Wasco station

Last updated
Wasco, CA
Wasco station, December 2019.jpg
Wasco station in December 2019, the station building has since been demolished.
General information
Location700 G Street
Wasco, California
United States
Coordinates 35°35′39″N119°19′55″W / 35.5941°N 119.3319°W / 35.5941; -119.3319
Owned byCity of Wasco
Line(s) BNSF Bakersfield Subdivision [1]
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsAiga bus trans.svg Kern Regional Transit: 110, 115 [2]
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station code Amtrak: WAC
History
OpenedOctober 26, 1975 [3]
Rebuilt2006
Original company San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad
Passengers
FY 202222,781 [4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
Corcoran
toward Oakland or Sacramento
San Joaquins Bakersfield
Terminus
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
(limited service)
toward Oakland or Sacramento
Former services
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Elmo
toward Richmond
Valley Division Shafter
toward Barstow
Location
Wasco station

Wasco station is an Amtrak station on the San Joaquins line located in Wasco, California, United States. The station has one platform on the west side of a single track.

Contents

History

The former station in 1974 Wasco station, October 20, 1974.jpg
The former station in 1974

When construction of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SF&SJ) had reached the future townsite, a small, open-air, two story station was constructed. It cost $4,500 and followed their standard No. 2 design. There was also a large window, facing the tracks, for the station master to observe activity down the tracks. The town, named Dewey, would develop around the station. It would later be renamed Wasco. [5]

In 1899, the SF&SJ was purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (part of the Valley Division) which continued to use the station for passenger and freight service. In 1907, the station was extended, to serve a growing demand for freight. In the 1950s, the waiting room was enclosed. The second floor was also reorganized as sleeping quarters. [5]

The station closed in 1971, when Amtrak was formed and none of the routes in the San Joaquin Valley continued to run. In 1974, the San Joaquin route began operating through the valley. Initially, the train did not stop in Wasco. Amtrak added Wasco as a flag stop on October 26, 1975. [3] The train station was demolished in 1978 and replaced with a couple of benches and a parking lot. Part of the train station would be used in the restoration of the Shafter Santa Fe station. [5]

At some point,[ when? ] Wasco became a regular stop for the San Joaquin route, and a shelter was built. On September 21, 2006, an entirely new station opened. It was designed as an open-air station, built in the Spanish Revival style. It would also house the Wasco Chamber of Commerce. [5]

With the coming of California High-Speed Rail, Wasco city officials have expressed concerns that the Amtrak service might be discontinued. [6] As of August 2020, no decision has been announced. [7]

The station building was demolished in April 2021 to make room for California High-Speed Rail (HSR), though the platform remains in use. [8] A crossing is being built as part of the HSR project's Construction Package 4 to provide pedestrian access from the corner of G & 7th Streets, under the future High-Speed tracks, to the Amtrak platform. San Joaquins are expected to cease services here once high-speed operations begin. [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Wasco is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California, United States. Wasco is located 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 328 feet (100 m). The population was 25,545 at the 2010 census, up from 21,263 at the 2000 census.

<i>San Joaquins</i> Amtrak service in San Joaquin Valley, California

The San Joaquins is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. Six daily round trips run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, with onward service to Sacramento and Oakland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California High-Speed Rail</span> Under-construction passenger rail system

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amtrak California</span> Caltrans passenger rail services

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merced station (Amtrak)</span> Railroad station in Merced, California, US

Merced station is an intercity rail station located in Merced, California, United States. The station is served by seven daily round trips of the San Joaquins and is a transfer point between trains and Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) buses serving Yosemite National Park. Merced station has side platforms adjacent to the tracks of the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakersfield station (Amtrak)</span> Amtrak train station in Bakersfield, California

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinez station</span> Train station in Martinez, California, US

Martinez station is an Amtrak passenger train station in Martinez, California, United States. Located at the west end of downtown Martinez, the station has one side platform and one island platform, which serve three of the four tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision. It is served by the daily California Zephyr and Coast Starlight long-distance trains, five daily round trips of the San Joaquin corridor service, and fifteen daily round trips of the Capitol Corridor service. Martinez is also served by Amtrak Thruway buses plus County Connection, Tri-Delta Transit, and WestCAT local buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corcoran station</span> Amtrak train station in California, US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Passenger Depot (Fresno, California)</span> Train station in Fresno, California

