 Pomona, CA | Sunset Limited - Texas Eagle | Palm Springs, CA  |
Ontario, CA began as a stop on the Triweekly Sunset Limited, that also carries two through cars from the Texas Eagle, in 1991. Amtrak San Joaquin Thurway bus service to Bakersfield and connections to Northern California also stop at the station.
A stop in Ontario on the Sunset Limited was proposed in the timetables from 1978 to 1983 and a note by the Pomona station says "Service will be provided at Ontario, CA at a date to be announced. At that time service will be discontinued at Pomona, CA." The 1978 timetables went as far as to make Ontario it's own station with the July 1978 timetable gaving a station location of Vineyard Avenue and Airport Road. This proposed location was out by the Airport (near where the action photos below of the Sunset Limited were taken), about 2 miles east of the current station location. This same note reappaers in the 1990 timetable. In the end the current station was opened in Downtown Ontario in 1991 and the Pomona station just 6 miles away, also kept open, with two stations extremely close together. This compares to an average distance of 95 miles between the each stop on the 20 stops the Sunset Limited makes on its entire 1,995 mile journey between Los Angeles and New Orleans.
The station consists of a single platform on the north side of the two-track Union Pacific/ex-Southern Pacific Sunset Line out of Los Angeles. This line out of Los Angeles isn't shared with any Metrolink trains, making the Sunset Limited the only long-distance Amtrak route that barely shares any trackage with Commuter Rail Lines (just the entrance into Union Station).
This platform begins just east of the Euclid Avenue underpass, just south of Downtown Ontario. The platform is just off a Emporia Street (that ends before the underpass) with a line of Palm trees between the platform and the street. There is minimal on-street parking for Amtrak passengers. The one platform amenity is unique open air shelter the City of Ontario built for Amtrak with 3 groups of white pillars at each corner holding up a roof with deep eves in the Spanish-revival style. The platform also includes a tactile warning strip and a modern wheelchair lift enclosure. There are also a few older 1990s signs reading Ontario, CA that originally had pointless arrows with some that have been covered up. The thruway bus stop when I visited in 2012 still has an Amtrak Bus stop sign with the pointless arrow. There is one modern "Thank you for choosing Amtrak." information panel that was empty of information when I visited.
The Metrolink Riverside Line runs on a seperate ROW just 400 feet south of the Union Pacific/Amtrak Line. These two routes share the Pamona Station, although the distance between stations on the Sunset Limited to Ontario is only 6 miles, while it's 10 miles to the next stop on Metrolink, East Ontario. A Metrolink Station in the area was proposed but site contamination issues made this extremely expensive so the Metrolink station was built in East Ontario instead. The Euclid Avenue stays below grade and crosses under both railroad lines. In between the Railroad lines is Main Street, that includes an abandoned building that looks like it was built for the railroad south of the train tracks.
All photos taken on 26 February, 2012
