Gilroy station

Last updated

Gilroy
Front of Gilroy station, July 2018.JPG
Gilroy station in July 2018
General information
Location7150 Monterey Street
Gilroy, California
Coordinates 37°00′15″N121°34′00″W / 37.00417°N 121.56667°W / 37.00417; -121.56667
Owned by Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
Line(s) UP Coast Subdivision [1]
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Connections
Construction
Parking471 spaces
Bicycle facilities13 racks and 30 lockers
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone6
History
OpenedApril 8, 1869 [2]
July 1, 1992 [3]
ClosedApril 30, 1971
Rebuilt1998 [3]
Original company Southern Pacific
Passengers
2018252 (weekdays) [4] Increase2.svg 22.7%
Services
Preceding station Caltrain roundel.svg Caltrain Following station
San Martin Limited (L3)
Select peak-hour trains only
Terminus
Limited (L4)
Select peak-hour trains only
Former services
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station
San Martin Coast Line Watsonville Junction
toward Los Angeles
Future services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Morgan Hill
toward Auburn
Capitol Corridor Pajaro/Watsonville
toward Salinas
Preceding station Caltrain roundel.svg Caltrain Following station
San Martin Limited (L3)
Select peak-hour trains only
Pajaro/Watsonville
toward Salinas
Limited (L4)
Select peak-hour trains only
Preceding station California High Speed Rail.svg California High-Speed Rail Following station
San Jose Phase I Merced
Terminus
Madera
towards Bakersfield
Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
NRHP reference No. 100004192
Added to NRHPJuly 12, 2019
Location
Gilroy station

Gilroy station is a Caltrain station located in Gilroy, California, United States. It is the southernmost terminus of the Caltrain system, and is only served during weekday rush hours in the peak direction, with trains going toward San Francisco in the morning and returning southbound in the evening. The station building was constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1918 and restored in 1998. Future plans call for extended Amtrak Capitol Corridor service, as well as California High-Speed Rail trains, to also stop at Gilroy. The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.

Contents

History

Southern Pacific

The first Gilroy station, similar to the depot still extant at Santa Clara, opened on April 8, 1869 under the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valley Railroad. [3] [2] :6 A water tower, turntable, and three-stall engine house were built in 1882. [3]

The original station was replaced with a two-story Italian Renaissance structure — framed with local redwood and covered in cement plaster — in 1918 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. [3] [5] Service reductions began in 1929; the engine house was closed in 1934, though the turntable remained in use through the 1950s. [3] The final service to the station was the Del Monte , which ran until April 30, 1971. [3] [6] [7] Amtrak intercity service, including the Coast Starlight , passed through the station without stopping.

Caltrain

Caltrain at Gilroy in 2018 Garlic Train at Gilroy station (4), July 2018.JPG
Caltrain at Gilroy in 2018

On July 1, 1992, two daily Caltrain round trips were extended from San Jose Diridon station to Gilroy. This was increased to four daily round trips with the opening of a layover yard adjacent to the station in February 1994. [3] In 1998, the city restored the station building as the centerpiece of the $2.8 million Gilroy Transit Center, which also included parking lots and a bus plaza. One waiting room was reopened for use by Greyhound. [3] In July 2005, Caltrain reduced service to three daily round trips. [3]

Even before 1992, Caltrain operated a special limited-stop train from San Francisco to Gilroy on the weekend of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, with shuttle buses between the station and the festival. This service ended in 2002 when Caltrain temporarily suspended all weekend train service for the CTX project, and was not resumed when weekend service was restored in 2004. The Golden Gate Railroad Museum chartered weekend trains to Gilroy during the festival for a few years, but those charters were later discontinued. [8] The "Garlic Train" resumed service beginning with the 2013 Garlic Festival. [9]

The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot. [10] Gilroy service was increased to four weekday round trips on September 25, 2023. [11]

Future plans

The Road Repair and Accountability Act provided funding for an extension of Caltrain service to Salinas station, followed by Amtrak Capitol Corridor service later. [12] The dead-end platform track at Gilroy station will be extended south to reconnect with the mainline. [13]

