Photo above: The main entrance to the Amtrak station on Marina Vista Avenue in Martinez, California, November 2019. Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
No. Martinez has no BART station. What it does have is an Amtrak station downtown with three kinds of passenger trains, County Connection buses from that station to four different BART stations, and two freeways, SR-4 and I-680, that run through town.
So the real question is which of those fits your job. Here is each option, where it goes, and what to check before you buy.
Where is the closest BART to Martinez?
It depends on the bus you catch. Pleasant Hill, Concord, North Concord and Walnut Creek BART are all served by County Connection routes that start at Martinez Amtrak (County Connection, routes page, checked September 24, 2026). Pittsburg/Bay Point BART is reachable on weekdays by Tri Delta Transit Route 200 from the same station (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page, checked September 24, 2026).
If you drive to BART instead, your address decides which station makes sense. A home off Alhambra Avenue and a home near Pacheco Boulevard can point you to different stations. Map both before you pick a neighborhood.
What trains stop at the Martinez Amtrak station?
Three services. The station sits at 601 Marina Vista Avenue, next to downtown and the waterfront (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page, checked September 24, 2026).
- Capitol Corridor. The regional line between Placer County and San Jose. From Martinez, westbound trains serve Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland Jack London, Oakland Coliseum, Hayward, Fremont-Centerville and the Santa Clara and San Jose stops. Eastbound, they head to Suisun-Fairfield, Davis, Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin and Auburn (Capitol Corridor, stations page, checked September 24, 2026).
- Gold Runner. This is the Amtrak route that used to be called the San Joaquins. The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority renamed it on November 3, 2025, and it runs between Oakland and Bakersfield (Local News Matters, November 7, 2025). Martinez is on the official Gold Runner station list, along with Antioch-Pittsburg, Stockton, Modesto, Merced and Fresno (goldrunner.com, stations page, checked September 24, 2026).
- Long-distance Amtrak. The Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles) and the California Zephyr (San Francisco area to Chicago) also stop here (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page).
Capitol Corridor doesn’t run into San Francisco itself. It sells connecting bus service to downtown San Francisco, and it points riders to BART at its Richmond and Oakland Coliseum stops (Capitol Corridor, San Francisco station page, checked September 24, 2026).
Which County Connection buses go from Martinez to BART?
Seven routes leave from Martinez Amtrak. Here is what County Connection lists for each one (County Connection, routes page, checked September 24, 2026):
| Route | Goes to | Service listed |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Concord BART | Weekdays, about 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., every 40 minutes |
| 18 | Pleasant Hill BART | Weekdays, about 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., every 80 minutes |
| 19 | Concord BART | Weekdays, about 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., every 90 minutes |
| 28 | Diablo Valley College, then Concord BART | Weekdays, about 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., every 50 minutes |
| 98X | Walnut Creek BART | Weekdays, about 5:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., every 50 minutes |
| 99X | North Concord BART | Weekday peak hours only |
| 316 | Pleasant Hill BART | Weekends, about 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., every 80 minutes |
Read the gaps honestly. A bus every 80 or 90 minutes is fine if your schedule is fixed and rough if it isn’t. Capitol Corridor says these County Connection routes accept its Transit Transfers, so a train rider may be able to use one ticket for the connection (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page).
Two more links from the station: WestCAT Route 30Z runs to the Hercules Transit Center, and Tri Delta Transit Route 200 runs to Pittsburg/Bay Point BART on weekdays (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page).
Can I just drive?
Yes, and plenty of Martinez commutes are car commutes. Two freeways do most of the work:
- SR-4 crosses the city east to west. West takes you toward Hercules and I-80. East takes you toward Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch.
- I-680 runs along the east side of town. South takes you to Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and the rest of the I-680 corridor. North takes you over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge into Solano County.
We won’t print a drive time. No official source publishes a typical one, and the honest answer changes by the hour. Plug your real departure time into 511.org or a map app on a weekday, check the drive home too, then drive it once at that hour before you commit.
Do I pay a bridge toll leaving Martinez?
Only if you head north over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. The bridge carries I-680 across the Carquinez Strait, and 511.org says its tolls are collected electronically in the northbound direction (511.org, bridges page, checked September 24, 2026). So a Martinez driver working in Benicia, Fairfield or Sacramento pays on the morning trip north and nothing on the way back south.
