Merced (Amtrak station)

Merced
Amtrak inter-city rail station
The latest Merced Depot, built in 2000
Location	324 West 24th Street Merced, California 95340[1]  United States
Coordinates	37°18′26″N 120°28′36″W / 37.3073°N 120.4768°W / 37.3073; -120.4768Coordinates: 37°18′26″N 120°28′36″W / 37.3073°N 120.4768°W / 37.3073; -120.4768
Owned by	State of California
Line(s)	San Joaquin
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2 to 4
Connections	Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach Merced County Transit (The Bus) Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS)
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	12 short term spaces 34 long term spaces[1]
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	MCD
History
Opened	1917[2]
Rebuilt	2000[2]
Traffic
Passengers (FY2013)	134,138[3]  10.53% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Turlock/Denair toward Oakland-Jack London Square or Sacramento San Joaquin Madera toward Bakersfield   Former services   Amtrak Turlock/Denair toward Oakland-Jack London Square or Sacramento San Joaquin (1974-2010) Madera (SF Station) Station closed in 2010 toward Bakersfield Turlock/Denair 1996-2002 toward Oakland-Jack London Square Turlock/Denair 1994-1996 toward Emeryville Turlock/Denair 1974-1994 toward Oakland-16th Street Fresno 1974-1978 toward Bakersfield Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Empire toward Oakland San Francisco Chief Fresno toward Chicago Denair toward Oakland Oakland – Barstow Planada toward Barstow
Location
Location within California

Merced is a staffed train station in Merced, California, United States that is served by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation)/Amtrak California's San Joaquin, which runs six times daily between Oakland or Sacramento and Bakersfield, California.^{[Note 1]} (The next southbound stop for all trains is in Madera and the next northbound stop for all trains is in Denair.) The design of Merced Station was inspired by the former Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad station that was torn down at the end of the 20th Century.^[2] The station provides the nearest rail access to the Yosemite National Park.

Description

The station is located at 324 West 24th Street,^[1] a few blocks south of Bear Creek and a few blocks east-northeast of the Courthouse Square Park.^[2] It is easily accessible from Highway 99 (Golden State Highway) by taking the Martin Luther King Jr Way/Downtown/Los Banos interchage (no exit number) and then heading north-northeast on Martin Luther King Jr Way until its T-intersection at West 24th Street. The station is on the far side of West 24th Street.

Of the 78 California stations served by Amtrak, Merced was the 25th-busiest in FY2013, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 368 passengers daily.^[3]

Facilities

The station has an indoor waiting room open from 7;15 am to 9:45 pm daily. Inside the station there is a baggage check service, baggage assistance, and an automatic check-in device. In addition to the ticketing agent, there is a Quik-Trak ticket kiosk. There is also a bathroom and payphone. The station has 12 short term and 34 long term parking spaces.^[1]

Platform and tracks

On the west end of the station there are only two tracks, but by the east end of the station, the northern track has diverged to three tracks. The side platform only serves the south track.

Bus connections

Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach:

• Route 15 to Yosemite (operated by YARTS as Highway 140 Route)

Merced County Transit (The Bus):

• Route M5

Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS):

• Highway 140 Route to Mariposa/Yosemite

History

The original depot was built by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SF&SJV) when it laid it tracks through Merced in 1896. However, that depot was later replaced by another larger depot built in the same immediate area by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF or Santa Fe) in 1917. By 2000 the ATSF depot was torn down and replaced with another new one by the State of California. The newest depot building is very similar in appearance to the former ATSF Depot, but is much more functional and is more accommodating to bus service to the Yosemite National Park,^[2][5] particularly Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach connections.

Merced 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.^[6] For the first few years after Amtrak's inception Merced 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.^[7] Originally, the next southbound stop was Fresno, but by 1978 the Storey Train Station was added. (However, under Amtrak that station was known as Madera, rather than Storey.)^[8] 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.^[9] In 2010, the Madera (Storey) station was replaced by the new and substantially improved Madera station as the next southbound stop, with the former station having subsequently been entirely removed.

Notes

References

External links

• Media related to Merced (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons
• Amtrak California - Merced
• Amtrak.com - Merced Station information
• Merced Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
• Merced (MCD)-Great American Stations (Amtrak)