The planned California High-Speed Rail system will have a station in Gilroy. Two sites were under consideration: the existing Gilroy station, and a currently undeveloped area northeast of the city center (east of Gilroy Premium Outlets). [14] The High Speed Rail Authority identified an at-grade option at the existing station as their preferred alternative in 2020. [15]

Bus connections

Gilroy station is a hub for local and intercity bus service: [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilroy, California</span> City in California, United States

Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. Gilroy is the southernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of 59,520 as of the 2020 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caltrain</span> California commuter rail line

Caltrain is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley. The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as far as Gilroy. The northern terminus of the line is in San Francisco at 4th and King Street. Caltrain has 28 regular stops, one limited-service weekday-only stop, one weekend-only stop (Broadway), and one football-only stop (Stanford). While average weekday ridership in 2019 exceeded 63,000, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been significant: in August 2022, Caltrain had an average weekday ridership of 18,600 passengers.

<i>Capitol Corridor</i> Amtrak service between San Jose and Auburn, California

The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile (270 km) passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San Jose and Sacramento. The route runs roughly parallel to I-880 and I-80. Some limited trips run between Oakland and San Jose. A single daily round trip runs between San Jose and Auburn, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Capitol Corridor trains started in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altamont Corridor Express</span> Commuter rail service in California

The Altamont Corridor Express is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs. Service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, and operations are contracted to Herzog Transit Services. The 86-mile (138 km) route includes ten stops, with travel time about 2 hours and 12 minutes end-to-end. In 2022, the line had a ridership of 389,100, or about 2,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023. ACE uses Bombardier BiLevel Coaches, MPI F40PH-3C locomotives, and Siemens Charger locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Diridon station</span> Transit hub in San Jose, California, U.S.

San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast Line (Union Pacific Railroad)</span> Railroad line in California along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles to the Bay Area

The Coast Line is a railroad line between Burbank, California and the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly along the Pacific Coast. It is the shortest rail route between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Though not as busy as the Surf Line, the continuation of the Coast Line southbound to San Diego, it still sees freight movements and lots of passenger trains. The Pacific Surfliner, which runs from the San Diego Santa Fe Depot to San Luis Obispo via Union Station in Los Angeles, is the third busiest Amtrak route outside of the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, which in turn hosts two of Amtrak's busiest routes being the Acela and the Northeast Regional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamien station</span> Train station in San Jose, California, U.S.

Tamien station is an intermodal passenger transportation station in the Tamien neighborhood of central San Jose, California, served by the VTA light rail and the Caltrain commuter rail line, along with bus connections. The station has two elevated island platforms, one for each service. The two platforms are connected by a walkway at ground-level that is below the two platforms. The light rail platform is located in the center median of the State Route 87 freeway just north of the Alma Avenue overpass. The Caltrain platform is located between Lick Avenue and State Route 87, just north of Alma Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Mountain View station</span> Train station in Mountain View, California, U.S.

Downtown Mountain View station is an intermodal transit station providing public bus and rail service, located in Mountain View, California. The station is served by the Caltrain commuter rail service, for which it is simply called Mountain View station. Santa Clara VTA Orange Line light rail service is provided to an adjacent, dedicated light rail facility, known as Downtown Mountain View station. VTA local transit bus and employer-operated shuttle services are accommodated from the Mountain View Transit Center on the Evelyn Avenue side of the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Clara Transit Center</span> Train station in Santa Clara, California, U.S.

Santa Clara Transit Center is a railway station in downtown Santa Clara, California. It is served by Caltrain, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains. It is the planned terminus for the Silicon Valley BART extension into Santa Clara County on the future Green and Orange Lines. The former station building, constructed in 1863 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, is used by the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History.

The San Benito County Local Transportation Authority (LTA) is the public transportation agency of San Benito County, California, immediately south of Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County). LTA provides fixed route inter-county and intra-city service as San Benito County Express; the Intracounty routes connect destinations in Hollister and San Juan Bautista to Gilroy in Santa Clara County, while the Tripper routes connect destinations within Hollister. LTA also provides demand-responsive dial-a-ride service within selected areas of northern San Benito County as County Express On-Demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto station</span> Train station in Palo Alto, California, U.S.

