Station locations with the same name

[fairviewroad]

Edit: And on the two Vancouvers, it might behoove someone to change the train numbers (say, switch 501 to 503 or 510 to 508) so they look more distinct on the tickets (501/510 is easy enough to mentally transpose, I suspect).

503 and 508 are already in use by other Cascades trains. Of course, you could easily swap 501 with 503. No one but railroaders would care about the swapped numbers. In fact, that switch makes a lot of sense since 503 is earlier in the day (i.e. to the left on the timetable), so it would maintain the convention of using lower numbers earlier in the day. (503 is a relative newcomer to the Cascades schedule, hence the out-of-sequence number).

I think they are probably not going to make any changes until the additional Cascades trains go online in 2017, which could lead to a wholesale renumbering. That said, the 501/510 confusion is only a problem for people who really, really aren't paying attention.

Edit to add: All that said, are the two Vancouvers the only case where the same physical train serves two cities with the same name? That is, on trains 513 and 516, you can board in one Vancouver and get off in the other Vancouver with no change needed.

 

[the_traveler]

Amtrak stops at Albany, OR and Rensselaer, IN but the station in NY that people know as Albany is Albany-Rensselaer, and is located in Rensselaer, NY! Then there's also Birmingham, AL and Birmingham, MI.

 

[fairviewroad]

Edit to add: All that said, are the two Vancouvers the only case where the same physical train serves two cities with the same name? That is, on trains 513 and 516, you can board in one Vancouver and get off in the other Vancouver with no change needed.

I'll answer my own question with the obvious response that Newark, NJ and Newark, DE are both served by the same train with no connection needed.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Edit to add: All that said, are the two Vancouvers the only case where the same physical train serves two cities with the same name? That is, on trains 513 and 516, you can board in one Vancouver and get off in the other Vancouver with no change needed.

I'll answer my own question with the obvious response that Newark, NJ and Newark, DE are both served by the same train with no connection needed.

Beat me to it. (I kinda know this since I live in NewArk, DE).

 

[BCL]

I suppose at one time it could have been possible to take the Coast Starlight from Richmond, CA to Richmond, BC, although a bus would be involved.

Frankly I miss that. It was a fun trip even from Richmond, CA to San Jose. It took longer than Capitol Corridor, but ironically it cost less at least in 2013. I remember booking it with a AAA discount for something like $16 for one adult and one child. We had breakfast in the dining car and went to the observation car where the view out the window was different than Capitol Corridor.

 

[BCL]

Anyone ever heard of confusion over the term "Penn Station"? So there are three Amtrak stations with that official name that used to be owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, plus one in Pittsburgh that's commonly just called "Penn Station".

 

[PRR 60]

There's Winter Park, Florida, and Fraser-Winter Park, Colorado.

 

[MikefromCrete]

This is nothing to do with Amtrak, of course, but the Chicago Transit Authority has five rail stations named "Western (Avenue) including two on the Blue Line.

 

[CHamilton]

Newark, NJ and Newark, DE are both served by the same train with no connection needed.

Or you can get on a little further north at New Yark

 

[fairviewroad]

Others not mentioned. All of these are served by Amtrak trains. If you include Thruway bus duplicates, the list would be much longer:

Burlington, NC - Burlington, IA (connect in WAS and CHI, but not bookable except with overnight in WAS)

Durham, NC - Durham, NH (connect in WAS and BOS)

Gainesville, TX - Gainesville, GA (surprisingly, it can be booked with connections in FTW, CHI and either WAS or CVS)

Hammond, LA- Hammond, IN (connect in CHI)

Lafayette, IN - Lafayette, LA (connect in CHI and NOL but not bookable except with overnight in NOL)

Niagara Falls, NY - Niagara Falls, ON (no change needed...okay, it's a bit of a cheat but technically they ARE separate cities)

Honorable mentions:

Essex, MT - Essex Junction, VT (connect in CHI and NYP but not bookable except with overnight in NYP)

