Passenger train and bus station in Orange, California, United States
Orange station, formally the Orange Transportation Center, is an intermodal transit station in Orange, California.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] 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 station 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.[8]
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.[8]
Bus docks
