California station, changes, street running ????

[Lithonia Operator]

I seem to remember that there have been recent changes (or maybe only plans for such?) at a CA station, and that the changes would eliminate some street running (or maybe it eliminates a wye move?).

I think I read about this in a recent TRAINS. Can someone help me out? What am I thinking (foggily) of?

[MidlandMike]

Could it be Oakland?

[Lithonia Operator]

Thanks, Mike. That's what I'm wondering actually. A friend was talking about the Oakland street running. I thought I had remembered reading that either that was no more, or that it soon would be eliminated. But now I can find nothing on this online.

[Deggesty]

In Oakland, the track which carries Amtrak trains to and from the station is right by Embarcadero, as well as I can tell. I cannot say that there is actual street running, but there can possibly be interference with street traffic.

[Falcon48]

The Oakland trackage is definitely "street running", in the sense that the tracks are in the pavement.  But pavement markings (to the extent anyone pays attention to them) don't permit street traffic to use the track area except at crossings.  The cross streets also have standard grade crossing signals.

Unless Amtrak intends to abandon the current Oakland station at Jack London Square (which doesn't seem likely), there's no alternative to using this trackage.  The street trackage is also heavily used by UP freights.