Riverside–Downtown station

Riverside–Downtown station (officially the Joseph Tavaglione Riverside Downtown Station) is a train station in Riverside, California, United States. It is served by three Metrolink commuter rail lines – the 91/Perris Valley Line, Inland Empire–Orange County Line, and Riverside Line – and Amtrak intercity rail service on the Southwest Chief The station is owned by the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

Riverside–Downtown
A Metrolink train at the station in 2013
General information
Other names	Joseph Tavaglione Riverside Downtown Station
Location	4066 Vine Street Riverside, California United States
Coordinates	33°58′33″N 117°22′12″W / 33.9757°N 117.3699°W / 33.9757; -117.3699Coordinates: 33°58′33″N 117°22′12″W / 33.9757°N 117.3699°W / 33.9757; -117.3699
Owned by	Riverside County Transportation Commission
Line(s)	BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision UP Los Angeles Subsidivision^[1]
Platforms	1 side platform, 2 island platforms
Tracks	6
Connections	Riverside Transit Agency Omnitrans SunLine Transit Agency Megabus Flixbus Amtrak Thruway
Construction
Parking	710 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: RIV
History
Opened	June 14, 1993 (1993-06-14)
Passengers
FY 2021	4,926^[2] (Amtrak only)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Fullerton toward Los Angeles Southwest Chief San Bernardino toward Chicago Preceding station Metrolink Following station Riverside–La Sierra toward Los Angeles Union Station 91/Perris Valley Line Riverside–Hunter Park/UCR toward Perris–South Riverside–La Sierra toward Oceanside Inland Empire–Orange County Line San Bernardino–Depot toward San Bernardino–Downtown Jurupa Valley/Pedley toward Los Angeles Union Station Riverside Line Terminus
Location

Station layout

The station has two island platforms and one side platform. It is located at the east end of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) Los Angeles Subdivision at its junction with the BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision. The northern island platform and the side platform serve the UP main track and a stub-end siding; they are used only by Riverside Line trains. The three-track BNSF mainline is between the island platforms; the southern island platform (used by Amtrak, 91/Perris Valley Line, and Inland Empire–Orange County Line trains) serves the southern main track and a siding track.^[1]

Hours and frequency

Riverside–Downtown station is served by 12 Metrolink 91/Perris Valley Line trains (5 westbound and 7 eastbound) 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 westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening.^[3]

The station is served by 11 Metrolink Riverside Line trains (6 westbound, 5 eastbound) each weekday running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel.^[3]

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.^[3]

History

 

The ex-AT&SF station in 1981

The current station opened for Metrolink Riverside Line service on June 14, 1993.^[4] The original Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot (located about 1,000 feet [300 m] to the northeast) closed on May 15, 1968, when the Grand Canyon was re-routed via Pasadena to replace the discontinued Chief.^[5] Intercity service at the nearby Union Pacific Railroad station lasted until May 1971.^[6]

Inland Empire–Orange County Line service began on October 2, 1995;^[7] Riverside was the terminus of that line until the following year when the extension to San Bernardino opened.^[8] Amtrak's Southwest Chief began stopping at Riverside in April 2002.^[9] Metrolink's 91/Perris Valley Line (then the 91 Line), began operating on May 6, 2002.^[10] Again, Riverside was the terminus until the Perris Valley Line extension opened in 2016.^[11]

In December 2012, the station was renamed after Joseph Tavaglione, a local businessman and chair of the California Transportation Commission.^{[12][13][14][15]}

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2021: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. August 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
3. "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. April 4, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
4. "Metrolink holds 2 open houses". The San Bernardino County Sun. June 13, 1993. p. 33. Retrieved August 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Leppard, Henry (May 15, 1968). "Last Passenger Train out of City Leaves Tomorrow". Corona Daily Independent. Corona, California. p. 1.
6. Lamb, David (May 3, 1971). "City of L.A. Pulls In, Ends Chapter of Rails". Los Angeles Times. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.  
7. Anderson, Lynn (October 3, 1995). "Metrolink opens Riverside-Irvine line". The San Bernardino County Sun. p. 17. Retrieved July 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Anderson, Lynn (February 23, 1996). "Orange County rail line to make debut". The San Bernardino County Sun. p. 9. Retrieved July 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Riverside, CA (RIV) – Great American Stations".
10. McKibben, Dave (May 7, 2002). "Riverside-L.A. Commute by Rail Cut to 90 Minutes". Los Angeles Times. p. 13. Retrieved August 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "TRANSPORTATION: Perris Valley Line rolls out right on schedule". The Press-Enterprise. June 6, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
12. . Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
13. "Riverside-Downtown Metrolink Station dedicated to longtime transit advocate" (PDF). Metrolink Matters. February 2013. p. 2. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
14. . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
15. "Forward Motion, Dec. 2012".

External links

  Media related to Riverside-Downtown station at Wikimedia Commons

• Riverside, CA – Amtrak
• Riverside, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Riverside–Downtown at the Metrolink website
• Riverside station – USA Rail Guide (TrainWeb)