Union City station

Metro station in Union City, California, US

For the former station in Indiana, see Union City station (New York Central Railroad).

Union City

Union City station platforms in 2017

General information
Location| 10 Union Square
Union City, California
Coordinates| 37°35′27″N 122°01′02″W﻿ / ﻿37.590746°N 122.017282°W﻿ / 37.590746; -122.017282
Line(s)| BART A-Line
Platforms| 2 side platforms
Connections|

* AC Transit: 97, 99, 200, 216, 232, 275 Flex, 801
* Dumbarton Express: DB, DB1
* Union City Transit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Construction
Structure type| Elevated
Parking| 1,197 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities| 20 BikeLink lockers
Accessible| Yes
Architect| Kitchen & Hunt[2]
Other information
Station code| BART: UCTY
History
Opened| September 11, 1972
Rebuilt| February 12, 2014
Passengers
2025| 1,870 (weekday average)[3]
Services
| Preceding station  |  Bay Area Rapid Transit | Following station

|
|

South Hayward

toward Daly City

|  | Green Line |  | Fremont

toward Berryessa

South Hayward

toward Richmond

|  | Orange Line |
Proposed services (2030)
| Preceding station  |  Altamont Corridor Express | Following station

|
|

Terminus |  | Union City – Merced |  | Pleasanton

toward Merced

| Union City – Natomas |  | Pleasanton

toward Natomas

Location

Union City station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Union City, California. The station sits near Decoto Road east of Alvarado-Niles Road, directly behind the James Logan High School campus. The station is served by the Orange and Green lines. Local bus service is provided by Union City Transit and AC Transit.

## History

[edit]

Main entrance and bus bays in 2013

The Western Pacific Railroad (WP) opened through Decoto in 1909. Passenger service began on August 22, 1910; both of the two daily round trips stopped at Decoto.[4][5][6] A local train timed for commuting to Oakland and San Francisco was added on October 1.[7][8] The commuter train was discontinued in 1914, leaving just two daily round trips.[9][10] One of the two daily round trips ceased stopping at Decoto and other local stations in January 1919.[11][12] The WP reduced service on the line to one daily train (the Scenic Limited) during the 1930s, but added the Exposition Flyer in 1939.[13][14][15] Decoto continued to be a flag stop served by the daily Feather River Express until around 1942.[16][17]

BART built its Fremont line using the Western Pacific alignment (Oakland Subdivision), with a station south of the former WP station site. The BART Board approved the name "Union City" for the station in December 1965.[18] Service at the station began on September 11, 1972.[19] Due to a national strike that year by elevator constructors, elevator construction on the early stations was delayed. Elevators at most of the initial stations, including Union City, were completed in the months following the opening.[20][21] The fare lobby features tile mosaics designed by Jean Varda and constructed by Alfonso Pardiñas.[22] The station was not originally served by buses.[23] "The Flea" (now Union City Transit) began operating in Union City in 1974.[24] AC Transit service was expanded to Fremont in November 1974, and to Newark that December, with some routes serving Union City station.[25][26] AC Transit began operating service between Union City station and Palo Alto station over the Dumbarton Bridge – later branded Dumbarton Express – on September 10, 1984.[27][28]

As built, the station only had access from Union Way. In 2008, construction started on a reconfiguration of the parking lots, which included a new station roadway connecting to Decoto Road. The work was intended to improve access to the station, particularly from new development on the east side of the tracks.[29] A commuter rail platform for existing Capitol Corridor service and the proposed Dumbarton Rail Corridor was also proposed in 2008.[30][31][32] (Later plans have called for the Capitol Corridor to be rerouted over the Coast Line to the west, which would not permit a Union City stop).[33] The parking lot and roadway work was completed in March 2012, with buses using new stops adjacent to the station entrance.[34]

The next round of changes to the station were made in anticipation of a future entrance on the east side of the station.[35] This would allow direct access from transit-oriented development (TOD) of former industrial sites east of the station. A expanded ground-level fare lobby with provisions for future pedestrian pass-through outside the paid area was completed in 2017.[36] That year, the California Public Utilities Commission approved plans for an at-grade pedestrian crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad Oakland Subdivision in lieu of a more expensive grade-separated crossing.[37] Construction work on Phase 2A, which added two new escalators to the east (northbound) BART platform, took place from 2019 to December 2022.[38][39][37] As of October 2023[update], construction on the pedestrian crossing is expected to be complete by 2025.[37] As of 2024[update], BART anticipates soliciting a developer between 2029 and 2033 for TOD to replace existing surface parking lots at the station.[40]

