Santa Fe Passenger Depot (Fresno, California)

Depot circa 1910

The station was built in 1899 for the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SF&SJV)[7] and was designed by William Benson Storey for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF or Santa Fe). It is very similar to the Stockton – San Joaquin Street Station.[8] The station was once the Santa Fe's Valley Division Headquarters, and was expanded or renovated nine times between 1908 and 1985. Sante 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 US$6 million renovation project largely restored it to original 1899 appearance.[3] After renovations there are now is 5,400 sq ft (500 m²) dedicated to passenger service and another 12,300 sq ft (1,140 m²) available for lease. The Santa Fe Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The Santa Fe sign on the Fresno Depot

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.[9] 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.[10] Originally, the next northbound stop was Merced, but by 1978 the Storey Train Station was added. (However, under Amtrak that station was known as Madera, rather than Storey.)[11] 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.[12]

The station is located at 2650 Tulare Street,[1] just off Santa Fe Street, across the street from Fresno City Hall. It is situated in the middle of a rough triangle formed by the three freeways in the city (California State Route 99, California State Route 41, and California State Route 180) and is easily accessible from all three.

Of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, Fresno was the 11th-busiest, boarding or detraining 377,709 passengers in Fiscal Year 2018.[4] Excluding passengers who are transferring to a Thruway Bus, Fresno has the highest ridership on the San Joaquins service.[13]

Media related to Fresno station at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak California – Fresno
• Amtrak – Fresno
• (FNO)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Fresno Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)