Bakersfield station (Amtrak)

Bakersfield, CA
Two San Joaquins trains at Bakersfield station in December 2021
General information
Location	601 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California United States
Coordinates	35°22′20″N119°0′35″W / 35.37222°N 119.00972°W / 35.37222; -119.00972
Owned by	City of Bakersfield
Line(s)	BNSF Mojave Subdivision [1]
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	3
Bus stands	17
Bus operators	Amtrak Thruway Greyhound Lines
Connections	Golden Empire Transit Kern Regional Transit
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Rack
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: BFD
History
Opened	July 4, 2000 (2000-07-04)
Passengers
FY 2023	658,266 [2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Wasco toward Oakland or Sacramento San Joaquins Terminus
Former services (ATSF station) Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Shafter toward Richmond Valley Division Mojave Trackage rights via Southern Pacific Railroad toward Barstow Preceding station Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway Following station Terminus Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Line Grove Street / Baker Street toward Sumner 14th Street / F Street toward 19th Street / H Street F Street and H Street Loop Terminus
Location

Bakersfield station is an intermodal facility in Bakersfield, California. It is the southern terminus of Amtrak California's San Joaquins route, with Amtrak Thruway buses continuing to Amtrak stations and bus stops throughout Southern California and Nevada. The station opened with a celebration on July 4, 2000. It contains an 8,300-square-foot (770 m²) train station with two platforms and three tracks, as well as a 17-bay bus station.

The original operator for train service on this line was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. Their station was located at the intersection of 15th Street and F Street (about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) west). It was constructed in 1899 and demolished in 1972. Named Santa Fe passenger trains served at the station included the San Francisco Chief , and Golden Gate . Starting in 1974, Amtrak operated out of a temporary station at that site, until this station was constructed. Since 1971, direct service south to Los Angeles has not been permitted due to a ban on passenger trains through the Tehachapi Loop.

History

San Joaquin train at Bakersfield in 1979

The 2000-built station in 2021

Construction of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad reached Bakersfield in 1898, and was completed in 1899. However, they would not construct a train station in the city, because once completed, the railroad was purchased by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. It would also obtain trackage rights over Tehachapi Pass from the Southern Pacific Railroad. They constructed the Bakersfield Santa Fe Station in 1899, at the intersection of F Street and 15th Street. ^[3]

The station occupied two blocks of land, between D Street and F Street. A Harvey House was located on the east side of the station. In 1901, the Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway was relocated to serve the station. ^[4] It provided a direct connection between the Bakersfield Santa Fe Station and the Bakersfield Southern Pacific Station (about 2.5 miles east in East Bakersfield). In 1938, Santa Fe began operating intermodal rail service on the San Joaquin Valley line. Trains would travel between Oakland and Bakersfield on the railroad line. At Bakersfield passengers would transfer to one of several bus routes, which departed for destinations in Southern California. As a result, bus bays were constructed at the station. ^[3]

Service continued until 1971, when Amtrak was formed. Since a rail route along the coast and in the San Joaquin Valley was considered redundant, the San Joaquin Valley route was dropped. In 1972, the train station was demolished by Santa Fe and replaced with freight offices and a parking lot. ^[5]

However, train service restarted only two years later, in 1974. It was decided to use the intermodal route previously used by Santa Fe, instead of the Tehachapi route used by Southern Pacific. This would pose a problem for Bakersfield. The city would serve as the transfer point between rail and bus, but did not have any facilities for it. ^[6]

A temporary structure was erected at the new parking lot (part of the previous site occupied by the station) east of the freight offices, to serve as the station. Buses would park wherever space was available. The station was served by only one track. As ridership increased, the station became ineffective at containing all of the passengers. Also, adding more bus routes forced them to park in an adjacent alley. In 1985, the temporary structure was doubled in size in an attempt to keep up with demand. ^[6]

In the late 1990s, plans were started for the construction of a new, permanent train station. Land at the intersection of Truxtun Avenue and S Street was selected for the site. It would cost $5.1 million, funded by the State of California with Bakersfield as the lead agency. The station would officially open on July 4, 2000, with a demonstration train breaking through a ceremonial barrier. In attendance were the mayor, state senator Jim Costa, and Amtrak officials. Country music star Buck Owens (who lived in Bakersfield) performed at the event. ^[3]

The Bakersfield station of the California High-Speed Rail system was originally to be co-located with the existing station. However, an alternate alignment with a new station further north was adopted in 2014.

Greyhound Lines moved into Bakersfield station in late 2021, after moving out of its 60-year-old bus depot in downtown Bakersfield. Greyhound said that the facility was too large for their needs, and the property had been sold in July 2020. Greyhound added two new bus bays west of the Amtrak Thruway bus bays, a covered outdoor waiting area with storage, and a ticket office inside the city-owned station building. ^[7]

San Joaquins are expected to cease services here once California High-Speed Rail operations begin. ^[8]

Station services

San Joaquin train stopped at the island platform of Bakersfield station.

