Pajaro/Watsonville station explained

Style:Caltrain
Pajaro/Watsonville
Address:Pajaro, California
Coordinates:36.8914°N -121.747°W
Line:UP Coast Subdivision
Status:In planning
Opened:1871 (SP)
Rebuilt:1949
Closed:1971
Original:Southern Pacific
Former:Pajaro
Watsonville Junction
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Other Services2 Header:Future services
Other Services2 Collapsible:yes

Pajaro/Watsonville is a proposed train station that will serve both Pajaro and Watsonville, California. The station is expected to open after track improvements in the area and service commences to Salinas as part of the Monterey County Rail Extension.[1] [2] [3] It will be located in Watsonville Junction near the corner of Salinas Road and Lewis Road,[4] adjacent to the former Southern Pacific Railroad depot and current Union Pacific Railroad office. The station will eventually serve Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, and Coast Starlight.[5]

History

The Southern Pacific Railroad was built out to Pajaro by November 26, 1871.[6] The railroad changed the name to Watsonville Junction in 1913 to aide travelers unfamiliar with Spanish pronunciation.[7] A new station building was constructed in 1949.[8]

The overnight passenger train The Lark stopped at Watsonville Junction between 1941 and 1968. The Del Monte served the old station until service was discontinued on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak took over intercity passenger train service in the United States. The 1949-built depot was demolished in 2011.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Johnson . Jim . Salinas rail extension project set for groundbreaking ceremony . 25 February 2019 . Monterey Herald . 3 August 2018.
  2. News: Johnson. Jim. Salinas commuter rail extension project gets $10 million SB 1 gas tax grant. 11 May 2018. Monterey Herald. 9 May 2018.
  3. News: TAMC Selects LAN as Part of Construction Management Team for Salinas Rail Extension. 2 February 2018. Mass Transit. 3 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Pajaro/Watsonville Station Fact Sheet. Transportation Agency for Monterey County. June 18, 2020. March 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200318154852/https://www.tamcmonterey.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Pajaro_Watsonville.pdf. dead.
  5. Web site: 2023-04-28 . Santa Cruz, Monterey counties receive funding for rail projects . 2024-05-16 . Trains . en-US.
  6. Web site: History of Rail Transportation in Santa Cruz County . Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission . 23 December 2020.
  7. Book: Gudde, Erwin Gustav . California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary . University of California Press . 1969 .
  8. News: Jones . Donna . Tracks of history: Railroad represented "a lifeline" to Pajaro Valley . 23 December 2020 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 1 February 2011.