San Bernardino Transit Center

The San Bernardino Transit Center (Metrolink designation San Bernardino–Downtown)[2] is an intermodal transit center in downtown San Bernardino, California, United States. It is owned and operated by Omnitrans, the area's public transportation agency. Opened in September 2015, the center consolidates three Metrolink commuter rail services and more than a dozen local bus services, including the sbX bus rapid transit service into one central location.

San Bernardino–Downtown
San Bernardino Transit Center station building
General information
Other namesSan Bernardino Transit Center
Location599 West Rialto Avenue
San Bernardino, California
Coordinates34°06′00″N 117°17′43″W / 34.10000°N 117.29528°W / 34.10000; -117.29528
Owned byOmnitrans
Line(s)SCRRA San Gabriel Subdivision/Redlands Branch[1]
Platforms2 side platforms, 1 island platform
Tracks4
Train operatorsMetrolink
Arrow
Bus stands22
Bus operators
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking130 spaces, 14 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
ArchitectHDR, Inc.
History
OpenedSeptember 8, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09-08)
Services
Preceding station Metrolink Following station
Terminus Arrow San Bernardino–Tippecanoe
San Bernardino–Depot
toward Oceanside
Inland Empire–Orange County Line Terminus
San Bernardino–Depot San Bernardino Line
     San Bernardino Line Express does not stop here
Preceding station Omnitrans Following station
E Street/Court sbX
Green Line
E Street/Inland Center
Location
Map

History and development

edit
 
Omnitrans buses at the San Bernardino Transit Center

Pacific Electric (PE) and its local predecessors used the SBTC site as a tram shed in the early 1900s,[3][4] and later Upland–San Bernardino Line trains terminated here.[5] Omnitrans selected the site at the corner of West Rialto Avenue and South E Street to build a transit center in the 2000s, and purchased the land for the station from Union Pacific Railroad, the successor corporation to Pacific Electric, in 2008.[6][7] In 2010, San Bernardino Associated Governments, the area regional planning organization had stepped-in to fund and coordinate the project and hired design firm HDR, Inc. to draw up plans for the transit center.[8]

Construction of the center began in 2014, with a groundbreaking held on February 25.[9][10] The sbX line and its adjacent station on E Street opened on April 28, 2014.

The transit center was complete by August 24, 2015, when a celebration was held at the site, but it didn't open for service until September 8, 2015, coinciding with a major service change for Omnitrans, which saw more than a dozen bus lines rerouted to serve the transit center.[11]

Train service came to the station in late 2017 after the completion of a project that built tracks between the transit center and San Bernardino's Santa Fe Depot, which was the city's primary train depot.[12][13] Test runs of the train service to downtown with paying passengers began on December 16, 2017, with the service officially being declared open on December 18.[14]

Arrow, a commuter rail service, opened on October 24, 2022, with its western terminus at the transit center.[15] At the same time, the daily express trip on Metrolink's San Bernardino Line was extended to Redlands–Downtown station. Express trains pass through the transit center without stopping.[16]

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is considering the station as a possible stop on the second phase of the California High-Speed Rail project.[17][18]

Services and facilities

edit
 
Interior of San Bernardino Transit Center station building with customer service office and waiting room

The center contains a LEED Gold station building with public facilities, waiting areas, and solar panels on its roof.[3][19] A mural titled Explorations is on the exterior of the station building, and a large sundial is at the center of the bus area.[3][4]

The central bus plaza has 19 bus bays, with two additional bus bays located along West Rialto Avenue which runs along the northern edge of the transit center, and the sbX bus rapid transit platform in the median of South E Street which runs along the eastern edge of the transit center.[20][3][4]

Rail services

edit
San Bernardino Transit Center
Track layout
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
G Street
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E Street
 
 

A total of four train tracks are located along the southern edge of the transit center, served by two side platforms and one island platform. The Arrow service uses the two tracks closest to the central bus plaza, which continue across South E Street to Redlands. Metrolink trains use all four tracks, including the two southernmost stub-end tracks, where trains can be stored for extended periods of time without blocking the main line.[21][20]

San Bernardino Transit Center is served by 34 Metrolink San Bernardino Line trains (17 in each direction) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. Weekend service consists of 16 trains (8 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday, evenly spaced throughout the day.[22]

Additionally, the station is served by 8 Metrolink Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains (4 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.[22]

Arrow trains run every day between approximately between 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Trains arrive every 30 minutes in the early morning and evening and every 60 minutes from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. On weekends, trains run between 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., arriving every 60 minutes, except for a few hours without trains in the morning and afternoon.[23]

Bus services

edit

As of August 8, 2022 the following transit bus routes serve the San Bernardino Transit Center:[24]

The station is also served by the intercity bus company FlixBus which operates routes to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Tempe, San Diego, and Ventura from the transit center.[25]

References

edit
  1. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 20.
  2. ^ "All Lines Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Transit center opens in San Bernardino" (Press release). WSP USA. November 3, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "San Bernardino Transit Center: A Symbol of Transformation". OmniNews. Omnitrans. August 25, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. ^ "1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes" (PDF). Caltrans. February 1982. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  6. ^ Edwards, Andrew (January 4, 2009). "Omnitrans buys downtown SB land for transit center". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  7. ^ Carter, Ryan (August 23, 2015). "San Bernardino's new downtown transit center: What's in it for you". The San Bernardino Sun. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "HDR wins Calif. rail contract". Metro. March 3, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Senese, Kyra (December 6, 2017). "Downtown San Bernardino rail extension complete". Railway Track & Structures. Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  10. ^ MacDuff, Cassie (February 26, 2014). "SAN BERNARDINO: Agencies pool money for transit center, Metrolink extension". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Hagen, Ryan (September 8, 2015). "San Bernardino Transit Center opening makes commuting easier". The San Bernardino Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Valenzuela, Beatriz (March 1, 2017). "Construction to interrupt Metrolink service in Inland Empire". San Bernardino Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  13. ^ "Metrolink wraps up extension to downtown San Bernardino". Progressive Railroading. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  14. ^ Emerson, Sandra (November 6, 2017). "Passenger rail project remains priority for Rail to Redlands Working Group". Redlands Daily Facts. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  15. ^ Asperin, Alexa Mae (October 24, 2022). "Metrolink's new 'Arrow' train service from Redlands to San Bernardino begins". KTTV. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Hearing 'nonstop' train whistles in Redlands, when will they stop?". Redlands Daily Facts. October 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "San Bernardino Transit Center Celebrates One Year of Service". iNLand fIEts. September 12, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  18. ^ "Los Angeles to San Diego Project Section". California High-Speed Rail Authority. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. ^ "San Bernardino Transit Center". U.S. Green Building Council. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  20. ^ a b "Omnitrans January 2018 Service Changes". SBCTA Newsroom. San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. December 21, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  21. ^ "HDR-designed Metrolink extension opens in San Bernardino" (Press release). HDR, Inc. December 13, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Metrolink Arrow Service". Metrolink. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "Omnitrans" (PDF) (Map). Omnitrans. August 8, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  24. ^ "Bus Routes Overview". Flixbus. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
edit

  Media related to San Bernardino Transit Center at Wikimedia Commons