ANTIOCH — Despite safety and beautification efforts by Antioch, the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority board showed no sign Friday of reversing its 2023 decision to decommission the Antioch-Pittsburg Amtrak station.
With rail service moving to Oakley, a city with less than half of Antioch’s population, the station on I Street will cease operations in 2027.
Following the 2023 decision to close the station, Antioch has spent close to $250,000 out of $370,000 approved by the City Council to upgrade it. Improvements have included enhancements to safety, better visibility for passengers, and an overall beautification of the station and surrounding areas.
At Friday’s San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority board meeting, Antioch City Manager Bessie Scott highlighted the station’s importance.
“We’re really excited that we got to do this project because the investment supports our downtown revitalization and enhances mobility choices for the duration of the station being open, and it reinforces our long-term commitment to the waterfront corridor,” said Scott.
Antioch Community and Economic Development Director Zach Seal told this news organization that the environmental justice element in the city’s General Plan identifies the Antioch Amtrak station as a key public transit connection.
“The City’s Downtown Specific Plan makes several references to the Amtrak station as a vital component of the downtown area’s multi-modal transportation system … that provides opportunities for residents, workers, and visitors to walk, bike, drive, or access transit, including Amtrak,” Seal said in an email. “While most people will continue to arrive downtown by car, the Specific Plan encourages people to use alternative modes of transportation, rather than cars, to get to and around Downtown.”
According to data from the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, the station saw 35,642 riders between October 2024 and September 2025.
So far, the city has completed new pathways and public access areas, landscape improvements, installation of “Paid Fare Zone” signage and fencing to prevent unnecessary loitering. It also has improved ADA-accessible routes and station entry points.
The city expects to begin work to improve lighting around the station next month and two new station platform shelters with additional lighting are expected to be delivered in January 2026.
Scott said she intends to allocate an additional $150,000 in her budget to hire private security to supplement the Antioch Police Department’s presence at the station.
During Friday’s presentation, Tamika Smith, director of rail service for the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, said between September and November, the Amtrak Smart Union, a body that represents train conductors, lodged six formal complaints about the station.
“Five of them were surrounding fare evaders that boarded the train in Antioch headed towards Stockton, the sixth one was around an incident, a crime that happened at the station, and Antioch police responded, as well as Amtrak police,” said Smith.
In a separate email to this news organization, San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Public Relations Manager Ahdel Ahmad said staff routinely encounter multiple fare evaders boarding at the Antioch station, leading to operational disruptions.
A recent incident caused a 40-minute delay, creating safety risks because individuals cannot be removed until the next stop, Ahmad said.
“Employees also report a lack of visible police presence; while a patrol vehicle is occasionally parked nearby, officers are not present on the platform, and inadequate lighting during evening hours further compounds these concerns,” said Ahmad. “Staff have documented serious incidents, including physical assault and threats involving a firearm, demonstrating the serious nature of these safety concerns.”
The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which oversees passenger rail service between Oakland and Bakersfield, decided to decommission the Antioch station at its March 2023 meeting due to past rider complaints of feeling unsafe.
City officials said they were caught off guard by the board’s decision and have been pushing to keep it open.
During a September 2024 meeting, Antioch residents and then-Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe said the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority did not conduct comprehensive community engagement or analysis of the closure’s impact.
The board said Antioch needed to present viable solutions to address challenges at the station.
In late 2024, the authority, under the direction of the board, formed the Ad Hoc Antioch Train Station Working Group, which included city officials, residents, local elected officials, and staff from the agency.
Smith said the safety of passengers and employees remains the agency’s top priority.
“Antioch did step up and take care of the station, increase the beautification and security efforts in order to maintain the station until Oakley opens,” Smith told this news organization.
The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority said the ad hoc working group was formed to ensure “meaningful engagement” with public and agency partners to address safety and security challenges during the remaining years of operation.
Smith noted that the replacement Oakley station is located only “miles away,” but still serves the same region.
“We’re working with the community to prepare them for that station because it’s really close to Antioch … it’s right next door,” said Smith. “We’re not moving the station out of the county; it’s still within the county lines, so we don’t look at it as a disparaging thing for the community. It’s an exciting thing for the community to be able to still stay within their county.”
The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority will continue engagement with the working group and other agencies on developing outreach measures, said Smith.
Eddie Gums, a community representative of the working group, said he often relies on the Antioch Amtrak station to go to Stockton and other places.
“I do hope we get to keep this train station here, it’s very much needed, and if it takes an act of Congress to do it, let’s do that,” said Gums.