Old Town is an intermodal transit center (with many bus connections) and is one of the only rail station's in the country (along with the Santa Fe Depot and two stations in Dallas) with direct rail to trolley/light rail cross-platform connections. The station opened to trolleys on June 15, 1996 but I believe the stop was already being served by the Coaster Commuter Rail which was rolling through the station since its debut on February 27, 1995. Beginning with the new timetable effective April 26, 2004 select Amtrak Pacific Surfliners, 3 trains per weekend in each direction started stopping at the station on weekends only. Amtrak service at the station was slowly increased and in 2012, 6 daily trains stopped at the station, including on weekdays. As of the 2022 schedule all Pacific Surfliner Trains stop at Old Town as a secondary San Diego Station stop, although there is no ticketing or checked baggage service at the station.
From 2005 and 2012 the station was a major transfer point for trolley riders since both the Blue and Green lines terminated at the station. This was due to an awkward requirement necessitated by the ADA operating requirements of the low-floor S70 cars on the Green Line since 2005, that couldn't operate south of Old Town but are required for ADA accessibility at Green Line stops on the Mission Valley East Extension. Special Event Service (for events like football games) made an intermediate stop at the station running between Qualcomm Stadium and 12th & Imperial via the Bayside line. On September 2, 2012 this unnecessary transfer point ended with the Green Line extended to 12th & Imperial (and the platforms south of the station getting two inches added to them for S70s operations) and the Blue Line cut back to downtown until the Mid-Coast Trolley Expansion to UCSD was completed and Blue Line trains were extended north again to Old Town, joining the Green Line again, making Old Town an intermediate stop on both trolley lines on November 21, 2021.
The station consists of four tracks, two for the trolley and two for main line trains. The trolley tracks have crossovers at each end of the station and the main line tracks have a fence running between them to cut down on trespassers, all cross Taylor Street at the northern end of the station via a grade-crossing (the last grade crossing on UTC-bound Blue Line trolleys since the entire extension is grade-separated) and dip beneath I-5 at the southern end.
The main line railroad tracks have what appear to be a standard two side platform configuration. The northern end of the east platform is shared with one of the trolley tracks, there is than an island platform for the trolley tracks followed by another side platform (mainly due to the side platform stop constraints for San Diego's wheelchair lifts on the older low-floor trolleys). There are two bus loops at the station along each side of the tracks, and a large free parking lot just west of the western bus loop. There is a building designed to look like an old depot along the trolley's side platform but is a replica with its wooden walls. The platforms have (3 each) little mini wooden buildings as shelters designed to evoke the nearby Old Town State Park Tourist Attractions.
The platforms are connected by a pedestrian underpass just beyond the southern end of the trolley platforms. This has ramps up to each side of the staircase at each end and a staircase to the shared trolley/train platform (access to the trolley's island platform is only by crossing trolley tracks). This underpass has "Archaic Passage," on both walls and was the first piece of public artwork on the MTS system The platforms are also connected by the Taylor Street crossing at their northern ends although the only legal access here is from the side platforms and crossing the trolley tracks within the station directly to reach the other platform (with big no pedestrian signs over the tracks). The platforms have signs saying to Use Pedestrian Underpass to "Coast/Pacific Surfliner Northbound, Buses and Parking."
Photos 1-42 taken on 20 March, 2011, 43-51 on 23 March, 2011, 52-60 on 21 March, 2011; 61-82: July 25, 2022
Santa Fe Depot 
Washington St
San Diego-Santa Fe Depot, CA 