San Juan Capistrano station

San Juan Capistrano station is a train station in San Juan Capistrano, California, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, and Metrolink, a commuter railroad. The station has a single side platform serving the single track of the SCRRA's Orange Subdivision.^[1]

San Juan Capistrano, CA
The depot, converted into a restaurant. Except for the dome, the plaster has been removed to expose the brickwork (2011)
General information
Location	26701 Verdugo Street San Juan Capistrano, California United States
Coordinates	33.5023°N 117.6641°W / 33.5023; -117.6641
Owned by	City of San Juan Capistrano
Line(s)	SCRRA Orange Subdivision[1]
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	OC Bus: 91[2]
Construction
Parking	255 spaces, paid[3]
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Staffed, station building with waiting room
Station code	Amtrak: SNC
History
Opened	October 27, 1894; 129 years ago (1894-10-27)
Rebuilt	1974
Original company	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Passengers
FY 2023	74,995[4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Irvine toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Oceanside toward San Diego San Clemente Pier (limited service) toward San Diego Preceding station Metrolink Following station Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo toward San Bernardino–Downtown Inland Empire–Orange County Line San Clemente toward Oceanside Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo toward L.A. Union Station Orange County Line
Former services Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Santa Ana toward Los Angeles Surf Line San Clemente toward San Diego
San Juan Capistrano station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Part of	Los Rios Street Historic District
NRHP reference No.	83001216[5]
Added to NRHP	April 4, 1983[6]
Location

The station is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, and with few exceptions is the last stop in Orange County; a few trains stop at San Clemente Pier before crossing into San Diego County. It is also served by Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line. Amtrak's ridership at the station dropped 53.4% to 90,699 in 2020, largely due to complications of the COVID-19 pandemic and two stay at home orders issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom.^[7]

Hours and frequency

San Juan Capistrano station is served by 20 Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (ten in each direction) evenly spaced throughout the day.^[8]

San Juan Capistrano station is served by 10 Metrolink Orange County Line trains (5 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, running in each direction in the morning and evening.^[9]

Additionally, the station is served by 4 Metrolink Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains (2 in each direction) each weekday, running in each direction in the morning and evening. 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]

History

The San Juan Capistrano station was originally opened October 27, 1894 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.^[10] It was one of the earliest examples of Mission Revival Style architecture in railway stations.^[11] In 1966, the station was closed, two years ahead of the end of Santa Fe passenger service to the city.^[12] Amtrak added San Juan Capistrano as a flag stop on its Los Angeles–San Diego San Diegan service on May 19, 1974.^[13] A year later, the depot was converted into a restaurant, with vintage rolling stock used to expand the space.^[12] Orange County Commuter service terminated here starting on April 30, 1990,^[14] and that service was conveyed to Metrolink when the Orange County Line opened on March 28, 1994. In 1995, the complex received a refurbishment, resulting in two restaurants, one located in the depot building, as well as Amtrak ticketing services and a waiting room, located in two boxcars.^[12]

The station serviced 237,776 passengers in 2018.^[15]

• 
  Postcard of the original Santa Fe depot in 1894
• 
  The station in 1895
• 
  Trackside view from the south (2019)

References

Notes

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 26.
2. "System Map" (PDF) (Map). OC Bus. February 11, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
3. "San Juan Capistrano Train Station". Metrolink. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
6. "NATIONAL REGISTER DIGITAL ASSETS". National Park Service. April 4, 1983. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
7. "San Juan Capistrano, CA (SNC)". Great American Stations. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
8. "Pacific Surfliner Timetable" (PDF). Pacific Surfliner. October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
9. "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. October 23, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
10. Duke 1995, p. 241
11. "Picture of plaque at station". TrainWeb. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
12. "San Juan Capistrano, CA (SNC)". Great American Stations (Amtrak). Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
13. "When Train Comes Back to Capistrano..." Los Angeles Times. May 22, 1974. p. 10. Retrieved July 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1991-96 Fiscal Years (PDF). Sacramento, CA: Division of Mass Transportation, Caltrans. 1991.
15. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2018, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

Bibliography

• Duke, Donald (1995). Santa Fe...The Railroad Gateway to the American West. Vol. 1. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-8709-5110-6. OCLC 32745686.

External links

Media related to San Juan Capistrano station at Wikimedia Commons

• San Juan Capistrano, CA – Amtrak
• San Juan Capistrano, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• San Juan Capistrano – Metrolink
• San Juan Capistrano Amtrak-Metrolink Station(USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)