Oklahoma City (Amtrak station)

Santa Fe Depot

The station building in 2013. At left are the elevated platforms.
Location 100 South E.K. Gaylord Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Coordinates 35°27′55″N 97°30′46″W / 35.4653°N 97.5128°WCoordinates: 35°27′55″N 97°30′46″W / 35.4653°N 97.5128°W
Owned by Bricktown Real Estate
Line(s)
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 1
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code OKC
History
Opened 1934, reopened 1999[1]
Closed 1979
Rebuilt 1999
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 52,099[2]Decrease 5.2%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Fort Worth
Heartland FlyerTerminus
  Former services  
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe
Britton
toward Newton
Newton Purcell
Moore
toward Purcell

Oklahoma City's Amtrak station is known as the Santa Fe Depot, and has a station ID OKC, similar to the city's airport IATA code. The train station is an Art Deco structure located in downtown Oklahoma City at 100 South E.K. Gaylord Boulevard. Amtrak's Heartland Flyer makes one daily round-trip from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas and back each day.

Santa Fe Depot was served by Amtrak's Chicago to Houston Lone Star until October 9, 1979. Prior to 1974, it was served by the Texas Chief, initially operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and later by Amtrak.

The station was purchased from the Santa Fe Railway in 1998 by Jim Brewer, a developer responsible for creating the nearby Bricktown entertainment district. It was soon renovated using $2 million funds provided through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to make it ADA-compliant and allow train service to begin in 1999. Another $3.1 million renovation was completed in 2007, and additional ADA features were added with a $30,000 project following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[1]

Until 2010, Amtrak was operating at the station through an informal agreement made in 1998 with Brewer Entertainment. That agreement allowed the railroad to use the station rent-free, but required the state to pay for utilities and other costs associated with station operations. No official lease had been drawn up until at least 2010, when Brent Brewer locked the doors of the depot on September 27 and 29, forcing new negotiations with ODOT.[3]

On 21 December 2010, it was announced that the ODOT had signed a lease of the station and parking lot for 25 months, with the option to extend the lease for up to ten years.[4]

Station services

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of Oklahoma" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. Steve Lackmeyer (October 2, 2010). "Santa Fe Train Depot promises OU-Texas fans won't face lockdown of station". NewsOK.com. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  4. "State gains control of Oklahoma City depot". Trains Magazine. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.

External links

Media related to Oklahoma City (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons