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

railroad station A train station, railroad station, or railway station 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 city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. It is served by ''

San Joaquins The ''San Joaquins'' is a state-supported passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of 2025, the service operates seven daily round trips between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton. Of the ...

'' inter-city passenger trains,

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

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 had 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 ro ...

and the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency.

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, a ...

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 largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

(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 Rai ...

. 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 March 5, 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 February 12, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 language, 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 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

, but by 1978 the

Storey Train Station Storey (known as Madera by Amtrak) was an unstaffed train station located in the unincorporated area, unincorporated community of Storey, and about southeast of the Fresno River, in Madera County, California, Madera County, California, United ...

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. ''San Joaquins'' are expected to cease services here once

California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...

operations begin.

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 the city government and houses the mayor's office and the Fresno City Council chambers. Archite ...

. 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 ...

in the city (

California State Route 99 State Route 99 (SR 99) is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley. From its southern end at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Wheeler Ridge to its northe ...

California State Route 41 State Route 41 (SR 41) is a state highway in the U.S. State of California, connecting the Central Coast (California), Central Coast with the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Its southern terminus is at the Cabrillo Highway (California ...

, 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 P ...

) 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 5:45 am to 10:00 pm daily. Inside the station there is a staffed ticket counter with baggage check services. In addition to the ticketing counter, there is a automated ticket kiosk. There is also a bathroom and vending machines. The station has 11 short term and 98 long term parking spaces.

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 (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

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, transi ...

: 1 to Los Angeles via

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

, 15B to Yosemite National Park *

: 22 (more routes serve the nearby Courthouse Park) * Fresno County Rural Transit Agency:

Coalinga Coalinga ( or ) is a city in the Pleasant Valley 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 ' ...

, Orange Cove,

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

, Westside *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) is a public transit bus line based in Merced, California providing scheduled fixed route service between Yosemite National Park and gateway communities. Service operates year-round on Hig ...

: Highway 41 Route * V-LINE connections to Visalia are available daily from the nearby Courthouse Park

References

External links

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

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

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 in the United States opened in 1974 Railway stations in Fresno County, California Railway stations in the United States closed in 1966