Some Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) services are planned to be expanded to Union City, with a new platform on the Oakland Subdivision adjacent to the BART station.[41][42] Three daily ACE round-trips are proposed to serve the station by 2030: two Union City–Merced round trips and one Union City–Natomas round trip.[42][43][41]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Union City Station". Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). Retrieved December 4, 2013.
2. ^ Cerny, Susan Dinkelspiel (2007). An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area (1st ed.). Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. pp. 501–502\. ISBN 978-1-58685-432-4. OCLC 85623396.
3. ^ "Monthly Ridership Reports". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. February 2025.
4. ^ "Make Preparations to Welcome Western Pacific". San Francisco Chronicle. August 2, 1910. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "First Train to be Royally Met". The San Francisco Call and Post. August 19, 1910. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 4 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. August 22, 1910. p. 1.
7. ^ "Hayward to Welcome First Local Train". The San Francisco Call and Post. September 2, 1910. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 5 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. October 30, 1910. p. 1.
9. ^ "Fight Attempt to Remove Two Trains". Oakland Enquirer. December 24, 1913. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 14 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. November 8, 1914. p. 2.
11. ^ Western Pacific Railroad Time Table 1 for the Western Division (PDF). United States Railroad Administration. November 3, 1918. p. 2.
12. ^ Western Pacific Railroad Time Table 2 for the Western Division (PDF). United States Railroad Administration. January 5, 1919. p. 2.
13. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 23 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. April 1, 1935. p. 2.
14. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 25 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. June 11, 1939. p. 2.
15. ^ "Flier Brings Newspapermen". Oakland Tribune. June 13, 1939. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 27 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. February 2, 1941. p. 2.
17. ^ Western Division Time Table No. 28 (PDF). Western Pacific Railroad. July 5, 1942. p. 2.
18. ^ "Names Approved for 38 Rapid Transit Stations Around Bay". Oakland Tribune. December 10, 1965. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
19. ^ "BART Chronology January 1947 – March 2009" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013.
20. ^ "Strike Delays Elevator Service at Some Stations". Oakland Tribune. September 10, 1972. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
21. ^ "Four BART Lines Make The System". The Independent. February 26, 1973. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
22. ^ Weinstein, Dave. "How BART got ART". CA-Modern. Eichler Network. p. 6.
23. ^ Kusserow, H.W. (September 15, 1972). "BART Banks First Fares". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
24. ^ Abbott, Jane; Holzmeister, Karen (October 17, 1974). "The Union City Flea flits about the town". The Argus. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
25. ^ History of Lines by Line: Major Changes Since 1960 (PDF). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District). July 17, 1978. pp. 74–77.
26. ^ "8,000 riders flock to use Fremont's bus system". The Argus. November 20, 1974. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
27. ^ "Authorize the Interim General Manager to Enter Into a Further Nine Month Extension of the Dumbarton Bridge Express Service Cooperative Agreement to June 30, 2011" (PDF). Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. September 10, 2010.
28. ^ Taylor, Steve (September 5, 1984). "Buses to cross bridge". The Peninsula Times Tribune. pp. B-1, B-3 – via Newspapers.com.
29. ^ "Union City Station construction to relocate parking and bus stops" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. April 18, 2008.
30. ^ "Intermodal Station District". City of Union City, California. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
31. ^ "BART builds solar-powered rail station". Trains Magazine. 68 (2): 23. February 2008. ISSN 0041-0934.
32. ^ "Summary of the Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project Study Report" (PDF). San Mateo County Transit Authority. May 2004. pp. 3, 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
33. ^ "Capitol Corridor Intercity Passenger Rail Service Business Plan Update FY 2020–21 – 2021–22" (PDF). Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
34. ^ "Union City Station intermodal area fully open" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 5, 2012.
35. ^ "Annual Program Compliance Report: Reporting Fiscal Year 2018-2019" (PDF). City of Union City. July 30, 2020.
36. ^ "Union City Station transit-oriented development project hits a milestone" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. May 9, 2017.
37. ^ a b c Azim, Farooq (October 18, 2023). "At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Station & Closure of "I" Street at 12th Street Presentation". City of Union City.
38. ^ "BART Safety, Reliability, and Traffic Relief Program (Measure RR) Update" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. December 20, 2019. p. 18.
39. ^ "BART Safety, Reliability, and Traffic Relief Program (Measure RR) Update" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. December 18, 2020. pp. 13–24.
40. ^ BART Transit-Oriented Development Program Work Plan: 2024 Update (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2024. p. 16.
41. ^ a b "Union City on track to become regional transit hub by 2030". East Bay Echo. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
42. ^ a b "Union City ACE/BART Rail-to-Rail Hub Station: Project Overview and Update". San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. June 2022.
43. ^ Krause, Daniel; Mangonon, Anthony (June 1, 2022). Deliverable 3.1.3 (Initial Service and Operations Planning Analysis) (PDF). Wordpress (Report). AECOM. Retrieved December 21, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Union City station at Wikimedia Commons

* BART – Union City Station

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