Amtrak California

Caltrans passenger rail services

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Amtrak California

A Capitol Corridor train in Benicia, California, 2024

Overview
Owner| Caltrans Division of Rail
Locale| California
Transit type| Inter-city rail
Number of lines| 3
Headquarters| Sacramento, California
Website| amtrakcalifornia.com
Operation
Began operation| 1976
Operator(s)| Amtrak
Reporting marks| CDTX
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
| System map

Show static map

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Legend

|  |  |

|  |

| California Zephyr

to Chicago

|  |

|  | Truckee

| Coast Starlight

to Seattle

|  | Colfax
Dunsmuir |  |

|  | Auburn
Redding |  |

|  | Rocklin
Chico |  |

|  | Roseville
|  |

|  |
Sacramento |  |

|  |
Davis |  |

|  |
Fairfield–Vacaville |  |

|  | Lodi
Suisun–Fairfield |  |

|  |
Antioch–Pittsburg |  |

|  |
Martinez |  |

|  | Stockton–Downtown
Richmond |  |

|  |  | Stockton–

San Joaquin Street
Berkeley |  |

|  | Modesto
Emeryville |  |

|  | Turlock–Denair

| Oakland

Maintenance Facility

|  | Merced
| Oakland–

Jack London Square

|  | Madera
Oakland Coliseum |  |

|  | Fresno
Hayward |  |

|  | Hanford
Fremont–Centerville  |  |

|  | Corcoran
| Santa Clara–

Great America

|  |  | Colonel Allensworth

State Historic Park
Santa Clara–University |  |

|  | Wasco
San Jose |  |

|  | Bakersfield
Salinas |  |

|  |
Paso Robles |  |

|  |
San Luis Obispo |  |

|  |
Grover Beach |  |

|  |

| Guadalupe

Santa Maria

|  |
Lompoc–Surf |  |

|  |
Goleta |  |

|  |
Santa Barbara |  |

|  |
Carpinteria |  |

|  |
Ventura |  |

|  |
Oxnard |  |

|  |
Camarillo |  |

|  |
Moorpark |  |

|  |
Simi Valley |  |

|  |
Chatsworth |  |

|  |
Northridge |  |

|  |

| Southwest Chief

to Chicago

Van Nuys |  |

|  | Needles
| Hollywood

Burbank Airport

|  | Barstow
Downtown Burbank |  |

|  | Victorville
Glendale |  |

|  | San Bernardino
Los Angeles |  |

|  |

Redondo Junction

|  |

|  | Pomona
Fullerton |  |

|  | Ontario
Riverside |  |

|  |
Anaheim |  |

|  | Palm Springs
Santa Ana |  |

|  |

| Sunset Limited

to New Orleans

Irvine |  |

|  |

& | Texas Eagle

to Chicago

San Juan Capistrano |  |

|  |
San Clemente Pier |  |

|  |
Oceanside |  |

|  |
Solana Beach |  |

|  |
San Diego–Old Town |  |

|  |
San Diego |  |

|  |
|  |  |  |  |  |

Key

| Caltrans sponsored lines  |  |

|  | flag stop

|
|
|
|

other Amtrak lines  |  |

|  |  | Altamont Corridor

Express
Coaster |  |

|  |  Metrolink

| All stations are accessible except Antioch-Pittsburg

and Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

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Amtrak California (reporting mark CDTX) is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak regional rail routes in California - the Capitol Corridor, the Pacific Surfliner, and the San Joaquins[1] - and their associated connecting network of Amtrak Thruway transportation services.

## History

[edit]

The former logo of Amtrak California, still seen on some equipment

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) assumed operation of almost all intercity passenger rail in the United States in 1971. Service in California, as in most of the United States, was basic and infrequent. In 1976 California began providing financial assistance to Amtrak.[1] Around 1990, the Caltrans Division of Rail was formed to oversee state-financed rail operations and the brand Amtrak California started appearing on state-supported routes. Prior to that, rail management and oversight at Caltrans was part of the Division of Mass Transportation. The two divisions have since been merged into the Division of Rail and Mass Transportation.

In 1990, California passed Propositions 108 and 116, providing $3 billion for transportation projects ($7.2 billion after inflation), with a large portion going to rail service.[2] As a result, new locomotives and passenger cars were purchased by the state, and existing inter-city routes expanded. A more distinct image for Amtrak California, such as painting locomotives and passenger cars in "California Color" of blue and yellow, was established with the arrival of new rolling stock.

