Santa Fe Depot (San Diego)

Santa Fe Depot San Diego, CA
The station building as seen from the platforms in August 2007
General information
Other names	Union Station
Location	1050 Kettner Boulevard San Diego, California United States
Coordinates	32°43′00″N 117°10′10″W / 32.71667°N 117.16944°W / 32.71667; -117.16944
Owned by	Santa Fe Depot LLC (building)[1] North County Transit District (tracks)[1]
Operated by	Amtrak California
Line(s)	NCTD San Diego Subdivision[2]
Platforms	2 island platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks	6
Connections	MTS: 83, Rapid 215, Rapid 225, Rapid 235, Rapid Express 280, Rapid Express 290, 923, 992[3] Amtrak Thruway: 1[4]
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	Paid parking nearby
Bicycle facilities	12 rack spaces, 3 lockers[5]
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Staffed, station building with waiting room
Station code	Amtrak: SAN MTS: 75082, 75083[6]
Fare zone	3 (Coaster)
History
Opened	March 7, 1915; 109 years ago (1915-03-07)[7]
Rebuilt	2012[8]
Original company	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Passengers
FY 2023	274,987[9] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station San Diego–Old Town toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Terminus Preceding station North County Transit District Following station Old Town San Diego towards Oceanside COASTER Terminus Preceding station San Diego Trolley Following station County Center/Little Italy towards UTC Blue Line America Plaza towards San Ysidro County Center/Little Italy towards Santee Green Line Seaport Village towards 12th & Imperial
Former services Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station Del Mar toward Los Angeles Surf Line Terminus Linda Vista To 1950s[10] toward Los Angeles National City To 1930[11][12] Terminus Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station Terminus San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Main Line San Ysidro [13] toward El Centro
Santa Fe Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
San Diego Historic Landmark No. 56
Area	4.6 acres (1.9 ha)
Built	1915
Architect	Bakewell and Brown
Architectural style	Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.	72000248[14]
SDHL No.	56
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 26, 1972
Designated SDHL	February 4, 1972[15]
Location

Santa Fe Depot is a union station in San Diego, California, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a San Diego Historic Landmark. Its architecture, particularly the signature twin domes, is often echoed in the design of modern buildings in downtown San Diego.

The historic depot is located in the Core district of downtown San Diego and is still an active transportation center, providing services to Amtrak California intercity trains, Coaster commuter rail trains, the San Diego Trolley, and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus system.

The Santa Fe Depot (as it was originally designated) officially opened on March 8, 1915, to accommodate visitors to the Panama-California Exposition. The depot was completed during a particularly optimistic period in the city's development and represents the battle waged by the City of San Diego to become the West Coast terminus of the Santa Fe's transcontinental railroad, a fight that was ultimately lost to the City of Los Angeles.

In its heyday, the facility not only handled Santa Fe traffic but also that of the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A) and San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy). The designation was officially changed to "San Diego Union Station" in response to the SD&A's completion of its own transcontinental line in December 1919. Santa Fe resumed solo operation of the station in January 1951 when the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (successor to the SD&A) discontinued passenger service, the SDERy having ceased operation some two years prior.

Of the 77 California stations served by Amtrak in Fiscal Year 2017, the Santa Fe Depot was the third busiest in California (behind only Los Angeles Union Station and Sacramento Valley Station) and the 10th busiest in the Amtrak system, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 2,130 passengers daily.