Salinas, CA (SNS)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$1,266,801

Station Ridership

FY 2011

18,164

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Salinas station was built in 1942 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. North of the station is the old nineteenth-century Southern Pacific freight depot. Immediately south of the station is a display of a historic steam locomotive and caboose. The former Railway Express Agency building next door is a clubhouse for the Monterey and Salinas Valley Railroad model railroad club.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in 2011 the Salinas station received new tactile edging and crack repairs on the existing concrete platform, as well as accessible signage and a new wheelchair lift installed. These renovations were made by Amtrak as part of the Mobility First project for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Long-term plans include a Caltrain commuter train service from Gilroy though Salinas up to the Bay.

Salinas sits at the mouth of the Salinas Valley and only eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. The town started in 1856 as a stopping point halfway between Monterey and San Juan Bautista. A post office was established in that location in 1867 and the city laid out. Salinas was incorporated in 1877 and today is the seat of Monterey County.

The area around Salinas is known for a mild climate that promotes agriculture, and it produces a variety of fruits and vegetables that are shipped nationally, such as strawberries, lettuce, watermelons, broccoli, carrots, cabbages and spinach. More than 80 percent of the lettuce grown in the United States comes from Salinas. Of special note are the vineyards in the area, as there are more than two dozen wineries in the Salinas Valley and 85 vintners and growers to the southeast. More than 40,000 acres is planted in varietal wine grapes.

Salinas was also the birthplace of noted American author John Steinbeck. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939, and the novella, Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories. Many of his works are also familiar to people through the films based on them. In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Salinas is also a major stop on the professional rodeo circuit, and the California Rodeo Salinas occupies the town in the third week of July.

Amtrak provides ticketing and baggage services at this facility.

Salinas is served by two daily trains.