.gif)
Fremont-Centerville (Amtrak station)
Encyclopedia
Rail Service
- The Altamont Commuter ExpressAltamont Commuter ExpressThe Altamont Commuter Express is a regional rail service in California connecting Stockton with San Jose....
serves the station on weekdays. - AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Capitol CorridorCapitol CorridorThe Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...
stops 14 times daily, with seven trains in each direction. - The Coast StarlightCoast StarlightThe Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
(traveling between Los Angeles and Seattle)passes the station daily, but does not stop.
Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
tickets can be purchased from the QuikTrak machine located inside the station waiting area.
The station's platform is too short for most trains, and Fremont Boulevard is often blocked by stopped trains. Some passengers even board from the road.
Of the 73 California stations served by Amtrak, Fremont was the 35th-busiest in FY2010, boarding or detraining an average of about 105 passengers daily.
Bus service
- AC TransitAC TransitAC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...
has a bus stopBus stopA bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
across the street, served by Lines 210, 99, and Transbay bus U. Line 216 and All-Nighter 801 also serve the station on nearby Peralta Blvd. Lines 99 and 216 connect this station to the Fremont (BART station)Fremont (BART station)Fremont is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station that serves Fremont, California. The elevated island platform serves as the southernmost terminal station of BART's Fremont line, which is served by trains on the Fremont - Daly City Line, which runs daytimes Monday-Saturday, and the Richmond - Fremont...
. - AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Thruway Motorcoach buses stop right at the station.
Dining
The Depot Diner, located at the west end of the depot, contains the historic "creamery" counter and chairs from Cloverdale Creamery (which closed in 2000). Fremont Flowers (which in 1956 opened in the depot) moved the original diner chairs and counter to the depot. The owner of the flower shop also owns the Depot Diner.History
Centerville's first Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
station was nothing more than a boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
, functioning in that capacity from May 1909 to September 1910. In that month the current wooden structure was opened. It was one of sixty Type 23 stations built by Southern Pacific, and its cost was under $5,000 USD. The station was a busy one during its early years, handling both freight and passenger traffic, including two to three daily milk trains. By the mid-1920s, automobile traffic began to grow, and the milk trains were discontinued. Passenger service ended on March 29, 1940. The Railway Express Agency
Railway Express Agency
The Railway Express Agency was a the national monopoly set up by the Untied States federal government in 1917. Rail express services provided small package and parcel transportation using the extant railroad infrastructure much as UPS functions today using the road system...
continued to ship to and from the station until 1958. The station was completely closed on September 30, 1961.
The station changed hands many times in the following decades, becoming a furniture store, a spice store, a toy store, and an electronics store at different times. Its condition deteriorated, however, and in 1991 it was abandoned.
On June 4, 1993, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
restored service to the depot. In December of that year, it was acquired by the city.
On March 15, 1995, the station was moved from the south side of the tracks to the north side of the tracks; it was also rotated 180 degrees to allow for more parking space. The station was restored between October 1998
1998 in rail transport
-February events:* February 14 – Yaounde train explosion – A freight train passing through Yaounde, Cameroon, collides with another freight; some tank cars carrying fuel oil are ruptured in the derailment...
and June 12, 1999. The cost of these projects was over $900,000. The station now appears as it did in 1910. On November 23, 2002, a platform and shelter was built on the south side of the tracks. It is called the Bill Ball Plaza.