From 1892 to 1947, passenger service was provided by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Service ceased due to decrease in ridership. Freight service continued on the line until development replaced the farmland in the area. Proposals to return passenger service to Perris were first proposed in the 1990s[5]
Planning was formalized in the form of an commuter rail station in the early 2010s. The bus portion of the station opened in January 2010, at the time, rail service was to start in late 2011, this was later postponed indefinitely. The rail plan was approved on January 16, 2013[6] At the time, it was reported that service would start in 2014, but that was pushed back by nearly two years. Train service finally began on June 6, 2016, marking the first regularly scheduled passenger train to arrive in Perris in nearly 59 years.
Services
Rail
Perris–Downtown station is served by 10 Metrolink 91/Perris Valley Line trains (5 in each direction) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. Weekend service consists of 4 trains (2 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday, running westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening.[7]
In addition to the main platform, a track pocket will be constructed to allow trains from the Southern California Railway Museum to turn around. Construction will begin when funding permits.[8]
Bus
The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA), which operates a network of buses around the Inland Empire, uses the eight bay bus platform at the station as a regional hub. As of October 3, 2022[update] the station is served by RTA routes 9, 19, 22, 27, 28, 30, 61 and 74.[9]
