completed the Berkeley Branch Railroad in 1876, followed by the mainline toward Richmond and beyond in 1878. Stations were located on the mainline at Emerys, Shellmound, and Montague Street, plus at San Pablo Avenue on the branch line. By the time the lines were under Southern Pacific Railroad control a decade later, the Montague Street station was gone and the Emerys stop had been moved a block south to Yerba Buena Avenue, where the line crossed the California and Nevada Railroad. The SP expanded suburban service with its East Bay Electric Lines subsidiary in 1911. Initial electric service to Berkeley mostly used the existing San Pablo Avenue station, with limited stops at Shell Mound, Emery, and B Street ; non-electric suburban service on the mainline stopped at Shell Mound. Additional branch lines and local stops were later added; by 1932, these stops included Powell Street and Folsom Street on the 9th Street line, and Green Street on the California Street line. The East Bay Electric Lines were closed in July 1941, ending passenger service to Emeryville.
Amtrak
, Amtrak's primary stop for Oakland was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. A new station was quickly constructed in nearby Emeryville - close to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge - on the site of a former cement plant. Emeryville station opened on August 13, 1993, though construction was not completed until the next year. Oakland Central station closed on August 5, 1994; Emeryville was the only Oakland-area stop for Amtrak until the new Oakland – Jack London Square station opened on May 22, 1995. The station became a centerpiece of redevelopment of formerly industrial areas of Emeryville. A footbridge connecting the station with parking lots and new development on the west side of the tracks was opened in 1997. The California Zephyr was re-extended to Oakland with the opening of the Jack London Square station in 1995. However, this required a complicated reverse move along street running tracks to reach the wye at West Oakland. The train was cut back to Emeryville on October 26, 1997.
Bus connections
Because Emeryville is closer to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge than Oakland – Jack London Square station, it is the primary connection point between Amtrak trains and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach bus service in the Bay Area. Thruway buses run between Emeryville station and downtown San Francisco, providing San Francisco connections for all trains. Several public transit bus lines also serve the station vicinity:
The free Emery Go-Round Hollis and Hollis South routes stop on Horton Street, across the street from the station, connecting to the MacarthurBART station.
AC Transit routes 36 and 57 stop on Shellmound Street, across the pedestrian bridge located at the station, while route 29 stops on Hollis Street one block east of the station.
