San Juan Capistrano station

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°30′08″N 117°39′51″W / 33.5023°N 117.6641°W

Owned by

City of San Juan Capistrano

Line(s)

SCRRA Orange Subdivision^[1]

Platforms

1 side platform

Tracks

Connections

OC Bus: 91^[2]

Construction

Accessible

Yes

Other information

Status

Staffed, station building with waiting room

Station code

Amtrak: SNC

History

Opened

October 27, 1894; 129 years ago

Rebuilt

1974

Original company

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Passengers

FY 2022

117,526^[3] (Amtrak)

Services

Preceding station	Amtrak		Following station
Irvine toward San Luis Obispo		Pacific Surfliner	Oceanside toward San Diego
Irvine toward San Luis Obispo		Pacific Surfliner	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	San Clemente toward Oceanside

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^[4]

Added to NRHP

April 4, 1983^[5]

Location

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]

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.^[6]

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Transcription

Hours and frequency

San Juan Capistrano station is served by 20 Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (ten in each direction) evenly spaced throughout the day.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[8]

History

The San Juan Capistrano station was originally opened October 27, 1894 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.^[9] It was one of the earliest examples of Mission Revival Style architecture in railway stations.^[10] In 1966, the station was closed, two years ahead of the end of Santa Fe passenger service to the city.^[11] Amtrak added San Juan Capistrano as a flag stop on its Los Angeles–San Diego San Diegan service on May 19, 1974.^[12] A year later, the depot was converted into a restaurant, with vintage rolling stock used to expand the space.^[11] Orange County Commuter service terminated here starting on April 30, 1990,^[13] 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.^[11]

The station serviced 237,776 passengers in 2018.^[14]

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

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
^ "System Map" (PDF) (Map). OC Bus. February 11, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "NATIONAL REGISTER DIGITAL ASSETS". National Park Service. April 4, 1983. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
^ "San Juan Capistrano, CA (SNC)". Great American Stations. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
^ "Pacific Surfliner Timetable" (PDF). Pacific Surfliner. October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. October 23, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ Duke 1995, p. 241
^ "Picture of plaque at station". TrainWeb. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "San Juan Capistrano, CA (SNC)". Great American Stations (Amtrak). Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
^ "When Train Comes Back to Capistrano..." Los Angeles Times. May 22, 1974. p. 10. Retrieved July 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1991-96 Fiscal Years (PDF). Sacramento, CA: Division of Mass Transportation, Caltrans. 1991.
^ "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

v t e Metrolink
Lines	Antelope Valley Line Inland Empire–Orange County Line Orange County Line Riverside Line San Bernardino Line Ventura County Line 91/Perris Valley Line Arrow
Connecting rail	Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Coaster Metro Rail Sprinter OC Streetcar (2025) California High-Speed Rail (2033) Brightline West (2027)
Governing agencies	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Orange County Transportation Authority Riverside County Transportation Commission San Bernardino County Transportation Authority Ventura County Transportation Commission
Ex officio agencies	San Diego Association of Governments Southern California Association of Governments State of California
Other information	List of stations Metrolink rolling stock Transportation in Los Angeles Transportation in the Inland Empire Coast Line Surf Line

v t e Metrolink Inland Empire–Orange County Line
Stations	San Bernardino–Downtown San Bernardino–Depot Riverside–Downtown Riverside–La Sierra Corona–North Main Corona–West Anaheim Canyon Orange Santa Ana Tustin Irvine Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo San Juan Capistrano San Clemente San Clemente Pier (weekends) Oceanside
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority Riverside County Transportation Commission Orange County Transportation Authority

v t e Metrolink Orange County Line
Stations	L.A. Union Station Commerce (weekdays) Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Buena Park Fullerton Anaheim Orange Santa Ana Tustin Irvine Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo San Juan Capistrano San Clemente San Clemente Pier (weekends) Oceanside
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Orange County Transportation Authority

v t e Amtrak stations in California
Active stations	Allensworth State Park Anaheim Antioch–Pittsburg Auburn Bakersfield Barstow Berkeley Burbank Airport–South Camarillo Carpinteria Chatsworth Chico Colfax Corcoran Dunsmuir Emeryville Fairfield–Vacaville Fremont Fullerton Fresno Glendale Goleta Grover Beach Guadalupe Hanford Hayward Irvine Lodi Lompoc–Surf Los Angeles Madera Martinez Merced Modesto Moorpark Needles Oakland Coliseum Oakland–Jack London Square Oceanside Ontario Oxnard Palm Springs Paso Robles Pomona Redding Richmond Riverside Rocklin Roseville Sacramento Salinas San Bernardino San Clemente Pier San Diego–Old Town San Diego–Santa Fe Depot San Jose Diridon San Juan Capistrano San Luis Obispo Santa Ana Santa Barbara Santa Clara–Great America Santa Clara–University Simi Valley Solana Beach Stockton–Cabral Stockton–San Joaquin Street Suisun–Fairfield Truckee Turlock–Denair Van Nuys Ventura Victorville Wasco
Former stations	Alhambra Anaheim–Stadium Bakersfield (ATSF) Carlsbad Poinsettia Carlsbad Village Commerce Del Mar Encinitas Gerber Indio Madera–Storey Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Marysville Oakland–16th Street Orange Orland Pasadena Pomona–North Riverbank San Francisco Sorrento Valley
Future stations	Hercules Oakley

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