In 1998, while still funded by the state, the management of the Capitol Corridor was transferred to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), formed by local jurisdictions of the line serves. In 2015 the management of the San Joaquin and the Pacific Surfliner were similarly transferred to the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN Corridor JPA), respectively.[3] As a result, the Amtrak California brand became less prominent in the websites and marketing materials. Caltrans still has a role in reviewing annual business plans submitted by the three JPA's.

As of 2022[update] Caltrans is studying Amtrak service to the Coachella Valley.

## Routes

[edit]

### Pacific Surfliner

[edit]

Main article: Pacific Surfliner

The Pacific Surfliner serves Southern California on a route between San Luis Obispo and San Diego via Los Angeles; most trains only travel a portion of the route. It hugs the California coast for most of the route - coming as close as 100 ft (30 m) - providing views of the Pacific Ocean. With 2.7 million passengers in fiscal year 2013, it is Amtrak California's most heavily used service and the most used Amtrak service outside the Northeast Corridor,[4] behind only the Northeast Regional and the Acela Express.[5] It is also the oldest, dating to 1939 with the Santa Fe's San Diegan. The train shares codes with Metrolink's Ventura County Line.

### San Joaquins

[edit]

Main article: San Joaquins

The San Joaquins operates 14 trains (7 in each direction) each day between Bakersfield and Stockton. From Stockton, five trains from Bakersfield continue west to Oakland, while two trains proceed north to the state capital of Sacramento. Central Valley communities served include Fresno, Corcoran, Hanford, Lodi, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Turlock/Denair and Wasco. Delta/Bay communities of Antioch, Martinez, and Richmond are also served by the San Joaquins. Los Angeles is not served on this route due to the bottleneck of the Tehachapi Pass line, where the Union Pacific prohibits passenger train use due to freight traffic along the world's busiest single-track railway. The San Joaquins has operated since 1974.

### Capitol Corridor

[edit]

Main article: Capitol Corridor

The Capitol Corridor route, operating since 1991, runs north from San Jose through the East Bay to Oakland and Richmond, then east through the Delta communities of Martinez and Suisun City, and the Sacramento Valley cities of Davis and Sacramento. One Capitol Corridor train per day continues east of Sacramento during the afternoon commute to the small Sierra Nevada town of Auburn, returning in the morning. It is the fourth-busiest Amtrak route nationwide.

### Thruway services

[edit]

Amtrak California also contracts for Amtrak Thruway bus services.

Route[6][7] | Termini

|

Southern/Western  | Northern/Eastern
1  | San Diego | Bakersfield
1C  | Santa Monica | Bakersfield
3  | Stockton–San Joaquin Street | Redding
6  | Santa Cruz | Stockton–San Joaquin Street
7  | Martinez | Cal Poly Humboldt
10  | UC Santa Barbara | Las Vegas, Nevada
15  | Yosemite | Mammoth Lakes
15A  | Merced | Yosemite
15B  | Fresno | Yosemite
17  | Santa Barbara | Oakland
18  | Santa Maria | Visalia
19  | San Bernardino | Bakersfield
20  | Sacramento | Sparks, Nevada
20C  | Sacramento | Stateline, Nevada
21  | Santa Barbara | San Jose
39  | Fullerton | Indio
99  | San Francisco | Emeryville

### Future

[edit]

In order to provide rail service in the Coachella valley, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, along with Caltrans are planning the Coachella Valley - San Gorgonio Passenger Rail service under the Amtrak California brand to bypass opposition from Union Pacific[8][9][10][11]

## Rolling stock

[edit]

### Locomotives

[edit]

Capitol Corridor services passing through Roseville in September 2019

Amtrak California operates a fleet of EMD F59PHI, GE Dash 8-32BWH and Siemens Charger locomotives. These locomotives are owned by Caltrans and carry the CDTX reporting marks.[12] Locomotives from Amtrak's national fleet such as the P42DC are often used as substitutes when the Amtrak California dedicated fleet of locomotives undergoes maintenance.

