Fremont-Centerville (Amtrak station)

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Centerville ACE / Amtrak Station

Station statistics

Address

37620 Fremont Blvd.

Lines

Capitol Corridor, Altamont Commuter Express

Other service

AC Transit, Thruway Motorcoach

Platforms

2 250 foot asphalt, side

Tracks

one

Parking

free

Other information

Opened

September 1910

Rebuilt

June 1999

Accessible

Code

FMT

Owned by

City of Fremont

Services

Previous station	Amtrak	Next station
Santa Clara-Great America toward San Jose	Capitol Corridor	Hayward toward Auburn
Previous station	Altamont Commuter Express	Next station
Santa Clara-Great America toward San Jose	ACE	Pleasanton toward Stockton

The Centerville Depot is a train station in Fremont, California.

[edit] History

Centerville's first Southern Pacific Railroad station was nothing more than a boxcar, functioning in that capacity from May of 1909 to September of 1910. In that month the current wood was opened. It was one of sixty Type 23 stations built by SP, 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 2-3 daily milk trains. By the mid-1920s, though, automobile traffic began to grow, and the milk trains were discontinued. Passenger service itself ended on March 29, 1940. The Railway Express Agency continued to ship to and from the station until 1958. The station was totally 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 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 and was also rotated 180 degrees because this allowed for more parking space. The station was restored between October 1998 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.

[edit] Services

Amtrak serves the station daily, while the Altamont Commuter Express only serves the station on weekdays. AC Transit has a bus stop across the street, but Thruway Motorcoach buses stop right at the station.

The station is not staffed by railroad agents, but does include a cafe at the west end.

The station's platform is too short for most trains, and so Fremont Boulevard is often blocked by stopped trains. Some passengers even board from the road.