[5] Funding is provided by Amtrak and seven local jurisdictions, including Thurston County, Intercity Transit, the Port of Olympia, and nearby city governments.

[citation needed] Olympia had been bypassed by earlier railroads in favor of a more direct route between Tacoma and Portland, as well as property deed issues after the death of a local agent for a major landowner.

[12] 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.

[20] 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.

[21] Despite early proposals to bypass the Olympia area in favor of a shorter route via Roy,[22] Amtrak's rebranded Cascades service with Talgo trainsets debuted at the station in 1999.