Siemens Charger SC-44 locomotive #2102 with Capitol Corridor service at Sacramento Valley Station

The 22 Siemens Charger locomotives are the newest members of the fleet, joined between 2017 and 2021. The Chargers were parts of a multi-state order funded by a combination of federal and state money. Illinois Department of Transportation, acting as the leading agency, awarded the order to Siemens on December 18, 2013.[13][14] Caltrans ordered the first six with the initial order in 2013, then exercised the option to buy 14 more locomotives in 2015 to replace Amtrak-owned locomotives used on the Pacific Surfliner.[15] Two additional locomotives were ordered in 2016.

### Passenger cars

[edit]

#### California Car / Surfliner bi-level trainsets

[edit]

Main article: California Car (railcar)

Main article: Surfliner (railcar)

Amtrak California's routes typically use bi-level, high-capacity passenger cars, dubbed the Surfliner and California Car. All of the California Cars are owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Amtrak owns most of the Surfliner cars with some owned by Caltrans.

The design of the cars is based on Amtrak's Superliner bi-level passenger cars, but several changes were made to the design to make the vehicle more suitable for corridor services with frequent stops. One significant difference is that the Surfliner and California Car have two sets of automatic doors on each side instead of only one manually operated door on the Superliners, which speeds up boarding and alighting considerably.[12] Additionally, Surfliner and California Car coaches are equipped with higher-density seating and bicycle racks to permit transport of unboxed bicycles.

Consists on the San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor, and Pacific Surfliner routes usually include between four and six cars, with one locomotive and a cab control car on the rear end.

#### Superliner I rebuilds

[edit]

In 2007, Amtrak California paid for the repair of seven wreck-damaged Superliner Coaches owned by Amtrak in exchange for a six-year lease, intended to quickly add capacity on busy Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains. Four of the cars were painted to match the "California car" livery, and three were painted to match the "Surfliner" livery.[16]

#### Comet car single-level trainsets

[edit]

A single-level "Comet car" trainset at Martinez

Main article: Comet (railcar) § Comet IB

Increasing ridership on the San Joaquin led Amtrak California to purchase 14 Comet IB rail cars from NJ Transit in 2008 for $75,000 per car. Caltrans paid approximately $20 million to have these former commuter cars refurbished and reconfigured to serve as intercity coaches at Amtrak's Beech Grove Shops.[17]

Caltrans has also paid to lease three Non-Powered Control Units (old F40PH locomotives converted to serve as a cab/baggage car). The agency also previously paid to lease and refurbish three Horizon dinettes (used as café cars).[17]

#### Siemens Venture single-level trainsets

[edit]

Main article: Siemens Venture

A single-level Siemens Venture trainset test train

In November 2017, the California Department of Transportation announced that it would be ordering seven Siemens Venture trainsets through its contractor Sumitomo Corporation.[18] The states had initially contracted Sumitomo, which in turn subcontracted with Nippon Sharyo, to build the Next Generation Bi-Level Passenger Rail Car, but a prototype car failed a buff strength test in August 2015. After the test failure, Sumitomo canceled its deal with Nippon Sharyo, and turned to Siemens to be the new subcontractor. The cars are being built at the Siemens factory in Florin, California and will be hauled by California's existing fleet of diesel-electric locomotives.

California's trainsets will be used exclusively on the San Joaquins service and will consist of seven cars each: four coaches with economy seating, two coaches with economy seating and vending machines, and one cab car (control car) with economy seating. The order includes 49 cars for California, formed into seven semi-permanently-coupled trainsets. Since Siemens Venture trainsets were originally designed to be used with high platforms, the SJJPA will modify all stations, adding two mini-high platforms (short lengths of high platform, each long enough for one door, with an accessible ramp to the longer low platform).[19]

### Livery

[edit]

Amtrak California utilizes a livery and logo that is different from the standard Amtrak colors. All state-contracted Amtrak Thruway and state-owned locomotives and passenger cars, with the exception of equipment used on the Pacific Surfliner route, are painted in the "California Colors" of blue and yellow. Each permanently assigned passenger car is named after a geographical feature of California.

The Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins trains are the two routes most identified with the Amtrak California image, since they extensively use "California Colored" equipment. The other state-supported rail route, the Pacific Surfliner, uses a unique blue and silver paint scheme that is different from the other Amtrak California-branded trains.

