Amtrak Train Station Berkeley, California (BKY) stands at 700 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710, under the University Avenue overpass just west of Fourth Street, and is served by the Capitol Corridor between Auburn, Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose. The California Zephyr, Coast Starlight and Gold Runner all pass without stopping. Amtrak recorded 101,955 passengers at BKY in fiscal year 2025, the second-highest figure in this group, which is remarkable for a stop with no building at all.
Berkeley — Live Arrivals & Departures
Updated 2 minutes ago · Times are localBerkeley Amtrak Station Contact Details
Berkeley has no Amtrak staff and nothing is sold at the platform, so the numbers listed are national. Responsibility is split: Amtrak handles reservations, e-ticketing and police matters, while the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority runs the service and publishes the timetable. Trains are frequent enough that most passengers book shortly before travel through the app.
| Station: | Berkeley Station |
| Station Code: | BKY |
| Contact Number: | +1 800-872-7245 |
| Email: | etickets@amtrak.com |
| Lost and Found: | +1 800-872-7245 / +1 833-391-0338 |
| Police: | +1-800-331-0008 |
| Working Hours: | No ticket office and no waiting room; open-air platform shelter |
| Nearby Airport: | Oakland International Airport (OAK) |
| Website: | https://www.amtrak.com/ |
| Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/amtrak |
| X (Twitter): | https://x.com/amtrak |
| Youtube: | https://www.youtube.com/amtrak |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/Amtrak/ |
| Pinterest: | https://www.pinterest.com/amtraktravels/ |
Services Provided by Amtrak at BKY Station
BKY is an open-air stop rather than a station. Amtrak lists no ticket office, no passenger assistance, no waiting room, no restrooms, no checked baggage, no baggage storage, no carts, no Amtrak Express, no bike boxes, no ski bags, no shipping boxes, no Wi-Fi, no ATM, no vending machines and no elevator; payphones are available. The shelter is a marquee over iron benches, set on a checkered concrete surface. The platform is accessible and a wheelchair lift is available, though there is no high platform and no station wheelchair. Unaccompanied child travel is not permitted. Because nothing is staffed and the trains are frequent, Amtrak asks passengers to arrive only 15 minutes before departure, the shortest such window among these stations.
| Restrooms: none — the stop is an open-air platform with no building | Elevators: none at this station | Ticketing office: not available — tickets must be bought in advance |
| Support for unaccompanied minors: not permitted at this station | Baggage checking: not available | ATM: none at this station |
| Staff support: no passenger assistance — the stop is unstaffed | Bike boxes on purchase: not available | Ski Bags (on purchase): not available |
| Baggage assistance: not available | Nearby parking lots: Amtrak’s page contradicts itself — the parking section lists none, while the site description refers to 18 two-hour and 6 long-term spaces | Accessible platform, restroom, ticket office, seating, and water fountain: platform accessible; no accessible restroom, ticket office, waiting room or water fountain, because the stop has none |
| Wheelchair Lift: available | Wheelchairs: none kept on site | Restaurants: none at the station |
Berkeley Amtrak Station Layout Map
The stop has one side platform serving two tracks, so there is no concourse and nothing to cross. The present open-air platform opened on 17 September 2005, after a $2.4 million scheme by the Berkeley Redevelopment Agency that added lighting, benches, accessibility improvements, landscaping and repaved streets for buses, bicycles, paratransit, shuttles and taxis. Southern Pacific had built a Mission Revival depot nearby in 1913 as its principal Berkeley station; it stood largely empty for years, became a restaurant in 1974, was designated a Berkeley Landmark in 2001, and reopened in a new guise on 14 October 2008 with its arched windows and exterior arcade retained. The very first Berkeley station was built in 1876 inside the loop of the Berkeley Branch Line, in what is now Shattuck Square. The map below shows the present platform.
List of all Amtrak Stations.
Baggage & Luggage Rules
Checked baggage is not offered at Berkeley, so luggage travels as carry-on within Amtrak’s standard allowance. There is no baggage storage, no cart and no staffed assistance, and bike boxes, ski bags and shipping boxes are not sold; Amtrak Express parcels cannot be sent or collected. Bicycles are normally carried in the onboard racks on Capitol Corridor trains, which suits a stop with no baggage facilities.
Food, Lounges & Restrooms
Nothing is sold at the platform, and Amtrak lists no restrooms, no waiting room, no water fountain and no lounge. Seating is limited to the iron benches under the marquee. Because Capitol Corridor trains run frequently through the day, waits are usually short, and the cafes and shops of Fourth Street and University Avenue lie within a short walk for anyone with longer to spare.
How to Reach the Berkeley Amtrak Station
The platform sits beneath the University Avenue overpass in west Berkeley, between the waterfront and downtown, close to Interstate 80. AC Transit routes 51B and 802 serve the stop directly, and Transbay routes FS, G and Z can be joined nearby at Sixth Street, so arrival without a car is practical. Amtrak’s parking entry for BKY is inconsistent: the parking section records none, while the site description refers to 18 two-hour and 6 long-term spaces, so parking should be confirmed before leaving a car. Union Pacific owns the platform and track.
Nearby Airports
Oakland International Airport (OAK) is the nearest airport, about 15 miles south of the station. San Francisco International lies roughly 25 miles south-west and offers a wider network. Neither is reached directly by train from Berkeley: the practical connection is BART, which can be joined at downtown Berkeley a short bus ride or walk from the platform, and which serves both airports by rail or airport connector.
Hotels Near Berkeley Amtrak Station
Amtrak lists no affiliated lodging at Berkeley, and the stop has no indoor facilities. Because Capitol Corridor trains are frequent, most passengers have no reason to wait long, but anyone needing a room should book independently in Berkeley and confirm rates and availability directly with providers.
Berkeley handles more than 100,000 Amtrak passengers a year from an open-air platform with a marquee, iron benches, no building, no staff and no restrooms. Frequent Capitol Corridor trains and good AC Transit connections make that workable, while the 1913 Southern Pacific depot that once served the city now operates as a restaurant nearby. The map above shows where the platform sits under the University Avenue overpass.
FAQs
The station is located at 700 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710, United States.
Amtrak posts no agent at Berkeley, so calls go to the national reservations line on +1 800-872-7245 or to etickets@amtrak.com.
Berkeley has no ticket office and no waiting room, so Amtrak publishes no station hours. Tickets are bought in advance online, by phone or in the Amtrak app, and passengers are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes early.
Oakland International Airport (OAK) is the nearest airport to the station.
Partly. The platform is accessible and a wheelchair lift is available, but there is no elevator, no high platform and no station wheelchair, and no accessible restroom or waiting room exists because the stop has neither.
An open-air platform shelter — a marquee over iron benches — and payphones. Amtrak lists no ticket office, no waiting room, no restrooms, no checked baggage, no Wi-Fi and no vending machines.