Capitol Corridor

"Amtrak Capitols" redirects here. For the Amtrak line connecting Washington, D.C. and Chicago, see Capitol Limited (Amtrak train).

Capitol Corridor
Morning train to San Jose, at Santa Clara station
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Active
Locale	California
First service	December 1991
Current operator(s)	Amtrak in partnership with Caltrans
Average ridership	4,330 daily 1,580,619 total (FY10)
Route
Start	Auburn
No. of intermediate stops	14
End	San Jose
Distance travelled	168 miles (270 km)
Average journey time	3 hours 15 minutes
Train number(s)	Weekdays: 518, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 551, 553; Weekends: 720, 723, 724, 727, 728, 729, 732, 733, 734, 736, 737, 738, 741, 742, 743, 744, 745, 746, 747, 748, 749, 751
Technical
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	UP and JPBX
Route map Legend Distance Station Placer County 0 Auburn 14 mi (23 km) Rocklin 18 mi (29 km) Roseville Sacramento County 35 mi (56 km) Sacramento Yolo County 49 mi (79 km) Davis Solano County Dixon (Future station) Fairfield/Vacaville (Future station) 75 mi (121 km) Suisun/Fairfield Benicia (Future station) Carquinez Strait Contra Costa County 93 mi (150 km) Martinez Hercules (future station) (WETA Ferry connection) 112 mi (180 km) Richmond BART to Fremont and Daly City/Millbrae Alameda County 118 mi (190 km) Berkeley 120 mi (190 km) Emeryville 125 mi (201 km) Oakland-Jack London Square (Ferry to S.F. & Angel Is.) Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Airport and BART) 138 mi (222 km) Hayward Union City (Future station) ACE to Cabral/Dwtn. Stockton 150 mi (240 km) Fremont-Centerville Santa Clara County VTA to Mountain View 161 mi (259 km) Santa Clara-Great America VTA, and ACE 168 mi (270 km) San Jose Diridon Station Caltrain to Gilroy - next Tamien

The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile (275 km) passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80. One train a day continues through the eastern Sacramento suburbs to Auburn, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The trains are administered by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority and managed by employees of Bay Area Rapid Transit. Capitol Corridor trains started in 1991.

Frequency and ridership

During fiscal year 2010 the Capitol Corridor service carried 1,580,619 passengers, a 1.2% decrease from FY 2009's total of 1,599,625 passengers. Revenue in FY 2010 was $22,872,085, a 3.2% increase from FY 2009's $22,160,890. It is the fourth busiest Amtrak route by ridership, surpassed only by the Northeast Regional, Acela Express, and Pacific Surfliner.

The Capitol Corridor is used by commuters between the Sacramento area and the Bay Area as an alternative to driving on congested Interstate 80. Monthly passes and discounted trip tickets are available. Many politicians, lobbyists, and aides live in the Bay Area and commute to their jobs in Sacramento, while workers in the Oakland, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley employment centers take the Capitol Corridor trains from their less expensive homes in Solano County and the Sacramento metropolitan area.

Since August 28, 2006 the Capitol Corridor has had 16 weekday trains each way between Oakland and Sacramento, up from twelve in 2005 and three in 1992. (Seven of the sixteen run to/from San Jose.) According to its management, ridership on the Capitol Corridor trains tripled between 1998 and 2005.

Thruway Motorcoach services

Additional cities and regions can be reached with Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach service:

• Transfer at Sacramento
  • Redding, Red Bluff, Corning, Chico, Oroville, Marysville
  • Nevada City, Grass Valley
  • Reno, Nevada, Truckee, Colfax
  • Carson City, Nevada, South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, Cameron Park, Rancho Cordova
• Transfer at Martinez
  • Eureka, Arcata, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Vallejo
  • Napa
• Transfer at San Jose
  • Santa Cruz, Monterey
  • Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Salinas, Gilroy, Morgan Hill

Sacramento is the busiest station on the route, and the 7th busiest in the nation.

Proposed expansion

New stations have been proposed along the existing route at Hercules, Benicia, Northern Fairfield/Vacaville, and Dixon. The Northern Fairfield/Vacaville station is being jointly developed by the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville near the corner of Peabody Road and Vanden Road. Additionally an intermodal station is planned at the Union City station, connecting to BART as part of a larger Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project to connect Union City, Fremont, and Newark to various Peninsula destinations via the Dumbarton rail bridge. The station is being planned and paid for by BART and the city of Union City. An expansion to Reno, NV on the existing UP line over Donner Pass has been considered. This would add a stop in Truckee, which is already served by the California Zephyr. Extending service southward to Salinas has been discussed, which would add stops at Castroville, Watsonville Junction (Pajaro) & Gilroy (already served by Caltrain).

Origin of route name

The Capitol Corridor links California's first state capital, San Jose (1850), with the current state capital, Sacramento. The rail route also travels near historical state capitals of Vallejo (1852) and Benicia (1853). (See also: Historical California capitals.)

The Capitol Corridor was originally known as the Capitols, which Amtrak still uses to refer to the line on its national reservation web page. But to avoid confusion with the Amtrak Capitol Limited route, which runs between Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Capitol Corridor is now the official and preferred name.

Governance

As an Amtrak California route, Capitol Corridor is fully funded by the state through Caltrans Division of Rail. Caltrans managed the line from its inception in 1991 to 1997, but in 1998 the administration of the route was transferred to Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), formed by transit agencies of which the Capitol Corridor serves in order to have more local control, while still funded by Caltrans. CCJPA in turn contracted with BART for day-to-day management and staff support; also, CCJPA makes decisions on the service level of Capitol Corridor, capital improvements along the route, and passenger amenities aboard the trains.

The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority is governed by a Board of Directors which is consist of 16 representatives from its member agencies:

• Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA)
• Solano Transportation Authority (STA)
• Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD)
• Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sac RT)
• San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

Equipment/Rolling Stock

The Capitol Corridor and its administration agency, the CCJPA, are responsible for the maintenance of the Amtrak California's Northern California fleet, which is used by both the Capitol Corridor and the San Joaquin routes.

When the Capitol Corridor debuted in 1991, it used Amtrak F40PH locomotives and Amtrak Horizon Fleet cars. Dash 8 locomotives were also used as they were brand new at the time. This equipment was used until the mid 1990s when most of the current state-purchased equipment arrived.

The current Northern California fleet includes fifteen EMD F59PHI locomotives (Numbered 2001 through 2015), and two GE P32-8WH (Dash 8) locomotives (Numbered 2051 & 2052, formerly Amtrak 501 & 502), and a large number of bi-level Superliner coaches and café cars which are dubbed as "California Cars". All cars are named after mountains and rivers of California. There are two series of California Cars, the 8000 series and the newer 6000 series. Standard Amtrak equipment such as the GE P42DC, Amtrak's main locomotive, standard Amtrak Dash 8 locomotives, and Superliner cars appear on Capitol Corridor trains as substitutes. During the peak Thanksgiving holiday season Caltrain sets may be used.

In rarer cases, F59PHI's from the Amtrak "Surfliner" and "Cascades" trains, and Caltrain EMD F40PH and MPI MP36PH-3C locomotives have been used as substitutes. Caltrain engines will usually only be seen pulling a Capitol Corridor train when they are being taken to San Jose after maintenance performed in the Oakland rail yard. Entire Caltrain trainsets have also been seen during busy periods.

External links

• Capitol Corridor
• Amtrak - Capitol Corridor