The NPCUs that operate on the Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins are painted differently from the locomotives, as they are painted in the old "Caltrain" locomotive livery, with an Amtrak California and Caltrans logo on the sides. The single level cars, both the Comet cars and the Horizon dinettes, have three stripes closest to the boarding doors, orange, blue and green, which resemble the NJ Transit livery that was previously used on the Comet cars.

## See also

[edit]

* List of Amtrak stations in California
* List of San Francisco Bay Area trains
* Other former state-supported rail services:
* CalTrain – a short-lived service in Southern California, later re-established under local control
* "Orange County Commuter" – commuter service conveyed to local control in 1994
* Spirit of California – sleeper-service which ran between Los Angeles and Sacramento via Oakland from 1981 to 1983

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "About Amtrak California". State of California Department of Transportation. 2013. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
2. ^ Prop. 108: Passenger Rail And Clean Air Bond Act of 1990; California Streets and Highways Code, Division 3, Chapter 17
3. ^ Sheehan, Tim (June 26, 2015). "Valley agency takes control of Amtrak San Joaquin trains". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
4. ^ "Amtrak Sets Ridership Record And Moves The Nation's Economy Forward – America's Railroad helps communities grow and prosper" (PDF) (Press release). Amtrak. October 14, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
5. ^ "State of California FY2017 Fact Sheet" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
6. ^ "Bus Routes". Amtrak San Joaquins. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
7. ^ "Amtrak Bus Connections". Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
8. ^ "Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service - RCTC". Riverside County Transportation Commission. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
9. ^ "Combined Final Tier 1/Program EIS/EIR and Record of Decision Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service Program" (PDF). Department of Transportation. Caltrans. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
10. ^ "Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor". ArcGIS StoryMaps. Caltrans. March 4, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
11. ^ Balchan, Kendall (September 21, 2022). "New momentum, federal support has commuter rail between valley, Los Angeles on track ⋆ The Palm Springs Post". The Palm Springs Post. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
12. ^ a b All Aboard Amtrak California
13. ^ "Multi-State Locomotive Procurement" (PDF). Illinois Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
14. ^ Tita, Bob (February 27, 2014). "Caterpillar Loses High-Speed Train Contract". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
15. ^ John Palminteri (November 10, 2015). "Cleaner Train Engines Coming to the Central Coast". KEYT. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
16. ^ Warner, David; Sutton, Harry (March 1, 2022). "Amtrak Superliner-I Coaches Repaired with California Funds". On Track On Line. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
17. ^ a b "San Joaquin Rolling Stock Presentation" (PDF). San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority/Caltrans. pp. 35–42. Retrieved June 30, 2013.[permanent dead link]
18. ^ "Caltrans Amends Multimillion Dollar, Multi-State Railcar Contract" (Press release). Caltrans. November 8, 2017.
19. ^ "Board Meeting Presentation" (PDF). San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority. May 31, 2019. pp. 23–28\. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/Amtrak California

KML is not from Wikidata

* Official website
* California Train Routes | Amtrak
* Rail Passenger Association of California (RailPAC)

* v
* t
* e

Amtrak routes

Long
distance|

| West|

* California Zephyr
* Coast Starlight
* Empire Builder
* Southwest Chief
* Sunset Limited
* Texas Eagle

|

East|

* Auto Train
* Cardinal
* City of New Orleans
* Crescent
* Floridian
* Lake Shore Limited
* Palmetto

| Silver Service|

* Silver Meteor

|

Corridor|

| West|

* Amtrak Cascades
* Heartland Flyer
* Winter Park Express (seasonal)

Amtrak California|

* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

Midwest|

* Borealis
* Hiawatha
* Missouri River Runner

Illinois Service|

* Illini and Saluki
* Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg
* Lincoln Service

Michigan Services|

* Blue Water
* Pere Marquette
* Wolverine

East|

* Downeaster
* Mardi Gras Service (planned for 2025)

| Northeast Corridor|

* Acela
* Northeast Regional
* Amtrak Virginia

|

Knowledge Corridor|

* Hartford Line
* Valley Flyer
* Vermonter

Empire Corridor|

* Adirondack
* Berkshire Flyer (seasonal)
* Empire Service
* Ethan Allen Express
* Maple Leaf (with Via Rail Canada)