Bakersfield's Amtrak station is a staffed station with an enclosed waiting room. Inside, there is both a staffed ticket window and Amtrak's self-service Quik-Trak ticket kiosk, as well as a Greyhound booth. There is seating, a payphone, restrooms, and vending machines. The station also offers checked baggage and Amtrak Express package service. Taxi stands are located to the west and a passenger pick-up and drop-off zone is located directly north of the station building. A free, unattended parking lot is available for passengers. ^[9]

The station has two tracks and two platforms (one side platform, and one island platform) accessible by passengers. Each platform can hold a six-car train. A third track provides for overnight storage and is not used by passengers. There is also a 15 bay bus station located north of the tracks. The bus bays and one platform are sheltered. ^[10]

Of the California stations served by Amtrak, Bakersfield was the fifth busiest in Fiscal Year 2018 (behind only Los Angeles Union Station, Sacramento Valley, San Diego and Emeryville), boarding or detraining a total of 442,023 passengers. ^[11] It is also the 25th busiest Amtrak station nationwide, and one of the busiest serving a metro area with fewer than 2 million people. ^[12]

Bus connections

A Van Hool C2045L Amtrak Thruway motorcoach at the Bakersfield station.

Amtrak Thruway

Bakersfield is the transfer point between San Joaquin trains and Amtrak Thruway buses connecting to Southern California destinations. The buses are necessary in part because passenger trains are normally not allowed on the Tehachapi Loop, the only direct rail link between the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. ^[13]

Bay	Route	Terminal A	Stops	Terminal B	Connecting Trains
1	1	Bakersfield	non-stop service for train connections	Los Angeles	702, 703, 710, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716, 717, 719
4	1		Glendale
6	1C		Santa Clarita,   Hollywood Burbank Airport, Van Nuys, Westwood/UCLA	Santa Monica	710, 711, 713, 714, 715, 718
8	19		La Crescenta, Pasadena, Claremont, Ontario, Riverside	San Bernardino	713, 716
10	10		Fillmore, Santa Paula, Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria	Santa Barbara	712, 719
14	10		Tehachapi, Mojave, Barstow	Las Vegas	712, 719
Late Night/Early Morning Service
1	1	Bakersfield	Santa Clarita, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Glendale, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, San Juan Capistrano, Oceanside, Solana Beach	San Diego	711, 718
		Fresno	Hanford, Bakersfield, Santa Clarita (northbound)	Los Angeles	none

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines service moved here in 2022 after its longtime station on 18th Street closed. They operate out of two bus bays west of the Amtrak Thruway bus bays. Greyhound also has a covered outdoor waiting area and a ticket office inside the station building. ^[7]

Kern Transit

Kern Transit is the regional transit provider for Kern County. The station is one of two major hubs used within Bakersfield (the other is the Downtown Transit Center primarily used by Golden Empire Transit). Currently five bus routes connect with half of the train routes. They travel to various locations throughout the county, including: Desert Communities, East San Joaquin Valley, Kern River Valley, Mountain Communities, and West Kern. ^[14] Outside of the county, Route 130 connects to Santa Clarita station and the McBean Regional Transit Center. ^[15]

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 11.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
3. "Bakersfield, California". The Great American Stations. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
4. Bergman, John (2009). The Southern San Joaquin Valley: A Railroad History. Visalia, California: Jostens Printing and Publishing Company. p. 124. ISBN   978-0-615-25105-9.
5. Railroad Transportation Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine . Kern County Museum. Accessed: 05-12-2011.
6. Valley Views - Bakersfield. trainweb.org. Accessed: 05-23-2011.
7. Cox, John (November 5, 2021). "Greyhound prepares to leave 18th Street but its replacement remains unclear". The Bakersfield Californian . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
8. "DRAFT 2023 BUSINESS PLAN UPDATE" (PDF). SJRRA. p. 36. Retrieved October 25, 2023. To most efficiently integrate the San Joaquins and the interim HSR services, Merced will become the southern terminus for San Joaquins rail service once operations begin on the HSR infrastructure at the end of 2030.
9. Bakersfield Amtrak Station. Amtrak. Accessed: 05-23-2011.
10. New Bakersfield Amtrak Station. trainweb.org. Accessed: 05-23-2011.
11. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2018, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. June 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
12. "Fiscal Year 2018 Company Profile" (PDF). Amtrak. March 1, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
13. Christopher McFadden (February 11, 2017). "Going Round the Bend with the Tehachapi Loop" . Retrieved February 7, 2021.
14. Kern Regional Transit Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine . County of Kern. Accessed: 05-23-2011.
15. "Kern Transit | Routes & Schedules".

External links

• Bakersfield, CA – Amtrak
• Bakersfield, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)