Wasco, CA
Wasco station in December 2019, the station building has since been demolished.
General information
Location	700 G Street Wasco, California United States
Coordinates	35°35′39″N 119°19′55″W / 35.5941°N 119.3319°W / 35.5941; -119.3319
Owned by	City of Wasco
Line(s)	BNSF Bakersfield Subdivision[1]
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Kern Regional Transit: 110, 115[2]
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: WAC
History
Opened	October 26, 1975[3]
Rebuilt	2006
Original company	San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad
Passengers
FY 2022	22,781[4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Corcoran toward Oakland or Sacramento San Joaquins Bakersfield Terminus Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park (limited service) toward Oakland or Sacramento
Former services Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Elmo toward Richmond Valley Division Shafter toward Barstow
Location

Wasco station is an Amtrak station on the San Joaquins line located in Wasco, California, United States. The station has one platform on the west side of a single track.

History

When construction of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SF&SJ) had reached the future townsite, a small, open-air, two story station was constructed. It cost $4,500 and followed their standard No. 2 design. There was also a large window, facing the tracks, for the station master to observe activity down the tracks. The town, named Dewey, would develop around the station. It would later be renamed Wasco.^[5]

In 1899, the SF&SJ was purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (part of the Valley Division) which continued to use the station for passenger and freight service. In 1907, the station was extended, to serve a growing demand for freight. In the 1950s, the waiting room was enclosed. The second floor was also reorganized as sleeping quarters.^[5]

The station closed in 1971, when Amtrak was formed and none of the routes in the San Joaquin Valley continued to run. In 1974, the San Joaquin route began operating through the valley. Initially, the train did not stop in Wasco. Amtrak added Wasco as a flag stop on October 26, 1975.^[3] The train station was demolished in 1978 and replaced with a couple of benches and a parking lot. Part of the train station would be used in the restoration of the Shafter Santa Fe station.^[5]

At some point,^[when?] Wasco became a regular stop for the San Joaquin route, and a shelter was built. On September 21, 2006, an entirely new station opened. It was designed as an open-air station, built in the Spanish Revival style. It would also house the Wasco Chamber of Commerce.^[5]

With the coming of California High-Speed Rail, Wasco city officials have expressed concerns that the Amtrak service might be discontinued.^[6] As of August 2020^[update], no decision has been announced.^[7]

The station building was demolished in April 2021 to make room for California High-Speed Rail (HSR), though the platform remains in use.^[8] A crossing is being built as part of the HSR project's Construction Package 4 to provide pedestrian access from the corner of G & 7th Streets, under the future High-Speed tracks, to the Amtrak platform. San Joaquins are expected to cease services here once high-speed operations begin.^[9]