Plaza Saltillo

Cute little train stop. No frills. Drops you off right in the middle of all things amazing on the East Side. It’s an easy walk from here to S. Congress, or any little East Side bar you’d like to stumble out of later.

I absolutely LOVE this station! I think it has something to do with the East Side neighborhood that I’m falling in love with. Great easy stop for a lot of cool bars, restaurants, and other East Side attractions. After a 35 minute glide from Lakeline, I was at Keyseri and Tiana’s ROTDC at Violet Crown Social Club almost effortlessly!
The station has a nice look to it, and there’s a bandstand of some sort. It looks like the plaza could possible host some cool, fun activities. (Man, I need to move to this hood, ASAP)
Quatro estrellas, Estacion Plaza de Saltillo! Arrriba!

It’s pretty nice for a metro station. I like the train and this station is right across from my hairdresser and close to lots of cool east side bars.
Minus a star for birds pooping all the hell over my car.

The Unilocal Austin Welcome page keeps reminding me that I need to review this place (as I am frequently the Duchess) and apparently no one has yet taken the time to show Plaza Saltillo (PS, aka la Plaza (at least to me)) any love. That day has finally arrived, PS. Hope you’re happy! Now pay attention because I’m gonna share some insider tips to riding Metrorail that you’re gonna want to learn.
Plaza Saltillo is the next-​to-​the-​last downtown MetroRail stop on Austin’s fairly new (just launched in 2010) 9-​station commuter rail system which spans 32 miles from Leander (northwest of Austin) to downtown.
Notice I said «commuter rail» — the train is most often running during weekday rush hour periods, but recently did open up some evening trips until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Check the online schedule for additional service during special events and festivals, but keep in mind that because the tracks are shared with a profitable freight business (and these 2 kinds of trains are not allowed to be on the tracks at the same time), the City rarely extends the passenger rail service hours.
Sorry, Southies, there is no MetroRail for you yet. You’ll have to take that up with the voters who consistently balk at spending tax dollars on a fully accessible rail system.
Anyhoo, Plaza Saltillo is a cool stop that is often overlooked by folks just heading straight to the excitement near the Downtown Station, but don’t be so quick to pass her by. PS is surrounded by some wonderful «Keep Austin Weird» kind of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment venues that are easily walkable in all directions from the Plaza. In fact, one could spend a quite enjoyable evening in this area and never even make it over to the other side of IH35.
Protip #1: If you’re coming from way up north (what certain Unilocalers lovingly refer to as «Upper Breedistan»), it’s usually your best option to buy the Full Day pass for $ 5, which gets you unlimited rides back & forth between or within zones for 24 hrs from purchase. This also allows you to use all of the Cap Metro bus system to transfer to your heart’s delight during that period, a great back up should you miss the last train home that night.
Protip #2: You can’t get real change back at the ticket kiosks if you pay in cash. Instead, you get an electronic change card (ECC) that you supposedly can use on a future visit. Unfortunately, unless you are a very organized hoarder, these are a pain-​in-​the-​you-​know-​what to track and use; mine most often get forgotten in the back pocket or other purse and get wasted anyway, so now I don’t pay in cash if I can help it. Use your debit or credit card.
Protip #3: Some folks get to ride for free! Kids 5 and under with an accompanying adult, and emergency and military personnel in uniform ride Capital Metro bus and rail services at no charge.