Oakland, CA — Dec. 12 marked 15 years of service for the Capitol Corridor, an intercity passenger train service for people traveling along I-80, I-680 and I-880 freeways and the third busiest Amtrak-operated intercity route in the nation.
Published: January, 2007
In 2006, Capitol Corridor, which serves 17 stations along the 170-mile rail corridor between the Sierra Foothills, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley/San Jose, celebrated several important successes, including its largest service expansion ever, its 10 millionth train passenger and the completion of $60 million in track improvement projects between Oakland and San Jose.
The August 2006, service expansion added eight trains between Sacramento and Oakland and six trains between Oakland and San Jose — without an increase in funding. Capitol Corridor operates 32 weekday trains between Sacramento and Oakland with the same budget allocation it received to maintain a 24-train service level.
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) Board of Directors Chair, Roger Dickinson says, There is no federal capital funding or federal operating funding to support this service. The only sources of revenue are passenger fares and the state operating support, which hasn’t changed in six years.
The CCJPA works closely with key partners: Union Pacific Railroad, which controls the movement of all trains on the railroad Amtrak, which manages the day-to-day operations, logistics and maintenance of the trains The State of California, which provides the public funding for the service. Additionally, Capitol Corridor is supported by the communities along its 170-mile route. Over an eight-year period, ridership on the Capitol Corridor increased 275%, while revenue increased 258%. In that same period, the number of daily train trips increased fourfold, from 8 to 32. These trends reflect the success of the Capitol Corridor as a viable transportation alternative in the Northern California communities it serves.
During October 2006, Capitol Corridor trains experienced the highest monthly ridership in the history of the service with 120,074 passengers. CCJPA Board of Directors Vice Chair, Forrest Williams says, Our riders have asked for more high-quality, frequent service along the corridor, and we are providing them an unbeatable travel choice.
With the completion of track improvement projects between Oakland and San Jose, Capitol Corridor is moving toward the next phase of enhancements such as the installation of ticket vending machines at all train stations, Wi-Fi service, automated ticket validation and real-time train arrival updates. Additionally, with the passage of Proposition 1B by the voters of California, Capitol Corridor plans to secure capital funding for the next phase of construction projects to increase capacity, improve reliability and reduce travel times.
Eugene Skoropowski, CCJPA’s managing director, says, Passengers continue to support Capitol Corridor because we continue to listen to their needs. We offer a cost-effective, customer-oriented and environmentally-friendly transportation alternative connecting Northern California communities. We want to take this opportunity to thank our passengers for allowing us to serve them these past 15 years. We wouldn’t be here without our loyal riders. www.capitolcorridor.org
