Oakland-Jack London Square Amtrak Station

The Oakland-Jack London Square Amtrak Station (OKJ) is the Amtrak station for the city of Oakland, and is located in Jack London Square, a tourist area in Oakland directly across from Alameda.

The station itself is relatively new, having been built in 1995, as a replacement for an older station that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. As a newer station, it is made of glass and metal and is very modernistic, and is not at all an old, cozy station. But, of course, it isn't meant to be---with several dozen trains a day, it feels more like a commuter rail station than an old-style train station. It is clean and comfortable and has the usual amenities, but it is neither as stately as quaint as some other train stations.

It is also located on Jack London Square, although I couldn't ascertain what this meant when I visited the area. There is a plaza directly outside the station, and a skybridge over the railroad tracks that allows access to the waterfront. There are also a number of monuments and sculptures, but even after visiting, I am not sure whether Jack London Square is a really a "square", or just the name of a district. But if you do get tired of waiting in the station, it is a quick walk down to the water.

Although, as mentioned, you don't have to wait for long--- the station is served by the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins and the Coast Starlight (although not by the California Zephyr, which terminates three miles north in Emeryville Station). There are currently a dozen Capitol Corridor and five San Joaquins a day, in each direction, along with the daily Coast Starlight. As such, Oakland-Jack London Square is a relatively busy station, with 200,000 passengers a year, although it is less busy than Emeryville or Martinez to the north. One weakness of Oakland-Jack London is that it is not have direct access to the BART network. The closest BART stop is about nine blocks away, which is not too far for an intrepid traveler, but is not an automatic connection. This is a difference between the Oakland station and the next station, San Jose Diridon, which has connections to Caltrain and VTA routes. This is often the case with Amtrak stations, that some are designed for local transit, while others focus only on intercity rail. But for what it is, the Oakland-Jack London station is convenient and comfortable.