Palo Alto station is an intermodal transit center in Palo Alto, California. It is served by Caltrain regional rail service, SamTrans and Santa Clara VTA local bus service, Dumbarton Express regional bus service, the Stanford University Marguerite Shuttle, and several local shuttle services. Palo Alto is the second-busiest Caltrain station after San Francisco, averaging 7,764 weekday boardings by a 2018 count. The Caltrain station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Peninsula Subdivision and a nearby bus transfer plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Park station (Caltrain)</span> Train station in College Park, San Jose, California, U.S.

College Park station is a limited-service, weekday-only Caltrain station serving the College Park neighborhood and the Bellarmine College Preparatory school in San Jose, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitol station (Caltrain)</span> Train station in San Jose, California, U.S.

Capitol station is a Caltrain station located off Monterey Road near the Capitol Expressway, after which the station is named, in southern San Jose, California. The station is only served during weekday peak hours, with northbound trains in the morning and southbound trains in the evening. Service between San Jose and Gilroy, including Capitol station, was increased to four weekday round trips on September 25, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Hill station</span> Train station in Morgan Hill, California, U.S.

Morgan Hill station is a Caltrain station located in the downtown area of Morgan Hill, California. The station is only served during weekday peak hours, with northbound trains in the morning and southbound trains in the evening.

<i>Suntan Special</i>

The Suntan Special was a summer excursion train service operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, California, from 1927 to 1959.

Pajaro/Watsonville is a proposed train station on Caltrain and Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor trains to serve both Pajaro and Watsonville, California. The station is expected to open after track improvements in the area and service commences to Salinas as part of the Monterey County Rail Extension. It will be located in Watsonville Junction near the corner of Salinas Road and Lewis Road, adjacent to the former Southern Pacific Railroad depot and current Union Pacific Railroad office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey County Rail Extension</span>

The Monterey County Rail Extension is a planned commuter rail extension that would bring Caltrain passenger service south of its existing Gilroy, California terminus to Salinas in Monterey County, using the existing Coast Line owned by Union Pacific (UPRR). Implementation of the rail extension will occur over three phases, starting from Salinas and moving north. When construction is complete, there will be four trains operated over the extended line per weekday: two northbound trains that depart from Salinas and travel to San Francisco in the morning, and two southbound trains that return to Salinas in the afternoon.

References

  1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 5.
  2. 1 2 Pearce, Michael (August 2017). Santa Clara Valley's Railroad Lines (PDF) (Report). Sourisseau Academy. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Duncan, Mark (October 4, 2005). "The San Francisco Peninsula Railroad Passenger Service: Past, Present, and Future" (PDF). pp. 18, 93–94. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2018.
  4. "2018 Annual Count Key Findings Report" (PDF). Caltrain. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  5. "New S.P. Station at Gilroy is Dedicated". Oakland Tribune. May 1, 1918. p. 12 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "The Del Monte Passenger Train". Monterey Public Library. February 10, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  7. "Western Division Timetable #13" (PDF). Southern Pacific Company. March 29, 1970. pp. 2, 5.
  8. Cohen, Gail. "How to Prepare for the Gilroy Garlic Festival". USA Today.
  9. @Caltrain (June 6, 2013). "Garlic Train to roll to @gilroygarlicfes July 27 & 28. #yum" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  10. "Weekly List 20190712". National Park Service. July 12, 2019.
  11. "Caltrain to Operate New Schedule Starting this Fall" (Press release). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. September 13, 2023.
  12. Johnson, Jim (May 9, 2018). "Salinas commuter rail extension project gets $10 million SB 1 gas tax grant". Monterey Herald.
  13. "Gilroy Station Track Project" (PDF). Transportation Agency for Monterey County. October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  14. "California High-Speed Rail Authority Awards Station-Area Planning Funds to the City of Gilroy" (PDF) (Press release). California High-Speed Rail Authority. July 23, 2014.
  15. Soloaga, Isabel (June 19, 2020). "Huge California High-Speed Rail project raises local concerns". Gilroy Life. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  16. "VTA South County". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.