (May 7, 2011). A commemorative book entitled Amtrak: An American Story
5612-583: The job, he is the second-longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago. On December 9, 2015, Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016. He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week. On August 19, 2016, the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman as Boardman's successor with an effective date of September 1, 2016. During his term, Moorman took no salary and said that he saw his role as one of
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#17327905638675704-433: The new platform, and construction of an elevated concourse to replace the current walkway to permanently connect the Railyards development to the north. Additional features will also include new bicycle trails, site preparation for commercial and mixed-residential use surrounding the historic depot, and possible land conversion for the California State Railroad Museum expansion east where parking lots currently exist. This phase
5796-529: The other hand, the creation of the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success, resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973. Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously, Amtrak would lease around 1,200 of the best passenger cars from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. All were air-conditioned, and 90% were easy-to-maintain stainless steel. When Amtrak took over, passenger cars and locomotives initially retained
5888-413: The overall market share fell to 46% by 1950, and then 32% by 1957. The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression , but deficits reached $ 723 million in 1957. For many railroads, these losses threatened financial viability. The causes of this decline were heavily debated. The National Highway System and airports , both funded by the government, competed directly with
5980-433: The paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors – the "Rainbow Era". In mid-1971, Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased, including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives, 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1,290 passenger cars. By 1975, the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and
6072-458: The private railroads pool their services into a single body. Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support. The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor , but this did nothing to address passenger deficits. In late 1969, multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress , including equipment subsidies, route subsidies, and, lastly,
6164-407: The railroads, which, unlike the airline, bus, and trucking companies, paid for their own infrastructure. American car culture was also on the rise in the post-World War II years. Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad's ability to turn a profit. Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions. To take one example, workers continued to receive
6256-443: The requirement. In early 2002, David L. Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured. Highways, airports, and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from
6348-532: The rolling stock began appearing. Amtrak inherited problems with train stations (most notably deferred maintenance ) and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same communities. Chicago is a prime example; on the day prior to Amtrak's inception, intercity passenger trains used four different Chicago terminals: LaSalle , Dearborn , North Western Station , Central , and Union. The trains at LaSalle remained there, as their operator Rock Island could not afford to opt into Amtrak. Of all
6440-406: The schedule. Amtrak uses a sliding scale, with trips under 250 miles (400 km) considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule, up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles (887 km) in length. Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads. BNSF
6532-439: The six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC: New York Penn Station (first), Washington Union Station (second), Philadelphia 30th Street Station (third), and Boston South Station (fifth). The other two are Chicago Union Station (fourth) and Los Angeles Union Station (sixth). On-time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak. A plane is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of
6624-505: The sixth president in 1998, with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient. Under Warrington, the company tried to expand into express freight shipping, placing Amtrak in competition with the "host" freight railroads and the trucking industry . On March 9, 1999, Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express, a high-speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Several changes were made to
6716-775: The spring. Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late-May 2021. However, a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and/or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022. Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system. Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota ). Amtrak services fall into three groups: short-haul service on
6808-732: The station from Amtrak's inception; several pre-Amtrak predecessors of the Zephyr stopped in Sacramento from the 1930s onward. The Coast Starlight arrived in 1982. From 1981, the Spirit of California ran as a sleeper to Los Angeles along the far southern leg of the Coast Starlight route. Service expanded dramatically in 1991 with the introduction of the Capitols service, now the Capitol Corridor. Partly due to its success, it
6900-406: The station interior was full of scaffolding to facilitate the work being undertaken, causing the passenger waiting space to be visibly confined throughout the duration of the renovation. The work also saw the complete relocation of the Amtrak ticket and baggage offices from the 1960s era addition on the back side of the waiting room; and the new offices located in the former station restaurant space on
6992-406: The station. El Dorado Transit 's Sacramento/South Lake Tahoe (SAC/SLT) commuter bus route (which also operates as Amtrak Thruway route 20 ) stops directly at the station Additionally, Amador Transit , Roseville Transit , Yolobus , and Yuba-Sutter Transit all operate commuter bus routes that terminate in downtown Sacramento. Sacramento is planned to be the northern terminus of Phase II of
7084-431: The system with an aim to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image. However, the cash-strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations. Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights-of-way. Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s, including Penn Central, which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor (NEC), Congress passed
