Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center

Not to be confused with Antequera-Santa Ana railway station.

The Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center is a passenger rail station and transportation center in Santa Ana, California. It is used by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line trains. It is also a Greyhound station and a hub for the Orange County Transportation Authority bus system as well as a terminal for international bus services to Mexico.

Santa Ana, CA
Santa Ana station, 2008
General information
Other names	Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center
Location	1000 East Santa Ana Boulevard Santa Ana, California
Coordinates	33°45′06″N 117°51′23″W
Owned by	City of Santa Ana[1]
Line(s)	SCRRA Orange Subdivision[2]
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Train operators	Metrolink and Amtrak
Connections	OC Bus: 59, 83, Bravo! 560, 862 Crucero USA Greyhound Lines
Construction
Parking	578 spaces, 13 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks and lockers
Accessible	Yes
Architect	The Blurock Partnership
Architectural style	Mediterranean Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival
Other information
Status	Staffed, station building with waiting room
Station code	Amtrak: SNA
History
Opened	September 7, 1985 (1985-09-07)[3]
Passengers
FY 2023	72,613[4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Anaheim toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Irvine toward San Diego Preceding station Metrolink Following station Orange toward San Bernardino–Downtown Inland Empire–Orange County Line Tustin toward Oceanside Orange toward L.A. Union Station Orange County Line
Future services Preceding station OCTA Following station Lacy toward Harbor Transit Center OC Streetcar Terminus
Former services Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Orange toward Los Angeles Surf Line San Juan Capistrano toward San Diego
Location

History

When the station opened on September 7, 1985, it was the largest new rail station built in the United States since the completion of the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal circa 1955.^{[citation needed]} The center was erected on the site of a former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway combination depot that had been constructed in 1939 and closed in 1982.^{[5]: 189 [failed verification]} The station, which cost approximately $17 million, was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, California Department of Transportation, and the city of Santa Ana.^[6]

In FY2010 Santa Ana was the 22nd-busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 420 passengers daily.^[7]

The Amtrak platform at Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center

Future service

Main article: OC Streetcar

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center will be the eastern terminus of the OC Streetcar, a 4.15-mile (6.68 km) streetcar line through Downtown Santa Ana, a major regional employment area, to a new transit center and Park and Ride in Garden Grove at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue (both major bus corridors).

Design

Pedestrian bridge linking northbound Track 1 to The Depot and Track 2.

The station was designed by the Blurock Partnership architectural firm in the Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival architectural styles to complement the region's older buildings. Features include red barrel roof tiles, arcades, colonnades, exterior walls finished to resemble stucco, and the extensive use of painted tiles for decoration.^[6]

Service

Train hours and frequency

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center is served by 20 Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (ten in each direction) evenly spaced throughout the day.^[8]

Santa Ana Regional 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 services

• OC Bus: 59, 83, Bravo! 560, 862
• Crucero USA
• Greyhound Lines

In popular culture

The last scene in the movie Rain Man was filmed at the station.^[1][10] Its exterior and interior appeared in the second season of True Detective in 2015.^[11]

References

1. Elston, Bob (February 23, 1994). "SANTA ANA : Station Is More Than a Train Depot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
2. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 25.
3. Rose, Andy (September 8, 1985). "Santa Ana : Officials Dedicate Transportation Center". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
5. Gustafson, Lee and Phil Serpico (1974). Santa Fe Coast Lines Depots: Los Angeles Division. Omni Publications, Palmdale, CA. ISBN 0-88418-003-4.
6. Great American Stations. Accessed March 12, 2013.
7. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
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. Internet Movie Database
11. "California High Speed Rail Blog » True Detective Finale Open Thread". Archived from the original on August 13, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links

• Santa Ana – Metrolink
• Santa Ana, CA – Amtrak
• Santa Ana, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• DOT profile of Santa Ana Station
• Santa Ana Amtrak-Metrolink Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
• Orange County Transportation Authority