Huntington, WV - Huntingdon, PA (connect in PHL but not bookable except with overnight in PHL)

Longview, TX - Kelso-Longview, WA (connect in LAX)

Princeton, IL - Princeton Junction, NJ (can be done with same-day connections in CHI and WAS but not bookable except as multi-city)

 

[zephyr17]

There was a news story within the last couple of years (which I can't find now) about a driver who was caught trying to go through the Canadian border crossing without stopping. They insisted that they thought they were driving south on I-5 to Vancouver, Washington, but had mistakenly driven north toward Vancouver, BC instead. Totally oblivious.

:blink: LOL!

 

[Blackwolf]

I suppose at one time it could have been possible to take the Coast Starlight from Richmond, CA to Richmond, BC, although a bus would be involved.

Frankly I miss that. It was a fun trip even from Richmond, CA to San Jose. It took longer than Capitol Corridor, but ironically it cost less at least in 2013. I remember booking it with a AAA discount for something like $16 for one adult and one child. We had breakfast in the dining car and went to the observation car where the view out the window was different than Capitol Corridor.

The Starlight is still cheaper than the Capitol Corridor if the buckets are at 1st or 2nd stage on the low end. I've done it several times, and like you, have enjoyed a full breakfast in the diner going southbound.

Looked up what it'd cost for me and Mrs. Blackwolf to attend our annual extended family dinner at Scotts Oakland/Jack London Square on Chirstmas Eve using the Capitol Corridor RT from Sacramento. I was FLOORED at the price: $104 with the AAA discount! I think we may be driving this year...

 

[SubwayNut]

Windsor, VT to Windsor Locks, CT (through train) to Windsor, CT (change in SPG)

In terms of the Penn Stations, overherd on an Acela coming south, leaving Boston, a couple times. For some reason this friendly conductor was asking each passengers to verify their destination.

Conductor: "Where are you going today sir/mam?"

Passenger: "Penn Station"

Conductor: "Which one? We stop at 3"

Passenger "New York"

 

[Barciur]

Amtrak stops at Albany, OR and Rensselaer, IN but the station in NY that people know as Albany is Albany-Rensselaer, and is located in Rensselaer, NY! Then there's also Birmingham, AL and Birmingham, MI.

Yes, I was so glad to see Amtrak stops in Albany when I wanted to go there, and then I saw where it was... and thought "well, that's not gonna work." Glad I'm not a clueless traveller, or I'd be stuck!

 

[benjibear]

Then you got a city like Boston where there are four Amtrak stations. When I was first looking at going to Boston, I had no idea which station I needed to go to.

Also, not mentioned is Lancaster, PA and Lancaster, CA.

 

[John Bredin]

Then you got a city like Boston where there are four Amtrak stations. When I was first looking at going to Boston, I had no idea which station I needed to go to.

Four? I count three: Boston South, Boston North, and Back Bay. Not that three isn't sufficiently confusing.

 

[PRR 60]

Then you got a city like Boston where there are four Amtrak stations. When I was first looking at going to Boston, I had no idea which station I needed to go to.

Four? I count three: Boston South, Boston North, and Back Bay. Not that three isn't sufficiently confusing.

Amtrak.com shows the Route 128 stop as "Boston - Route 128 / Westwood, MA (RTE)." It's kind of a stretch, since the station is not in Boston.

 

[benjibear]

Then you got a city like Boston where there are four Amtrak stations. When I was first looking at going to Boston, I had no idea which station I needed to go to.

Four? I count three: Boston South, Boston North, and Back Bay. Not that three isn't sufficiently confusing.

Amtrak.com shows the Route 128 stop as "Boston - Route 128 / Westwood, MA (RTE)." It's kind of a stretch, since the station is not in Boston.

It may be a stretch but for a person that never has been to Boston, it can be confusing. I don't think there are any other cities on the NEC that have multiple stations.