The Santa Fe Passenger Depot, also known as Fresno station, is an historic railroad station and transportation hub in downtown Fresno, California. It is served by San Joaquins inter-city passenger trains, Greyhound inter-city buses, and regional transit services including Fresno Area Express and the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanford station</span> Railway station in Hanford, California, US

Hanford station is a train station in Hanford, California served by Amtrak. The station also services the larger city of Visalia, California, 20 miles (32 km) to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert J. Cabral Station</span> Train station in downtown Stockton, California, US

Robert J. Cabral Station, is a railway station in Stockton, California. In 2003, the station building was named in honor of the late Robert J. Cabral, a San Joaquin County supervisor instrumental in the creation of the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE), originally Altamont Commuter Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madera station (Amtrak)</span>

Madera station is an unstaffed train station near Madera, California, United States that is served by San Joaquins trains, which run between Oakland or Sacramento and Bakersfield, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Kern County, California</span>

Kern County’s transportation system was quoted as the “unseen industry.” Located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, the county is at a prime location to ship goods west to the central coast, south to ports in Los Angeles, and east to corridors that connect to the rest of the country. It is also on major corridors that link to all northern points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Construction of California High-Speed Rail</span>

The construction of the California High-Speed Rail system is an undertaking by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The project is expected to span about 800 miles (1,300 km) and will be completed in two phases:

Kings–Tulare Regional Station is a planned California High-Speed Rail station serving Kings County and Tulare County, California. It will be located near the intersection of Hanford Expressway and Central Valley Highway, just east of the city limits of Hanford and less than 20 miles (32 km) west of the larger city of Visalia. The construction of the station has been controversial, with Tulare County supporting the station while Kings County, where the station would be located, has strongly opposed the entire California High-Speed Rail project.

Merced station is a proposed California High-Speed Rail station in Merced, California, located in Downtown Merced. The environmentally approved site is on Martin Luther King Jr. Way near the interchange with Route 99/59, placing it about 7 blocks south from the existing Merced Amtrak station. The station was initially intended to be the northern terminus of the system's Initial Construction Segment. As of April 2022 the California High-Speed Rail Authority is studying an alternative location proposed by the City of Merced and other stakeholders, 8 blocks to the west-northwest along 15th Street, between O Street and R Street. The high-speed rail line will run on the south side of the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way at these locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Route of California High-Speed Rail</span> Route of the California High-Speed Rail system

The California High-Speed Rail system will be built in two major phases. Phase I, about 520 miles (840 km) long using high-speed rail through the Central Valley, will connect San Francisco to Los Angeles. In Phase 2, the route will be extended in the Central Valley north to Sacramento, and from east through the Inland Empire and then south to San Diego. The total system length will be about 800 miles (1,300 km) long. Phase 2 currently has no timeline for completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impacts of California High-Speed Rail</span> Impacts of the California High-Speed Rail system

In addition to the direct reduction in travel times the HSR project will produce, there are also economic and environmental impacts of the high-speed rail system. These were also specifically noted in Proposition 1A at the time the project sought authorization from the voters of the state in 2008. The anticipated benefits apply both generally to the state overall, as well as to the regions the train will pass through, and to the areas immediately around the train stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakersfield Subdivision</span> Railway line in California

The Bakersfield Subdivision is a railway line in California owned and operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs from Fresno in the north where it connects to the Stockton Subdivision and Bakersfield in the south where it continues as the Mojave Subdivision.

References

  1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 11.
  2. "Routes 110 and 115" (PDF). Kern Regional Transit . December 24, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Amtrak Makes First Pickups in Wasco". The Bakersfield Californian. October 27, 1975. p. 8. Retrieved March 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Wasco, CA (WAC)". Amtrak . Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
  6. "City of Wasco speaks out against High Speed Rail Authority". The Bakersfield Californian. August 13, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  7. Hewerdine, Makayla (2020-08-13). "City of Wasco speaks of challenges High Speed Rail is posing to their community". KERO-TV . Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  8. Morgen, Sam (April 3, 2021). "With demolition of Amtrak station in Wasco, the high speed rail slowly but surely creeps into Kern County". Tehachapi News . Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  9. "DRAFT 2023 BUSINESS PLAN UPDATE" (PDF). SJRRA. p. 36. Retrieved 25 October 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.

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