Martinez, CA (MTZ)

601 Marina Vista Avenue
Martinez, CA 94553-1132

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $8,065,681
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 242,645

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: City of Martinez
• Parking Lot Ownership: City of Martinez
• Platform Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad
• Track Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad

• California Zephyr
• Capitol Corridor
• Coast Starlight
• San Joaquins

Alex Khalfin
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsoak@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Martinez
• Amtrak San Joaquins
• Capitol Corridor trains
• San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority
• Station Host Association of California
• The County Connection buses
• Tri-Delta Transit
• BikeLink eLocker

The station in Martinez was built in 2001. Part of a larger 12-year construction project, the facility cost $31 million, paid for by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Caltrans, the California Transportation Commission, Union Pacific Railroad, the Federal Highway Administration and the Bay Area Quality Management District.

This intermodal facility features architecture reminiscent of old fashioned train stations with high ceilings and canopied benches. There is a balcony overlooking the three tracks and an 800-foot platform. The station provides parking and has bicycle lockers, bus bays, carpool and vanpool lots and provides a shuttle to the Martinez waterfront and downtown.

The previous depot, built in 1876, could not handle the amount of passengers using the station. Along with constructing the station itself, the project included the building of a mini-park, a walking trail and a flood control and restoration project along Alhambra Creek. In 2002, the design of the Martinez station was awarded the Merit Award for Intermodal Transportation Facilities in Excellence in Highway Design Awards.

The station also houses the Martinez Visitors Center, operated by the Martinez Chamber of Commerce from one end of the facility at 603 Marina Vista Avenue. In 2003, the city of Martinez constructed a memorial to those who died in the 9/11 attacks. The September 11 Memorial includes two pieces of steel girder from the World Trade Center, and stands close to the station, just outside the Visitors Center.

In June 2024, Amtrak celebrated completion of an $8.5 million upgrade project at the Martinez station to provide customers with a more accessible and comfortable experience. Working with the city of Martinez, Amtrak advanced a series of accessibility improvements in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Updates included a resurfaced platform with tactile warning surfaces along the platform edge so passengers with vision disabilities can safely navigate the area. Work crews also installed an accessible path from the bus drop off, through the depot and onto the platform. Customers enjoy renovated restrooms, a new ticket counter and other modifications. Due largely to Congressional investments, the improvements are part of Amtrak’s commitment to creating safer, accessible facilities through its ADA Stations Program.

Martinez, located in the Alhambra Valley, was originally home to the Karkines Indians. In 1824, a land grant, including the Alhambra Valley, was given to Don Ygnacio Martinez, the Spanish governor of the area. The grant was a gift from the Mexican government thanking Martinez for his service in the Mexican army.

In 1847, Dr. Robert Semple of Kentucky, a lieutenant in California’s Bear Flag Revolt, began a ferry service across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Martinez. The ferry service catered to participants in the Gold Rush, as it was one of the only ways from San Francisco to the gold fields. Colonel M. Smith, seeing that business with gold miners and suppliers was beneficial, made an agreement with the family of Ygnacio Martinez to establish a town site at the ferry crossing. In 1851, the California Legislature named Martinez as the county seat and it was incorporated in 1876. Agriculture was the major economic business of Martinez and was aided by the arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1877. Martinez became a stop on the transcontinental route and a transfer point between the Shasta and Coastal routes.

Martinez is the birth place of Joe DiMaggio and the last home of John Muir, the famous naturalist and conservationist who, in the 1890s, was instrumental in the creation of Yosemite National Park and the establishment of the Sierra Club. This city is also said to the birthplace of the Martini drink.

The San Joaquins service is primarily financed through funds made available by the State of California, Department of Transportation, and is managed by the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority. The Capitol Corridor route is primarily financed and operated in partnership with the State of California. It is managed by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), which partners with Amtrak, the Union Pacific Railroad, Caltrans and the communities comprising the CCJPA to continue development of a cost-effective, viable and safe intercity passenger rail service.

Station Building (with waiting room)