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Pomona–Downtown station

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Coordinates: 34°03′33″N 117°45′04″W / 34.059188°N 117.75117°W / 34.059188; -117.75117
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For the train station in northern Pomona on Metrolink's San Bernardino Line, see Pomona–North station.
Pomona–Downtown
Pomona–Downtown station in 2023
General information
Other names
  • Pomona
  • Pomona Transit Center
Location100 West Commercial Street
Pomona, California
United States
Coordinates34°03′33″N 117°45′04″W / 34.059188°N 117.75117°W / 34.059188; -117.75117
Owned byCity of Pomona
Line(s)UP Los Angeles Subdivision
UP Alhambra Subdivision[1]
Platforms1 island and 2 side platforms
Tracks3
Train operators
Bus routesBus transport Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 195, 197, 286, 291, 292, 480, 482, 486
Bus transport Omnitrans: 61
Bus stands12
Construction
Parking907 paid spaces[2]
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: POS
History
Opened1940, 2001 (Metrolink)
Passengers
FY 20231,315[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Los Angeles
Terminus
 Sunset Limited Ontario
toward New Orleans
Texas Eagle Ontario
toward Chicago
Preceding station Metrolink Following station
Industry
toward L.A. Union Station
 Riverside Line Ontario–East
toward Riverside–Downtown
Former services
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station
Alhambra
toward Los Angeles
 Sunset Route Ontario
toward New Orleans
Location
Map

Pomona–Downtown station (also called Pomona station and Pomona Transit Center), is a train station in Pomona, California, United States. It is primarily served by Metrolink’s Riverside Line commuter rail service. The station is also served by limited Amtrak long-distance inter-city rail service, with the thrice-weekly round trip of the combined Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. It is owned and operated by the city of Pomona.

Station design

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Two Union Pacific Railroad lines – the Los Angeles Subdivision and the ex-Southern Pacific Alhambra Subdivision – run parallel east-west through Pomona station. Amtrak trains use the Alhambra Subdivision, with a single side platform on the north side of the single track. Metrolink trains use a side platform on the south side of the two-track Los Angeles Subdivision; a disused platform is also located between the two tracks.[1] The historic station building and a bus plaza are located on the north side of the tracks. A footbridge connects the north and south platforms.

History

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Exterior view of the previous Pomona Railroad Station, c. 1906

The 1940 station was designed by Donald Parkinson in the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles.[4] Details include stuccoed walls, an arcade and red clay tile roofs.[5] It once served the main Southern Pacific Railroad line from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and the main Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad line. Currently both lines are now Union Pacific Railroad lines.

When Amtrak took over intercity rail service in the United States in 1971, it continued serving Pomona with the Sunset Limited.[6]: 186  Through cars on the Eagle (now the Texas Eagle) began in 1986.[6]: 181  The Riverside Line service began in 1993, but service to Pomona–Downtown station did not begin until February 5, 2001.[7] The sbX Purple Line bus rapid transit route between Pomona–Downtown station and Ontario International Airport is expected to open in 2025.[8][9]

During much of the 2010s, the local homeless population began moving around the station and the nearby area. In 2018 an Amtrak engineer was charged with the murder of two homeless men shot and killed on the south platform.[10][11] In 2020, it was discovered that multiple transients living in the nearby encampments had been regularly breaking into freight trains parked on the adjacent tracks.[12] The station was renovated in 2020 at a cost of $1.3 million to remove the growing homeless encampments on the north platform, in addition to repainting the bridge and removing graffiti from the opposing wall.[13]

As of 2024, Amtrak plans to modify the platform for accessibility later in the 2020s.[14]

Services

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Pomona–Downtown station is served by 11 Metrolink Riverside Line trains (6 westbound and 5 eastbound) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. There is no service on weekends.[15] The Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle both operate as a single combined train, with the eastbound train stopping at the station on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 10:40 p.m., and westbound trains stopping at the station on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00 a.m.[16][17] The Riverside Line follows the State Route 60 freeway corridor while the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle separates and follows the Alhambra Subdivision, owned by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Foothill Transit uses the station as a transit center for the area, with extensive connections throughout the San Gabriel Valley. The bus depot is located near the main station building, adjacent to the North platform, across from 1st and Commercial Streets. Lines 195, 197, 286, 291, 292, 480, 482, 486 provide service to the station. The Silver Streak provides express service to Downtown Los Angeles seven days a week.[18] Omnitrans operates route 61 to the Pomona station.

References

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  1. ^ a b SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 21.
  2. ^ "Pomona–Downtown Train Station". Metrolink. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Utahrails.net: Union Pacific's Parkinson Depots
  5. ^ Great American Stations. Accessed February 15, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Warner, David C.; Goldberg, Bruce (2021). Fifty Years of Amtrak Trains: A Comprehensive Survey of Amtrak Routes: 1971–2021. Bucklin, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN 978-1-932804-70-6.
  7. ^ "Metrolink Riverside Line to stop at new Downtown Pomona station". Metrolink News. Southern California Regional Rail Authority. January 31, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  8. ^ "West Valley Connector" (PDF). SBCTA. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "West Valley Connector O&M Agreements". omnitrans.primegov.com.
  10. ^ "Amtrak Engineer found Guilty in murder of Homeless men". Los Angeles Times. August 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Why the Pomona Homeless service center may not be enough". October 7, 2018.
  12. ^ "100K in cargo taken in train heists found in homeless encampments in Pomona". CBS News. August 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Pomona Downtown transit center to receive $1.3 million facelift". August 20, 2019.
  14. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2023 State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. p. 7.
  15. ^ "Sunset Limited Timetable" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. April 4, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  16. ^ "Texas Eagle Timetable" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. April 4, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Foothill Transit System" (PDF) (Map). Foothill Transit. November 14, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
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Media related to Pomona station (California) at Wikimedia Commons

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