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Gilroy
Gilroy station in July 2018
General information
Location	7150 Monterey Street Gilroy, California
Coordinates	37°00′15″N 121°34′00″W / 37.00417°N 121.56667°W / 37.00417; -121.56667
Owned by	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
Line(s)	UP Coast Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	Greyhound Lines San Benito County Transit: Intercounty VTA: 68, 84, 85, 86, Express 121, Rapid 568 Monterey-Salinas Transit: 59
Construction
Parking	471 spaces
Bicycle facilities	13 racks and 30 lockers
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: GLY
Fare zone	6
History
Opened	April 8, 1869 July 1, 1992
Closed	April 30, 1971
Rebuilt	1998
Original company	Southern Pacific
Passengers
2018	252 (weekdays)  22.7%
Services
Preceding station Caltrain Following station San Martintoward San Jose Diridon South County Connector Terminus
Former services Preceding station Caltrain Following station San Martintoward San Francisco Limited (L3)Select peak-hour trains only Terminus Limited (L4)Select peak-hour trains only Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station San Martintoward San Francisco Coast Line Sargenttoward Los Angeles Terminus Gilroy – Tres Pinos Hollistertoward Tres Pinos
Future services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Morgan Hilltoward Auburn Capitol Corridor Pajaro/​Watsonvilletoward Salinas      Coast Starlight does not stop here Preceding station Caltrain Following station San Martintoward San Jose Diridon South County Connector Pajaro/​Watsonvilletoward Salinas Preceding station California High-Speed Rail Following station San Josetowards San Francisco 4th and King Street Phase I MercedTerminus Maderatowards Los Angeles or Anaheim
Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.	100004192
Added to NRHP	July 12, 2019
Location

Gilroy station is a Caltrain station located in Gilroy, California, United States. It is the southern terminus of the South County Connector service, and is only served during weekday rush hours in the peak direction, with trains going toward San Jose in the morning and returning southbound in the evening. The station building was constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1918 and restored in 1998. Future plans call for extended Amtrak Capitol Corridor service, as well as California High-Speed Rail trains, to also stop at Gilroy. The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.

History

Southern Pacific

The first Gilroy station, similar to the depot still extant at Santa Clara, opened on April 8, 1869 under the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valley Railroad. A water tower, turntable, and three-stall engine house were built in 1882.

The original station was replaced with a two-story Italian Renaissance structure — framed with local redwood and covered in cement plaster — in 1918 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Service reductions began in 1929; the engine house was closed in 1934, though the turntable remained in use through the 1950s. The final service to the station was the Del Monte, which ran until April 30, 1971. Amtrak intercity service, including the Coast Starlight, passed through the station without stopping.

Caltrain

On July 1, 1992, two daily Caltrain round trips were extended from San Jose Diridon station to Gilroy. This was increased to four daily round trips with the opening of a layover yard adjacent to the station in February 1994. In 1998, the city restored the station building as the centerpiece of the $2.8 million Gilroy Transit Center, which also included parking lots and a bus plaza. One waiting room was reopened for use by Greyhound. In July 2005, Caltrain reduced service to three daily round trips.

Even before 1992, Caltrain operated a special limited-stop train from San Francisco to Gilroy on the weekend of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, with shuttle buses between the station and the festival. This service ended in 2002 when Caltrain temporarily suspended all weekend train service for the CTX project, and was not resumed when weekend service was restored in 2004. The Golden Gate Railroad Museum chartered weekend trains to Gilroy during the festival for a few years, but those charters were later discontinued. The "Garlic Train" resumed service beginning with the 2013 Garlic Festival.

The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot. Gilroy service was increased to four weekday round trips on September 25, 2023.

Future plans

The Road Repair and Accountability Act provided funding for an extension of Caltrain service to Salinas station, followed by Amtrak Capitol Corridor service later. The dead-end platform track at Gilroy station will be extended south to reconnect with the mainline.

The planned California High-Speed Rail system will have a station in Gilroy. Two sites were under consideration: the existing Gilroy station, and a currently undeveloped area northeast of the city center (east of Gilroy Premium Outlets). The High Speed Rail Authority identified an at-grade option at the existing station as their preferred alternative in 2020.

Bus connections

Gilroy station is a hub for local and intercity bus service:

• Greyhound Lines
• San Benito County Transit: Intercounty
• VTA: 68, 84, 85, 86, Express 121, Rapid 568

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 5.
2. ^ Pearce, Michael (August 2017). Santa Clara Valley's Railroad Lines (PDF) (Report). Sourisseau Academy. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
3. ^ Duncan, Mark (October 4, 2005). "The San Francisco Peninsula Railroad Passenger Service: Past, Present, and Future" (PDF). pp. 18, 93–94. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2018.
4. "2018 Annual Count Key Findings Report" (PDF). Caltrain. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
5. "New S.P. Station at Gilroy is Dedicated". Oakland Tribune. May 1, 1918. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "The Del Monte Passenger Train". Monterey Public Library. February 10, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
7. "Western Division Timetable #13" (PDF). Southern Pacific Company. March 29, 1970. pp. 2, 5.
8. Cohen, Gail. "How to Prepare for the Gilroy Garlic Festival". USA Today.
9. @Caltrain (June 6, 2013). "Garlic Train to roll to @gilroygarlicfes July 27 & 28. #yum" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. "Weekly List 20190712". National Park Service. July 12, 2019.
11. "Caltrain to Operate New Schedule Starting this Fall" (Press release). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. September 13, 2023.
12. Johnson, Jim (May 9, 2018). "Salinas commuter rail extension project gets $10 million SB 1 gas tax grant". Monterey Herald.
13. "Gilroy Station Track Project" (PDF). Transportation Agency for Monterey County. October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
14. "California High-Speed Rail Authority Awards Station-Area Planning Funds to the City of Gilroy" (PDF) (Press release). California High-Speed Rail Authority. July 23, 2014.
15. Soloaga, Isabel (June 19, 2020). "Huge California High-Speed Rail project raises local concerns". Gilroy Life. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
16. "VTA South County". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.

External links

• Caltrain – Gilroy
• VTA – Gilroy
• Monterey County Rail Extension

v t e Caltrain
Stations	22nd Street Bayshore Belmont (Blossom Hill) (Broadway) Burlingame California Avenue (Capitol) (College Park) (Gilroy) Hayward Park Hillsdale Lawrence Menlo Park Millbrae (Morgan Hill) Mountain View Palo Alto Redwood City San Antonio San Bruno San Carlos San Francisco 4th and King Street San Jose Diridon (San Martin) San Mateo Santa Clara South San Francisco (Stanford) Sunnyvale Tamien Planned Castroville Pajaro/Watsonville Salinas Salesforce Former Atherton Bay Meadows Butler Road Castro Paul Avenue
Management	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board City and County of San Francisco SamTrans Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Amtrak TransitAmerica Services
History	Bayshore Cutoff San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Southern Pacific Transportation Company Peninsula Commute California High-Speed Rail
Projects	Completed Caltrain Centralized Equipment Maintenance and Operations Facility Caltrain Express Caltrain Modernization Program In Progress Monterey County Rail Extension Planned The Portal Dumbarton Rail Corridor
Miscellaneous	Clipper card California High-Speed Rail Category for related articles Coast Line

• Caltrain stations in Santa Clara County, California
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus stations
• Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations in California
• Proposed California High-Speed Rail stations
• Future Amtrak stations in the United States
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1869
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1992
• National Register of Historic Places in Santa Clara County, California
• Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in California
• Railway stations in the United States closed in 1971