The toll for regular two-axle cars went to $8.50 on January 1, 2026. FasTrak customers are scheduled to pay $9 in 2027, $9.50 in 2028, $10 in 2029 and $10.50 in 2030 (MTC, “New Bridge Toll Rates Now in Effect,” January 2026, checked September 24, 2026).
Heading south or west from Martinez toward Walnut Creek, Concord or the I-80 corridor on SR-4 and I-680, you don’t cross that bridge at all.
Where do I park for the train?
At the station, but get there early. Capitol Corridor lists 136 regular spaces, 6 accessible spaces and 2 motorcycle spaces in its Amtrak lot. Weekday hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no restrictions on weekends, and parking is free once the station agent validates a permit against your Capitol Corridor ticket. The agency says the main lot is usually full by about 8 a.m., and roughly 175 more spaces sit in an overflow lot on Ferry Street, across the tracks (Capitol Corridor, Martinez station page, checked September 24, 2026).
The station is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and has one ticket kiosk. For bikes, there are 7 rack spaces and 8 BikeLink eLockers (same source).
How do I test a Martinez commute before I buy?
Run it for real, from the address you’re looking at. Here’s a simple way to do it:
- Pick your mode first. Train, bus to BART, or car. If you’ll drive to the station, count the minutes to Marina Vista Avenue and the odds of finding a space after 8 a.m.
- Check the timetable, not the map. Look up the Capitol Corridor or County Connection schedule for the exact hours you’d travel. A route that runs every 80 minutes changes your whole morning.
- Do one weekday trial. Leave at your real time, go all the way to work, and come home the same way.
- Price it. Add fares, parking and any tolls. If the job is north over the bridge, add the northbound toll on every workday.
Then compare that with a home in a different part of Martinez. The commute can change a lot within the same city.
Questions people also ask
Is there a BART station in Martinez, CA?
No. Martinez has no BART station. County Connection buses run from the Martinez Amtrak station to Concord, North Concord, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek BART, and Tri Delta Transit Route 200 runs to Pittsburg/Bay Point BART on weekdays, per County Connection and Capitol Corridor, checked September 24, 2026. Many people also drive to one of those stations.
Can I take a train from Martinez to San Francisco?
Not directly. Capitol Corridor trains from Martinez run to Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland, and the agency offers connecting bus service to downtown San Francisco. It also suggests switching to BART at its Richmond or Oakland Coliseum stops, per the Capitol Corridor San Francisco station page, checked September 24, 2026. Check current schedules before you plan around a trip.
What is the Gold Runner train?
Gold Runner is the new name for the Amtrak San Joaquins, the state-supported train between Oakland and Bakersfield. The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority renamed it on November 3, 2025, according to Local News Matters. Martinez is on the official goldrunner.com station list, so you can ride from Martinez toward Antioch-Pittsburg, Stockton, Modesto and Fresno.
Is there a toll on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge going south?
No. 511.org says Benicia-Martinez Bridge tolls are collected electronically in the northbound direction only. A Martinez commuter heading north into Solano County pays that toll, which is $8.50 for a two-axle car in 2026 per MTC, and pays nothing coming back south. FasTrak tolls are scheduled to rise each January through 2030.
Your next step
Tell us where you work and which Martinez streets you like. We’ll map the train, the bus and the drive from each address so you can test the one that fits. Talk to a Martinez agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.
More on Martinez: Living in Martinez, CA · What is there to do in Martinez? · Benicia or Martinez for an Oakland commute? · What’s my home worth?
By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, Martinez, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.
Sources
- Capitol Corridor, Martinez (MTZ) station page: capitolcorridor.org/stations/martinez (checked September 24, 2026)
- Capitol Corridor, Stations page and San Francisco station page: capitolcorridor.org/stations (checked September 24, 2026)
- County Connection, Routes page: countyconnection.com/routes (checked September 24, 2026)
- Gold Runner, Stations page and Martinez, CA station page: goldrunner.com/stations (checked September 24, 2026)
- Local News Matters (Bay City News), “San Joaquins rail service goes for the gold with new name and rebranded equipment,” November 7, 2025: localnewsmatters.org
- 511.org, Bridges page, Benicia-Martinez Bridge: 511.org/travel/bridges (checked September 24, 2026)
- MTC (Bay Area regional transportation agency), “New Bridge Toll Rates Now in Effect,” January 2026: mtc.ca.gov/news/new-bridge-toll-rates-now-effect (checked September 24, 2026)