Antioch loses Amtrak station to Oakley

By Chris Campos Staff Writer

OAKLEY Antioch’s Amtrak train stop will be coming to an end. Antioch’s loss is Oakley’s future.

Concerned by the rising number of assaults on Amtrak personnel in Antioch where the city’s train station was demolished in 2019, the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (JPA) voted 6-1 on Friday, March 24, to decommission the Antioch stop.

Tamika Smith, the JPA director of rail services, told her board that the Antioch stop had produced 69 police calls of service between January 2021 and December 2022. Those included several assaults on Amtrak personnel mostly due to problems with the homeless community that had sprung up around the location across the street from City Hall.

“Our staffers are being assaulted,” Amtrak Police Inspector Doug Calcagno said.

As a result, the train stops to open only one door to board passengers. Smith’s presentation displayed a photo of the former station’s roof where a homeless person had set up a tent as living quarters.

Smith also noted that in December 2022, unhoused persons were camped inside the shelter; Amtrak staff requested they va- cate. When staff returned later, the individuals had stolen the wheelchair lift valued at $11,000. Since then, passengers who use a wheelchair were forced to board in either Martinez or Stockton.

The city demolished the structure in August 2019. Passengers waiting to board the train must stand in the open next to a

A passenger waits for the arrival of an Amtrak train at the downtown Antioch train stop. The San Joaquin JPA has decided to decommission the train stop and award the route to Oakley’s new train platform.