Chico station

Chico is a passenger station in the South Campus Neighborhood of Chico, California served by Amtrak. It is located at West Fifth and Orange streets and is used by Amtrak's Coast Starlight service. The station was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1892.

Chico, CA
Chico station in January 2021
Location450 Orange Street, Chico, California
Coordinates39.7233°N 121.8461°W / 39.7233; -121.8461
Owned byCity of Chico
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeCIC
History
Opened1870 (Southern Pacific)
April 25, 1982 (Amtrak)
Closed1957 (SP)
Rebuilt1892, 1988
Passengers
201712,154[1]  7.53% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Sacramento
toward Los Angeles
 Coast Starlight Redding
toward Seattle
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Marysville
(1982-99)
toward Los Angeles
 Coast Starlight Redding
toward Seattle
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station
Durham
toward Oakland Pier
 Shasta Route
Via East Side Sacramento Valley
 Vina
toward Portland
Southern Pacific Depot
LocationChico, California, USA
Coordinates39°42′24.0″N 121°50′8.0″W
Architectural styleCarpenter Gothic
NRHP reference No.87000001
Added to NRHPJanuary 29, 1987
Location

The terminal is partially wheelchair accessible, has an enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public pay phones, free short-term and long-term parking. Trains run between Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles with a northbound and a southbound train departing from the station daily. The Greyhound bus station is also located at Fifth and Orange Streets.

History
Chico station in 1969

The station was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1892, replacing an older structure built in 1870.[2]

The station was shown in the 1947 film Magic Town when James Stewart's character arrives in the fictional town of Grandview.[2] During his 1952 Vice Presidential campaign, Richard Nixon was talking on the pay phone at the station when he got the news from the campaign headquarters that he would have to respond to the Checkers issue with the 'Checkers speech'.[3]

Passenger rail service to Chico ceased in 1957, but was reactivated when Amtrak rerouted the Coast Starlight to its current alignment in 1982.[4] The city and the Chamber of Commerce saved the current structure from demolition through an agreement with the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1987.[5] That same year, the depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Southern Pacific Depot.[3] The building is also home to the Chico Art Center.[2]

While the Butte County Association of Governments has looked in to establishment of weekday bus service from Chico to Sacramento, their plan called for the bus to depart not from the station but rather a park and ride facility on Fir Street.[6][7] A different North State Intercity Bus route received TIRCP funding in 2018 and will provide weekday feeder service to Sacramento from the Chico station.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. "Chico, CA (CIC)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  3. Giovanna R. Jackson; Michele Shover (August 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Southern Pacific Depot" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 12, 2015. Accompanying 12 photos.
  4. "State Digest: Amtrak's new train route". San Francisco Examiner. April 16, 1982.
  5. Great American Stations Accessed January 30, 2013.
  6. https://www.sacog.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/bcag_chico_to_sacramento_intercity_commuter_bus_service_talking_points.pdf
  7. https://www.chicoer.com/2018/06/30/new-chico-bus-service-far-off-but-i-5-could-be-in-2019/
  8. https://www.srta.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4099/North-State-Intercity-Bus-System-Business-Plan-June-2018?bidId=
  9. http://www.dot.ca.gov/drmt/docs/sptircp/2018_awardlist.pdf
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