page_title: Madera station (Amtrak)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Madera station (Amtrak) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Storey (Madera) station, December 2001
context_page_description: Madera is an unstaffed train station near Madera, California, that is served by Amtrak's San Joaquins trains, which runs seven daily round-trips between Oakland or Sacramento and Bakersfield, California.
context_section_description: For over a hundred years, the area was served by the former Storey Train Station, which was located about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east-northeast of Madera in the community of Storey. That "station" consisted of not much more than a sign along the tracks indicating where the train would stop if it was flagged. When Amtrak took over nearly all passenger rail service in the United States in 1971, there was no longer any passenger service to the area. Amtrak resumed passenger rail served to Storey station (which Amtrak called Madera) with the San Joaquin on October 30, 1977. Although Amtrak substantially improved the conditions at the former Madera (Storey) station,  after about dozen years of service, official discussion began regarding improving the station. However, it took nearly a decade for any action. As the project plans developed over the next decade, the option of an entirely new station was selected over improvements to the existing one.
  In August 2010, ground was broken on this new station. The grand opening of the new Amtrak station took place on November 4, 2010, but regular service did not begin until the 8th. The $2 million station project, which included a new platform, shelter, lighting, access road and landscaping, involved the city of Madera, Amtrak, BNSF Railway and Caltrans. Funding came from Madera County’s “Measure T,” a ½ cent transportation improvement sales tax, the state of California and the California Transportation Commission. Over the next three years, the new station saw a nearly 25% increase in ridership and received additional improvements to the station, including solar panels. Since being replaced, nearly all evidence of the former Madera (Storey) station has been entirely removed.
  When the new station opened, service by the San Joaquin had increased substantially from the once daily runs in each direction. By 2010 the San Joaquin ran twice daily (in each direction) between Sacramento and Bakersfield and four times daily (in each direction) between Oakland and Bakersfield.
caption: Former Storey (Madera) station, December 2001
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