 

[BCL]

Then you got a city like Boston where there are four Amtrak stations. When I was first looking at going to Boston, I had no idea which station I needed to go to.

Four? I count three: Boston South, Boston North, and Back Bay. Not that three isn't sufficiently confusing.

Amtrak.com shows the Route 128 stop as "Boston - Route 128 / Westwood, MA (RTE)." It's kind of a stretch, since the station is not in Boston.

It may be a stretch but for a person that never has been to Boston, it can be confusing. I don't think there are any other cities on the NEC that have multiple stations.

Newark I'd think with Newark Penn Station and Newark Airport. Maybe Philadelphia 30th St and North Philadelphia.

 

[Barciur]

Boston is still far from perhaps the MOST confusing of cities in the world regarding this - Moscow. Moscow has 9 major railway stations!

• Leningradsky Station: Estonia, Finland, St. Petersburg and northwestern Russia
• Belorussky Station: Belarus, Kalliningrad, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and some trains to Latvia
• Kazansky Station: Central Asia, Ryzan, Ufa, Samara and Novorossiisk
• Kievsky Station: Serves Western Ukraine and Southeastern Europe
• Kursky Station: Southern Russia, Caucasus nations, Eastern Ukraine, and Crimea
• Paveletsky Station: Voronezh, Tambov, Volgograd and Astrakhan.
• Rizhsky Station: Latvia
• Savyolovsky Station: Kostroma, Cherepovets and some trains to Vologda
• Yaroslavlsky Station: Siberia, the Russian Far East, Mongolia and China

Other countries also have cities with multiple stations - Germany (Berlin Hbf, Berlin Ostbahnhof, Hamburg Hbf, Hamburg Altona), Poland (Warsaw has 3 stations - East, Central, West, Gdansk has 3 stations for example).

 

[neroden]

At least in Moscow, if you're travelling to Leningrad, Belarus, Kazan, Kiev, Kursk, Paveletsk, Riga, Savyolovsk, or Yaroslavlsk, you know which station to go to! If you're going anywhere else it's a bit confusing though.

 

[BCL]

At least in Moscow, if you're travelling to Leningrad, Belarus, Kazan, Kiev, Kursk, Paveletsk, Riga, Savyolovsk, or Yaroslavlsk, you know which station to go to! If you're going anywhere else it's a bit confusing though.

I've been to Shanghai. And I don't really speak the language. They have two major airports (including one major airport/train station complex) and four major train stations.

 

[jis]

Let's see.... London has Victoria, Waterloo, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Canon Street, Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, Kings Cross, St. Pancras, Merylebone, and Paddington and a couple others maybe.

Why are we suddenly counting stations?

Delhi has Delhi Jct., New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Sarai Rohilla, Sadar Bazar, Delhi Cantonment, and a couple more.

Oh yes! Paris has Montparnasse, Austelitz, Lyon, Nord, Est and St. Lazare, and a few others.

Speaking of Berlin, it has Hauptbahnoff, Lichtenberg, Ostbahoff, Zoo, Wansee and a few more....

Etc.

And actually New York has three major airports and three major train stations, only one served by Amtrak.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[tp49]

At least in Moscow, if you're travelling to Leningrad, Belarus, Kazan, Kiev, Kursk, Paveletsk, Riga, Savyolovsk, or Yaroslavlsk, you know which station to go to! If you're going anywhere else it's a bit confusing though.

I've been to Shanghai. And I don't really speak the language. They have two major airports (including one major airport/train station complex) and four major train stations.

I lived in Shanghai and never found it all that confusing even after I first got there, not speaking the language at all. Then again for my inter-city travel needs almost all of them were out of two places (Hongqiao Airport/Rail station) or SH railway station.

London on the other hand has at least a dozen main stations which I found to be somewhat confusing.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Are you counting Newark Penn Station and Newark Intl as a NY airporr/station jis? If so that makes sense since you can take Amtrak for both but not for LGA, JFK, NYP or GCT!