7176-636: The trains serving Dearborn Station, Amtrak retained only a pair of Santa Fe trains, which relocated to Union Station beginning with the first Amtrak departures on May 1, 1971. Dearborn Station closed after the last pre-Amtrak trains on the Santa Fe arrived in Chicago on May 2. None of the intercity trains that had served North Western Station became part of the Amtrak system, and that terminal became commuter-only after May 1. The trains serving Central Station continued to use that station until an alternate routing
7268-467: Was adopted in March 1972. In New York City , Amtrak had to maintain two stations ( Penn and Grand Central ) due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station; a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991. The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across
7360-414: Was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing . The railroad's market share surged to 74% in 1945, with a massive 94 billion passenger-miles. After the war, railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners. These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline. Even as postwar travel exploded, passenger travel percentages of
7452-692: Was built for Christian de Guigne II , heir to the Stauffer Chemical , the Leslie Salt Company and gold rush fortunes. In 1920, they designed the Hallidie Plaza branch of the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, California. In 1921, they designed the Matson Building and Annex located at 215 Market Street in San Francisco. It served as the headquarters of Matson, Inc. ( NYSE : MATX ) from 1922 to 1947. It
7544-579: Was commissioned by Charles Crocker (1822-1888), a railroad executive. However, it was destroyed and burned down by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . In 1906, they built a third San Francis Hotel. It became the largest hotel on the Pacific Coast in the early twentieth century. In 1905, they designed the Magee Building in San Francisco. In 1907, they designed the second Columbia Theater in San Francisco. From 1909 to 1910, they designed
7636-405: Was extensive work performed on the station depot building itself. This work included long-deferred retrofitting and structural repair, window replacement, accessible accessibility work, Life Safety fire code work including the outward opening of emergency exit doors and panic hardware installation, and both appearance and comfort rehabilitation to make the station better serve the public. As a result,
7728-609: Was fired. Gunn's replacement, Alexander Kummant (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership. He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $ 1 billion for ten years. In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers
7820-803: Was increased dramatically. In subsequent years, other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak. In its first decade, Amtrak fell far short of financial independence, which continues today, but it did find modest success rebuilding trade. Outside factors discouraged competing transport, such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel, and strikes which disrupted airline operations. Investments in Amtrak's track, equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America's transportation needs. Amtrak's ridership increased from 16.6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981. In February 1978, Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 North Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C. In 1982, former Secretary of
7912-650: Was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993, followed by revenue service between Washington, D.C. and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993. Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany, organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3, 1993. In 1993, Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak's fifth president. The stated goal remained "operational self-sufficiency". By this time, however, Amtrak had
8004-548: Was named Amtrak President and CEO. In addition to Atlas Air, Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation , SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp. Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020. As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020, the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate-distance corridors across the country. Included were several new services in Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, and Minnesota, among other states. During
8096-445: Was publicly announced less than two weeks before operations began. Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971. Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights-of-way at its inception. All of Amtrak's routes were continuations of prior service, although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network. Of the 366 train routes that operated previously, Amtrak continued only 184. Several major corridors became freight-only, including
8188-508: Was published, a documentary was created, six locomotives were painted in Amtrak's four prior paint schemes , and an Exhibit Train toured the country visiting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85,000 visitors. After years of almost revolving-door CEOs at Amtrak, in December 2013, Boardman was named "Railroader of the Year" by Railway Age magazine, which noted that with over five years in
8280-462: Was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service. This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor. Elsewhere in the country, demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state-supported routes in California, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon and Pennsylvania, for a total of 15 state-supported routes. Amtrak added two trains in 1983,
8372-607: Was sold to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company ( NYSE : PCG ) in 1972. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco, California , on November 29, 1995. In 1922, they designed a State of California Office Building in San Francisco. In 1924, they designed the Administration Building, Atascadero Colony located at 6500 Palma Avenue in Atascadero, California , and
8464-511: Was the second busiest of Amtrak's 74 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 2,941 passengers daily. It is Amtrak's seventh-busiest station nationwide. As of March 2024, Amtrak operates Amtrak Thruway bus service on three routes serving Sacramento Valley Station: Some Thruway buses also stop at the State Capitol ( Amtrak : SCS ). The stop is for drop-off only, except for southbound passengers connecting to
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