Capitol Corridor Service belongs to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), a partnership of the six local transit agencies of the eight counties comprising the service area. Amtrak is a fee-for-service contractor to CCJPA. Caltrans is a funding agency behind CCJPA but authority for operation, service, and capital improvement is the aegis of CCJPA, not Caltrans.
An extension southward (railroad east on SP) to Salinas and Monterey is part of CCJPA's long range plan, as is extension eastward to Colfax, Truckee, and Reno, on the Overland Route.
Use "CCJPA, Salinas, and extension" in Google and pdfs of reports enough to level an old-growth forest will appear.
RWM
Thanks. All talk, and no action, California style ?
"California Style" actually gets railroads built quickly and operated efficiently compared to some states I've worked in. They're a sharp bunch that understands railroads and politics.
I live on the Monterey Peninsula. Extending the Capitol Corridor to Monterey (my preference) or Salinas is something I think deserves further study. I don't believe the CCJPA is interested in doing this, however. They're looking in the other direction towards Reno. I have seen nothing to suggest they are interested in Monterey County, at least not for the forseeable future. I also read somewhere that it would require an act of the legislature to extend the Capitol Corridor boundaries.
The Transportation Agency fo Monterey County (TAMC) is actively pursuing a Caltrain extension to Salinas, and Coast Daylight service between SF and LA on the coast line may not be too far off. Both of these would provide connections to the Capitols at San Jose.
TAMC bought the Monterey Branch Line from UP a few years ago, and was planning to revive the SF-Monterey Del Monte in 2006, and later 2009, but that has now been put on hold indefinitely.
I think extending the Capitol Corridor to Monterey would make a lot more sense than reviving the Del Monte for several reasons. First, the management and equipment are already in place. Second, the Capitols have a well established clientele, and it probably wouldn't be a hard sell to get them to ride to Monterey. Third, because of Caltrain's frequent service every 30-60 minutes, connections to Caltrain in San Jose would be easier and faster than connections to less frequent Capitol trains. Fourth, travelers connecting to Caltrain would have a greater choice of destinations on Caltrain than they would on the Del Monte, which would only make 2-3 stops on the SF peninsula.
For heaven sakes the Capitol Corridor has many trains that fail to serve SAN JOSE! It should be a no-brainer to have the CORE service cover at least San Jose to the Roseville area. That way both ends of the Capitol Corridor would be almost completely served. I understand that San Jose is the LARGEST city in the SF Bay Area and as such deserves very frequent rail service. This should be done on multiple corridors at a minimum. Off the top of my head the San Jose complete service corriders should be: Capitol Corridor, Coast Daylight (and Lark overnight), San Joaquin Valley, Del Monte (seperate SF and Oakland to Salinas) and Pacific Surfliner (perhaps terminating San Jose from Socal). California needs to get its act together and build a truly COMPLETE passenger rail network on a passenger ONLY railroad system.
You are correct Mr Toy that SOME very frequent statewide corridor service should serve Salinas for northern connections. I am not sure whether that should be a Surfliner, Daylight or Capitol Corridor. This is certainly an interesting topic to discuss!
--- Daniel
The main reason that the Capitol Corrdor trains do not terminate in San Jose today is Union Pacific. That is also the reason they do not serve Coilfax or continue to Reno. The UP is not about to let anymore passenger trains interfere with their present freight and future freight service. They fight any proposal that Amtrak or the State of California puts forth for expanded passenger services in the Golden State.
Just the opposite for BNSF they look at ways to accommodate additional train service when Amtrak proposes more traffic density on a given route. The proof can already be found in California when one looks at the San Joaquins and Surfliners.
Maybe the Government should nationalize the UP or regulate them and the others would take notice.
Just so there's no confusion, out of 16 Capitol Corridor round trips, 7 go to and from San Jose. Until about a year and a half ago the number was only 4. Yes, there should be more, but I believe there are still capacity issues to work out. UP is not the bad guy, here, though I'll grant that they are not the most passenger friendly railroad in the country. The CCJPA probably has a better working relationship with UP than Amtrak does. Gene Skoropowski knows how to negotiate "win'win" agreements with UP, and is a major reason for the success of the corridor.
At present, the biggest impediment to new routes is not UP, but funding. UP's attitude is if the money is there they are willing to talk. But if the money is not there, they see nothing to talk about.
As an aside, Monterey-Salinas transit has a bus line from Monterey to the San Jose Amtrak station. The problem is that with stops the bus takes over two hours to go just 60 miles.
nanaimo73 wrote: Use "CCJPA, Salinas, and extension" in Google and pdfs of reports enough to level an old-growth forest will appear. Thanks. All talk, and no action, California style ?
Passenger rail options are pretty good in California. Further expansions of service will come in due time, when public and private interests are synchronized.
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