Truckee, CA (TRU)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$529,666

Station Ridership

FY 2011

8,399

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Truckee train station was built in 1900 by the Southern Pacific (SP) Railroad after the original depot, built in 1869, burned down. Using local pine lumber, the basic design is similar to that used in many other SP depots and buildings of the time, and is a long, low-built, single-story structure. Renovations and modernization in 1985 altered the historical look only slightly.

In 2011, Truckee’s station received a new wheel chair lift from Amtrak toward compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Today, the station serves as Truckee’s transit hub with connections to the local public transportation and bus systems. There is a waiting area that Amtrak passengers may use when the transit center is open. The station also includes the offices of the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center, as well as several private shops.

Truckee is named after a Paiute chief, whose real name was Winnemuca. The chief became famous after the first travelers to cross the Sierra Nevadas encountered his tribe and he rode out to greet them yelling “Tro-kay”, which is Paiute for “hello”. The travelers assumed he was yelling his name, and the idea stuck as the chief preached pacifism and led them and many other wagon trains through the treacherous passes of the Sierras.

Some emigrants, however, were not lucky enough to meet the chief, such as the notorious Donner party. They spent the winter trapped near Truckee in 1846-47, and infamously resorted to cannibalism. Nowadays many sites in the area bear that party’s name, including Donner Pass and Donner Lake.

Although some settlers comprised the town’s first inhabitants, Truckee really began to grow in 1860 as a way station for men constructing the transcontinental railroad. The tracks still divide Truckee as dramatically as they did in 1868, when the first train passed through the area. Truckee’s neighborhoods still include many distinguished Victorian houses, some turned into retail stores

The town of Truckee, now called “the Gateway to the Sierra”, is a fast-growing resort town. Truckee itself serves as a convenient location for access to the Sierras and Lake Tahoe.

The area draws a considerable vacationer and tourism industry of outdoor enthusiasts due to its access to fishing, camping, rock climbing, tennis, golf, horseback riding, and water sports such as water-skiing, sailing and windsurfing. During the winter Truckee benefits from its proximity to a number of first class ski resorts, including Squaw Valley, famous site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Truckee is served by two daily trains.