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= Spokane Subdivision [2009] =

The Spokane Subdivision or Spokane Sub is a short railway line running about 11.9 miles from downtown Spokane, WA to Lakeside Junction near Marshall, WA. It is operated by BNSF Railway as part of the Northwest Division in the Northern Transcon, with shared use track rights given to Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak.

Route
The Spokane subdivision is a short route that provides access for westward trains departing Spokane to the Columbia River Subdivision, and provides an 11 mile route parallel to the Lakeside Subdivision.

The Spokane Subdivision starts running west out of downtown Spokane. The tracks wye approaching the Latah Valley creating a junction—the Sunset Jct.— that lies at the start of the Lakeside Subdivision. The trains en route to Pasco can either go immediately south over I-90 and enter the Lakeside Subdivision, or they can continue west across Latah Valley on the High Bridge. Trains en route to Seattle will always go west across the High Bridge. On the other side of the High Bridge, the tracks wye again—Latah Jct.—where trains can go north to the Columbia River Subdivision and Seattle, or they can go south—crossing over I-90—and continue on the Spokane Subdivision.

The Spokane and Lakeside subs continue briefly on opposite sides of Latah Valley, before they both turn southwest and run along Cheney Spokane road. Near Queen Lucas lake, the Union Pacific shared use tracks end. The UP trains wye off and continue south to Hinkle Yard on the Ayer Subdivision. Soon after the UP Junction, the Spokane Sub terminates and the tracks merge with the Lakeside Sub, which takes BNSF trains onward to Pasco.

Amtrak
Spokane plays an important role in the routes associated with the Empire Builder. The train splits or joins together at the Spokane Amtrak Depot. The route going east to Chicago starts in Seattle and operates under route No. 8. The route No. 28, starts in Portland and also goes east. In Spokane, the two routes converge and the two separate trains are linked together. They proceed eastward as one train under the unified route No. 8. The route heading westward from Chicago, No. 7, is split into two trains Spokane. The No. 7 continues to Seattle, while the other half continues to Portland under the route No. 27.

The 7/8 Empire Builder en route between Spokane and Seattle uses the Columbia River Sub, and as such only uses a brief portion of the Spokane Sub; the High Bridge over Latah Creek before it wyes to the north an continues towards Wenatchee. Like all trains passing through this section of track, the 27/28 Portland leg of the Empire Builder can use either the Spokane or Lakeside subs—between the Sunset and Lakeside Junctions—depending on the current rail line conditions and capacity.

In the early morning of May 19, 2020, the 27 Empire Builder departing Spokane for Portland hit a car that was stuck on the tracks at a private crossing. No injuries were reported from the crew, passengers, or the driver of the vehicle. The driver managed to vacate the vehicle before the train came through. The incident delayed the train by only two hours, and left no damage to the tracks.

= Spokane Subdivision =

The Spokane Subdivision or Spokane Sub is a railway line running about 80.0 mi from Sandpoint, ID to Lakeside Junction near Spokane, WA. It is operated by BNSF Railway as part of the Northern Transcon.

The line has shared track rights with Amtrak, Union Pacific Railway and Montana Rail Link.

The Amtrak Empire Builder uses the entirety of the line and stops in Spokane and Sandpoint.

Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railway uses the mainline of the Spokane Subdivision between Napa Street Junction to UP Junction.

At Napa Street, the mainline continues North to British Columbia on the former Spokane International. At UP Junction, the mainline continues South to Hinkle

This trackage rights arrangement has been in place since 1973.

MRL
The Montana Rail Link enters of the Spokane Subdivision at Sandpoint Junction in Idaho and uses the mainline to Spokane.