The Santa Fe Passenger Depot, also known as Fresno station, is an historic

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

and transportation hub in downtown

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. It is served by ''

San Joaquins The ''San Joaquins'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. Six daily round trips run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, with onward service to Sacramento (all round trips) an ...

'' inter-city passenger trains,

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

inter-city buses, and regional transit services including

Fresno Area Express Fresno Area Express (FAX), is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The system has over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stops, and 18 routes as of August 2022. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . FAX fixed r ...

, Fresno County Rural Transit Agency, and seasonally by the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System.

History

The station was built in 1899 for the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SF&SJV) and was designed by

William Benson Storey William Benson Storey, Jr. (November 17, 1857 – October 24, 1940) was the fifteenth president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Storey was born November 17, 1857, in San Francisco, California, the son of William Bainbridge Storey, an ...

for the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

(ATSF or Santa Fe). It is very similar to the

Stockton – San Joaquin Street Station San Joaquin Street station, also known as Stockton – San Joaquin Street, is an Amtrak station in Stockton, California. Originally built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (which acquired the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Rail ...

. The station was once the Santa Fe's Valley Division Headquarters, and was expanded or renovated nine times between 1908 and 1985. Santa Fe closed the station for passenger service in 1966 and completely shuttered the building in the early 1990s. When passenger service to Fresno was reinstated on 5 March 1974 Amtrak used a space in the nearby freight house. By the time the city of Fresno purchased the station in 2003, it had fallen into disrepair. The station reopened on 12 February 2005 after a renovation project largely restored it to its original 1899 appearance. After renovations there are now is dedicated to passenger service and another available for lease. The Santa Fe Depot was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976.

From its beginning until Amtrak took over nearly all passenger rail service within the United States in 1971, the station was served by ATSF trains, including the famous ''San Francisco Chief'' and the Oakland-Barstow line. For the first few years after Amtrak's inception Fresno had no rail service. In 1974 service by Amtrak/Amtrak California's ''San Joaquin'' began. Initially, service only included daily service (once in each direction) between Oakland and Bakersfield. Originally, the next northbound stop was

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

, but by 1978 the

Storey Train Station Storey (known as Madera by Amtrak) was an unstaffed train station located in the unincorporated community of Storey, and about southeast of the Fresno River, in Madera County, California, United States. Just prior to its closure in November 2010 ...

was added. (However, under Amtrak that station was known as Madera, rather than Storey.) As the years went by service increased substantially and by 2002 the ''San Joaquin'' ran twice daily (in each direction) between Sacramento and Bakersfield and four times daily (in each direction) between Oakland and Bakersfield.

Description

The station is located at 2650 Tulare Street, just off Santa Fe Street, across the street from

Fresno City Hall Fresno City Hall is a Post-modern Futurist structure in Fresno, California designed by architect Arthur Erickson. The building serves as the seat of city government, and the location of the mayor's office and the Fresno City Council chambers. Ar ...

. It is situated in the middle of a rough triangle formed by the three

freeways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

in the city (

California State Route 99 State Route 99 (SR 99), commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 (without any further designation), is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley. Fr ...

California State Route 41 State Route 41 (SR 41) is a state highway in California, connecting the Central Coast with the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Its western terminus is at the Cabrillo Highway ( SR 1) in Morro Bay, and its eastern terminus is at SR ...

, and

California State Route 180 State Route 180 (SR 180) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from State Route 33 in Mendota through Fresno, and then east towards the Sierra Nevada to Kings Canyon National Par ...

) and is easily accessible from all three. In , passengers boarded or detrained at Fresno station. Excluding passengers who are transferring to a Thruway Bus, Fresno has the highest ridership on the San Joaquins service.

Facilities

The station has an indoor waiting room open from 5:30 am to 10:00 pm daily. Inside the station there is a ticket counter with baggage check services. In addition to the ticketing agent, there is a Quik-Trak automated ticket kiosk. There is also a bathroom and payphone. The station has 11 short term and 98 long term parking spaces.

Notable nearby destinations

Chukchansi Park Chukchansi Park, formerly known as Grizzlies Stadium, is a city-owned baseball stadium located in Fresno, California, United States, completed in 2002 as the home for Minor League Baseball's Fresno Grizzlies. The first game was May 1, 2002. Loca ...

Fresno Convention Center The Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Fresno, California. The four-building complex was originally made up of three main venues when completed in 1966, and underwent several expansions with the latest addit ...

Meux Home Museum Meux may refer to: People * Edward Meux Worsley (1747–1782), British politician * Hedworth Meux GCB, KCVO (1856–1929), British Royal Navy officer * John Meux (died 1657), English politician * Meux baronets, people who held titles in two sepa ...

* Saroyan Theater *

Selland Arena Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over ...

Services

Train platforms

The Santa Fe passenger depot has two tracks, but only one

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

sees regular service. Amtrak trains switch onto this track just north or south of the station, leaving the Main Line clear for freight trains. There is a very narrow

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

between the tracks that is occasionally used when Amtrak trains are not able to switch onto the station track. Passengers are not allowed to wait on the island platform.

Bus connections

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

: 1 to Los Angeles via Bakersfield *

: 22 *

Fresno County Rural Transit Agency Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) is the primary bus agency providing intra- and inter-city routes for smaller cities and unincorporated rural communities in Fresno County, California since 1979, including Coalinga, Firebaugh, Fowler, H ...

Coalinga Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas. It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''. The ...

, Orange Cove,

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, Westside *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

* Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System: Highway 41 route to Yosemite National Park

References

External links

Fresno, CA – USA RailGuide (TrainWeb)
{{National Register of Historic Places in California

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Buildings and structures in Fresno, California Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in Fresno County, California

Transportation in Fresno, California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1899 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Fresno County, California 1890s architecture in the United States Mission Revival architecture in California Railway stations closed in 1966 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1974 Railway stations in Fresno County, California