San Bernardino Transit Center

"San Bernardino-Downtown station" redirects here. For the post office listed on the National Register of Historic Places, see San Bernardino Downtown Station.

The San Bernardino Transit Center (Metrolink designation San Bernardino–Downtown station^[2] and also known as Downtown San Bernardino station) is an intermodal transit center in downtown San Bernardino, California, United States. It is owned and operated by Omnitrans, the area's public transportation agency. Opened in September 2015, the center consolidates three Metrolink commuter rail services and more than a dozen local bus services, including the sbX bus rapid transit service into one central location.

San Bernardino–Downtown
San Bernardino Transit Center station building
General information
Other names	San Bernardino Transit Center Downtown San Bernardino
Location	599 West Rialto Avenue San Bernardino, California
Coordinates	34°06′00″N 117°17′43″W
Owned by	Omnitrans
Line(s)	SCRRA San Gabriel Subdivision/Redlands Branch[1]
Platforms	2 side platforms, 1 island platform
Tracks	4
Train operators	Metrolink Arrow
Bus stands	22
Bus operators	Omnitrans Beaumont Transit Mountain Transit Riverside Transit Agency SunLine Transit Agency Victor Valley Transit Authority Flixbus
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	130 spaces, 14 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Architect	HDR, Inc.
History
Opened	September 8, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09-08)
Services
Preceding station Metrolink Following station Terminus Arrow San Bernardino–Tippecanoe toward Redlands–University San Bernardino–Depot toward Oceanside Inland Empire–Orange County Line Terminus San Bernardino–Depot toward L.A. Union Station San Bernardino Line San Bernardino Line (limited weekday service) Redlands–Downtown Terminus Preceding station Omnitrans Following station E Street/Court toward Kendall/Palm sbX Green Line E Street/Inland Center toward VA Hospital
Track layout Legend San Gabriel Subdivision to San Bernardino–Depot G Street Transit Center E Street (SbX) Redlands Branch to Redlands–University This diagram: view talk edit
Location

History and development

See also: Arrow (rail service)

Omnitrans buses at the San Bernardino Transit Center

Pacific Electric (PE) and its local predecessors used the SBTC site as a tram shed in the early 1900s,^[3][4] and later Upland–San Bernardino Line trains terminated here.^[5] Omnitrans selected the site at the corner of West Rialto Avenue and South E Street to build a transit center in the 2000s, and purchased the land for the station from Union Pacific Railroad, the successor corporation to Pacific Electric, in 2008.^[6][7] In 2010, San Bernardino Associated Governments, the area regional planning organization had stepped-in to fund and coordinate the project and hired design firm HDR, Inc. to draw up plans for the transit center.^[8]

Construction of the center began in 2014, with a groundbreaking held on February 25.^[9][10] The sbX line and its adjacent station on E Street opened on April 28, 2014.

The transit center was complete by August 24, 2015, when a celebration was held at the site, but it didn't open for service until September 8, 2015, coinciding with a major service change for Omnitrans, which saw more than a dozen bus lines rerouted to serve the transit center.^[11]

Train service came to the station in late 2017 after the completion of a project that built tracks between the transit center and San Bernardino's Santa Fe Depot, which was the city's primary train depot.^[12][13] Test runs of the train service to downtown with paying passengers began on December 16, 2017, with the service officially being declared open on December 18.^[14]

Arrow, a commuter rail service, opened on October 24, 2022, with its western terminus at the transit center.^[15] At the same time, the daily express trip on Metrolink's San Bernardino Line was extended to Redlands–Downtown station. Express trains pass through the transit center without stopping.^[16]

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is considering the station as a possible stop on the second phase of the California High-Speed Rail project.^[17][18]

Services and facilities

Interior of San Bernardino Transit Center station building with customer service office and waiting room

The center contains a LEED Gold station building with public facilities, waiting areas, and solar panels on its roof.^[3][19] A mural titled Explorations is on the exterior of the station building, and a large sundial is at the center of the bus area.^[3][4]

The central bus plaza has 19 bus bays, with two additional bus bays located along West Rialto Avenue which runs along the northern edge of the transit center, and the sbX bus rapid transit platform in the median of South E Street which runs along the eastern edge of the transit center.^[20][3][4]

Rail services

A total of four train tracks are located along the southern edge of the transit center, served by two side platforms and one island platform. The Arrow service uses the two tracks closest to the central bus plaza, which continue across South E Street to Redlands. Metrolink trains use all four tracks, including the two southernmost stub-end tracks, where trains can be stored for extended periods of time without blocking the main line.^[21][20]

San Bernardino Transit Center is served by 34 Metrolink San Bernardino Line trains (17 in each direction) each weekday, with trains arriving every 60 minutes all most of the day. Weekend service consists of 16 trains (8 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday, evenly spaced throughout the day.^[22]

Additionally, the station is served by 8 Metrolink Inland Empire–Orange County Line trains (4 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.^[23]

Arrow trains run every day between approximately between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m. Trains arrive every 30 minutes in the early morning and evening and every 60 minutes from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. On weekends, trains run between 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., arriving every 60 minutes, except for a few hours without trains in the morning and afternoon.^[24]

Bus services

As of August 8, 2022^[update] the following transit bus routes serve the San Bernardino Transit Center:^[25]

• Omnitrans: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 215, 290, 300 (SB Connect), 305 (OmniAccess)
• Beaumont Transit: Commuter Link 120
• Mountain Transit: 5, 6
• Riverside Transit Agency: Commuter Link 200
• SunLine Transit Agency: 10 Commuter Link
• Victor Valley Transit Authority: 15

The station is also served by the intercity bus company FlixBus which operates routes to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Tempe, San Diego, and Ventura from the transit center.^[26]