Oxnard Transit Center

The Oxnard Transit Center (formerly Oxnard Transportation Center) is an intermodal transit center in downtown Oxnard, California. It is served by Amtrak Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner intercity service plus Metrolink Ventura County Line commuter service.

Oxnard, CA
Morning view from the southeast of the station in 2014
General information
Other names	Oxnard Transit Center
Location	201 East Fourth Street Oxnard, California United States
Coordinates	34°11′58″N 119°10′34″W
Owned by	City of Oxnard
Line(s)	UP Santa Barbara Subdivision[1]
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Bus routes	Amtrak Thruway: 10 Gold Coast Transit Greyhound Lines FlixBus
Bus stands	16
Construction
Parking	110 spaces, 3 accessible spaces[2]
Bicycle facilities	Racks, lockers[2]
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Joan Briggs
Other information
Status	Staffed, station building with waiting room
Station code	Amtrak: OXN
History
Opened	1987 (1987)
Previous names	Oxnard Transportation Center
Passengers
FY 2023	81,236[3] (Amtrak only)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Santa Barbara toward Seattle Coast Starlight Simi Valley toward Los Angeles Ventura toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Camarillo toward San Diego Preceding station Metrolink Following station Ventura–East Terminus Ventura County Line Camarillo toward L.A. Union Station
Location

Service

Oxnard Transit Center is served by ten Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (five in each direction) every day and two Coast Starlight trains (one in each direction), with departures evenly spaced throughout the day.^[4][5] Six Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (three in each direction) serve the station each weekday, running during peak hours in the peak direction of travel. On weekends, four Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (two in each direction) serve the station. Metrolink passengers also have access to all Pacific Surfliner trains through a codesharing arrangement with Amtrak.^[6]

History

Oxnard station in May 1976

The Southern Pacific Railroad constructed a wye at Montalvo in late 1897 on the original route connecting Ventura to Los Angeles through the Santa Clara River Valley. This spur was needed for shipping construction equipment to the site of a new beet sugar refinery. A wooden railroad trestle and rail line were constructed over the Santa Clara River as the spur headed south, reaching the new settlement here on the relatively isolated coastal plain in April 1898.^[7] The rail line turned here from the north–south alignment to east–west towards Camarillo as they continued building the towards Santa Susana in the Simi Valley. With the completion of the Santa Susana Tunnel connecting the line to Burbank, this became the most direct route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The new settlement was named after the factory owner and in 1904 traffic on the coast railroad line was rerouted through Oxnard.^[8]

In 1987, the current station was constructed on the northerly end of the curve while the former station remained at the southerly end. The former Oxnard depot has continued in use as a maintenance and freight yard office by Union Pacific.

Metrolink service started on April 4, 1994, after the Northridge earthquake damaged Simi Valley Freeway and the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to temporarily fund the extension of service. The trains were stored overnight in a temporary layover facility in the Montalvo neighborhood of Ventura where the Santa Paula Branch Line, owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission, connects to the Coast Line.^[9]

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 15.
2. "Oxnard Train Station". Metrolink. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
4. "Pacific Surfliner Timetable" (PDF). Pacific Surfliner. October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
5. "Coast Starlight Timetable" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. July 9, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
6. "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. October 23, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
7. San Buenaventura Research Associates (July 2005). Downtown Oxnard Historic Resources Survey Final Report (PDF) (Report). City of Oxnard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02.
8. "CHATSWORTH PARK CUTOFF LINE OPENS TODAY" Los Angeles Herald 20 March 1904. Volume XXXI, Number 173, Page 2
9. Catania, Sara (April 4, 1994). "Last of Post-Quake Metrolink Stations Opening in Oxnard". Los Angeles Times.

External links

Media related to Oxnard Transit Center at Wikimedia Commons

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