The Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (shortened to Santa Ana Transit Center and also known as Santa Ana station) is a transit center in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, United States. It is used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...

'' and Metrolink's

Orange County Line The Orange County Line is a commuter rail line run by Metrolink from Los Angeles through Orange County to Oceanside in San Diego County, connecting with the Coaster commuter rail service to San Diego. The Orange County Line carries passe ...

and

Inland Empire–Orange County Line The Inland Empire–Orange County (IEOC) Line is a commuter rail line run by Metrolink in Southern California. It runs from San Bernardino through Orange County to Oceanside in northern San Diego County. When the line opened it became the f ...

trains. It is also a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

station and a hub for the

Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for ...

bus system as well as a terminal for international bus services to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

History

When the station opened on September 7, 1985, it was the largest new rail station built in the United States since the completion of the

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, US. Located at 1001 Loyola Avenue, it is served by Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, Megabus (North America), Megabus, and ...

circa 1955. The center was erected on the site of a former

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

combination depot that had been constructed in 1939 and closed in 1982. The station, which cost approximately $17 million, was funded by the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

, and the city of Santa Ana.Great American Stations
Accessed March 12, 2013. In FY2010 Santa Ana was the 22nd-busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 420 passengers daily. Santa Ana Station Platfrom

Future service

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center will be the eastern terminus of the OC Streetcar, a streetcar line through Downtown Santa Ana, a major regional employment area, to a new transit center and Park and Ride in Garden Grove at

Harbor Boulevard Harbor Boulevard (formerly Spadra Road) is a north–south road corridor in the counties of Los Angeles and Orange. One of the busiest routes in Orange County, the thoroughfare passes through some of the most densely populated areas in the re ...

and Westminster Avenue (both major bus corridors).

Design

The Depot at Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center

The station was designed by the Blurock Partnership

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

in the

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

and Mediterranean Revival architectural styles to complement the region's older buildings. Features include red barrel roof tiles, arcades, colonnades, exterior walls finished to resemble stucco, and the extensive use of painted tiles for decoration.

Service

Train hours and frequency

Bus services

OC Bus OC Bus is the transit bus service operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), serving every city in Orange County. Some of the lines serve the Los Angeles County border communities of Lakewood, La Mirada, Cerritos, Artes ...

: , , Bravo! , * Crucero USA *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

In popular culture

The last scene in the movie ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive and selfish wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dea ...

'' was filmed at the station. Its exterior and interior appeared in the second season of ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' in 2015.

References

External links

DOT profile of Santa Ana Station

* ttp://www.octa.net/ Orange County Transportation Authority {{Amtrak California stations Amtrak stations in Orange County, California Metrolink stations in Orange County, California Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations Transit centers in the United States Buildings and structures in Santa Ana, California Transportation in Santa Ana, California Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1985 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1939 1939 establishments in California 1985 establishments in California 1982 disestablishments in California Bus stations in Orange County, California Railway stations in the United States closed in 1982 OC Streetcar stations