Oakland–Jack London Square | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Oakland–Jack London Square/C. L. Dellums Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 245 2nd Street Oakland, California United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 37°47′37″N 122°16′17″W / 37.79361°N 122.27139°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Port of Oakland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | UP Niles Subdivision [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform, 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections |
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Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | 500 short term, 500 long term [4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | Amtrak: OKJ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | May 22, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FY 2022 | 154,266 [5] (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oakland–Jack London Square station is a train station in Jack London Square (itself named after the author) of Oakland, California, United States. The station is served by Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, and San Joaquins trains. It is officially named Oakland–Jack London Square/C. L. Dellums Station after C. L. Dellums, co-founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
Three tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Niles Subdivision pass through the station. A side platform serves the north track; an island platform is located between the north track and the middle track (a short siding). The south track is freight-only. [1] The glass-faced station building, owned by the Port of Oakland, is located on the north side of the tracks. [6] A parking garage is located west of the station building. Two footbridges cross over the tracks and the parallel Embarcadero West roadway. One is located adjacent to the station building; the other connects the garage to several buildings.
Most Amtrak Thruway buses to/from San Francisco connect at Emeryville, as Jack London Square is further from the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. However, Oakland is the San Francisco connection point for passengers on the southern half of the Coast Starlight, as well as the northern end of a route that connects to the Pacific Surfliner at Santa Barbara. [3]
The station does not have direct connections to other regional transit; it is about 2,400 feet (730 m) east of the Oakland Ferry Terminal served by the San Francisco Bay Ferry and 2,200 feet (670 m) southwest of Lake Merritt station, served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). [2]
The Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) had a downtown Oakland station on the north side of 1st Street between Franklin Street and Broadway. [7] [8]: 7 It was only used for Oakland–San Jose shuttle trains, which ended in 1960. [8]: 7
The SP's main Oakland station was 16th Street station, which Amtrak continued to use after taking over intercity passenger service in 1971. [6] By the late 1980s, officials planned to replace the aging 16th Street station with a new station in the Jack London Square area, which was undergoing redevelopment. [9] [10] In March 1989, the Port of Oakland won a $3.1 million state grant to fund part of the cost of a new station. [11] 16th Street station was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake; an adjacent building was repurposed as a temporary station. [12] In 1990, Jack London Square was among the proposed station sites for the Capitols service. [13]
By late 1991, environmental work for the Jack London Square station was underway; proposed costs had quadrupled to $16 million from the $4 million projected in 1988. [14] Capitols service began in December 1991, with 16th Street as the Oakland station. [15] By August 1992, the Port planned to open a temporary platform at Jack London Square by July 1993, as Caltrans had ordered Amtrak to vacate 16th Street station by then to accommodate replacement of the Cypress Street Viaduct. The new station was then expected to fully open in August 1994. [16]
In 1992, the adjacent city of Emeryville advanced plans for a new station of its own, intended to support redevelopment in the city. Emeryville officials advertised it as an interim replacement for 16th Street station, and that it would only seen limited service after the Jack London Square station opened. However, Port of Oakland saw Emeryville station as a threat to the expected economic benefits of the Jack London Square station. [17] [18] Groundbreaking for the Jack London Square station was held on October 28, 1992 – one day after a "lease signing" ceremony in Emeryville. [19]
In December 1992, the Port abandoned plans for the temporary platform in order to speed construction of the permanent station, with the aim of having it open by December 1993. [20] Demolition of a former newspaper warehouse to make way for the new station began in January 1993. [21] Plans up to that point called for a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2), two-story station building with a clock tower. [22] In February 1993, the design was changed to a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2), one-story station that would cost $13.5 million. [23]
16th Street station closed on August 5, 1994, at which time Emeryville station became Amtrak's only Oakland-area station. [24] Oakland–Jack London Square station opened on May 22, 1995. [8]: 33 With its opening, Jack London Square inherited 16th Street station's longtime role as the western terminus for the California Zephyr. Due to the station's location, westbound trains had to execute a reverse move along street running tracks to reach the wye at West Oakland. For this reason, the Zephyr was cut back to Emeryville in 1997. [8]: 43
The station's official name is "Oakland–Jack London Square/C. L. Dellums Station," named for the surrounding Jack London Square area, itself named after writer Jack London, and for C. L. Dellums, a longtime Oakland resident and the co-founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; a statue of Dellums stands outside the station. [8]: 42
Media related to Oakland–Jack London Square station at Wikimedia Commons