Orange Transportation Center

The Orange Transportation Center is an intermodal transport hub in Orange, California.^[3] It serves Metrolink trains as well as Orange County Transportation Authority buses. The station is located at the site of two former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway combination depots. The present depot structure was dedicated on May 1, 1938, and was closed with the Santa Fe's discontinuation of passenger service in 1971. The building was granted historic landmark status by the City on November 15, 1990.^[4]

Orange
The former Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway depot at the station site, now a restaurant
General information
Other names	Orange Transportation Center
Location	100 North Atchison Street Orange, California
Coordinates	33°47′20″N 117°51′26″W
Owned by	City of Orange
Line(s)	SCRRA Orange Subdivision[1]
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	OC Bus: 54, 56, 59, 453 Chapman University Shuttle
Construction
Parking	825 spaces[2]
Bicycle facilities	Racks and lockers[2]
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	1888 (1888)
Rebuilt	1938, 1993
Services
Preceding station Metrolink Following station Anaheim Canyon toward San Bernardino–Downtown Inland Empire–Orange County Line Santa Ana toward Oceanside Anaheim toward L.A. Union Station Orange County Line
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Anaheim toward Los Angeles Orange County Commuter Santa Ana toward San Juan Capistrano Anaheim toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Santa Ana toward San Diego Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Anaheim toward Los Angeles Surf Line Santa Ana toward San Diego
Location

History

The town's first rail service, the Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway, was a 4.04 mile (6.5 km) long horsecar line that ran between Santa Ana and Orange, beginning in 1886. One year later the Santa Ana & Orange Motor Road Company purchased the line, using a steam "dummy" car and a single gasoline motorcar as its means of conveyance. In 1906 Henry E. Huntington acquired the company under the auspices of the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway and electrified the line. Passenger service over the new line operated by Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway began on June 8, 1914, originating at the PE's depot on Lemon Street. The route provided freight service to the local citrus growers in direct competition with the Santa Fe. In 1961 Pacific Electric sold out to the Southern Pacific Railroad, who ultimately abandoned the line in 1964.

The Santa Fe, under its affiliate the Southern California Railway, laid its first tracks through Orange in 1886 and established its first Orange depot in 1888.^[5] The route would become part of the railroad's famous "Surf Line" and by 1925 sixteen daily passenger trains (the Santa Fe's San Diegan) made stops in Orange. During peak growing seasons, as many as 48 carloads of citrus fruits, olives, and walnuts were shipped daily from the Orange depot as well.^{[citation needed]}

Service returned to the station on December 6, 1993, when Amtrak's Orange County Commuter began stopping there.^[6] The Orange County Commuter became Metrolink's Orange County Line on March 28, 1994. The Inland Empire–Orange County Line began stopping here with its October 2, 1995 opening.^[7]

The depot now hosts a restaurant.

On October 29, 2007 Amtrak added a stop at Orange to the Pacific Surfliner route. Just two morning and two evening trains stopped at this station each day. But by 2010 the station was only serving an average of seven passengers a day.^[8] Because of the weak ridership the stop was cancelled in early 2013.

Service

Rail connections to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and Northern San Diego County are provided by the Metrolink regional commuter rail network. The Metrolink platform is situated adjacent to the former Santa Fe depot in the downtown Historic District, which is also home to an Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus station. The former Santa Fe mainline links the cities of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego via a junction north of the station.

Hours and frequency

Orange Transportation Center is served by 19 Metrolink Orange County Line trains (10 northbound and 9 southbound) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. Weekend service consists of 4 trains (2 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday, running in each direction in the morning and evening.^[9]

Additionally, the station is served by 14 Metrolink Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains (7 in each direction) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. Weekend service consists of 4 trains (2 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday, heading towards Orange County in the morning and towards the Inland Empire in the evening.^[9]

Bus docks

The station has three bus docks:^[10]

• Dock 1 – OC Bus: 54, 59
• Dock 2 – OC Bus: 56, 453 (weekday peak hours, peak direction only)
• Dock 3 – Chapman University shuttle (weekdays)

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 25.
2. "Orange Train Station". Metrolink. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. Gustafson, Lee; Serpico, Phil (1974). Santa Fe Coast Lines Depots: Los Angeles Division. Omni Publications, Palmdale, CA. p. 187. ISBN 0-88418-003-4.
5. Richardson, Rob (2010). Railroads and Depots of Orange County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7385-8011-1.
6. Powell, Laura-Lynne (December 5, 1993). "Trains set to roll into Orange again beginning Monday". Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California. p. Metro 9.
7. NARP (March 25, 1994). "NARP March 1994 Hotlines". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
8. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
9. "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. October 23, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
10. "Boarding Diagrams" (PDF). Orange County Transportation Authority. May 12, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.

External links

Media related to Orange station (California) at Wikimedia Commons

• Orange – Metrolink
• Orange Station at USA RailGuide (TrainWeb)
• Orange, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)