Fremont (Amtrak station)

Centerville Amtrak / ACE Station

Amtrak platform, looking east.
Station statistics
Address 37260 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94536
Lines
  ACE
Connections AC Transit, Thruway Motorcoach
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Parking free
Other information
Opened September 1910
Rebuilt June 1999
Accessible
Code FMT
Owned by City of Fremont
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 39,162[1]  2% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward San Jose
Capitol Corridor
toward Auburn
Altamont Commuter Express
toward San Jose
ACE
toward Stockton
Location
Location within California

Fremont Station is a train station in Fremont, California served by Amtrak and Altamont Commuter Express (ACE).

Contents

Rail Service

Amtrak 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.[2]

Bus service

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 Railroad station was nothing more than a boxcar, 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 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 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 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.

References

External links