The Southern Pacific-controlled Northern Railway opened through what is now Richmond in 1878, but a station was not established until the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1900. The station was closed upon the formation of Amtrak in 1971. Two years later, Richmond became one of the termini of the initial BART system. Amtrak service began in 1978, with a shelter constructed in 1984. A new Amtrak platform was built in 2001, followed by a renovation of the whole station completed in 2007.