Keystone Corridor|

* Keystone Service
* Pennsylvanian

NC By Train|

* Carolinian
* Piedmont

* v
* t
* e

Railroads of California

Common carriers|

| Class I|

* BNSF Railway
* Union Pacific Railroad

|

Class III|

* Arizona and California Railroad
* Baja California Railroad
* California Northern Railroad
* Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad
* Goose Lake Railway
* Patriot Rail Company (Merced County Central Valley Railroad; Sacramento Valley Railroad)
* Northwestern Pacific Railroad
* San Francisco Bay Railroad
* Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
* Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad
* San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad
* Sierra Northern Railway
* San Joaquin Valley Railroad
* Santa Maria Valley Railroad
* Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad
* Trona Railway
* Ventura County Railroad
* Yreka Western Railroad

Terminal railway|

* Central California Traction Company
* Los Angeles Junction Railway
* Modesto and Empire Traction Company
* Pacific Harbor Line
* Quincy Railroad
* Richmond Pacific Railroad
* West Oakland Pacific Railroad

Passenger carriers|

| Inter-city rail|

* Amtrak
* California Zephyr
* Coast Starlight
* Southwest Chief
* Sunset Limited
* Texas Eagle
* Amtrak California
* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

|

Commuter rail|

* Altamont Corridor Express
* Caltrain
* Coaster
* Metrolink
* 91/Perris Valley
* Antelope Valley
* Arrow
* Inland Empire–Orange County
* Orange County
* Riverside
* San Bernardino
* Ventura County
* North County Transit District
* Coaster
* Sprinter
* SMART

Mass transit|

* BART
* eBART
* Metro Rail
* Muni
* cable cars
* Market Street Railway
* Muni Metro
* SacRT
* San Diego Trolley
* VTA

Under construction|

* Brightline West
* California High-Speed Rail
* OC Streetcar

Private carriers|

* Edwards Air Force Base
* Southern California Railroad
* USG Corporation
* West Isle Line, Inc.

Heritage railroads|

* Calico and Odessa Railroad
* California Trolley and Railroad Corporation
* California Western Railroad
* Disneyland Monorail
* Disneyland Railroad
* Ghost Town & Calico Railroad
* Niles Canyon Railway
* Napa Valley Wine Train
* Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
* Poway–Midland Railroad
* Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad
* Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway
* Sierra Railroad
* Sacramento RiverTrain
* Sacramento Southern Railroad
* Western Pacific Railroad Museum
* Western Railway Museum
* Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

See also
Former carriers in California
List of United States railroads by political division

* v
* t
* e

California High-Speed Rail

* CHSRA
* Route
* Construction
* History
* Impacts
* Proposition 1A

Phase 1 stations

* San Francisco Salesforce Transit Center
* San Francisco 4th and King Street
* Millbrae
* San José Diridon
* Gilroy
* Merced
* Madera
* Fresno
* Kings–Tulare
* Bakersfield
* Palmdale Transportation Center
* Burbank Airport
* Los Angeles Union Station
* Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs (station option)
* Fullerton Transportation Center (station option)
* Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC)

Articles related to Phase 1 route|

* The Portal (Caltrain)
* Caltrain Electrification
* Caltrain Bayshore Cutoff
* Coast Line
* Diablo Range
* Pacheco Pass Tunnels
* Calaveras Fault
* Fresno River Viaduct
* San Joaquin River Viaduct
* Kings River Viaduct
* Tehachapi Mountains
* Tehachapi Pass
* San Gabriel Mountains
* Surf Line

Connecting rail systems|

* Caltrain
* Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
* Muni Metro
* Altamont Corridor Express (ACE)
* Amtrak (Amtrak California)
* Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
* Los Angeles Metro Rail
* Metrolink
* Brightline West (proposed interchange via High Desert Corridor)

* v
* t
* e

Public transportation agencies in Southern California

Multi-county agencies|

* Metrolink (Station list)
* Pacific Surfliner (Station list)
* San Joaquins (Station list)
* Amtrak Thruway

Imperial County|

* Imperial Valley Transit
* Yuma County Area Transit

Kern County|

* Arvin Transit
* Delano Area Rapid Transit
* Golden Empire Transit
* Kern Transit
* Taft Area Transit

Los Angeles County|

* Angels Flight
* Antelope Valley Transit Authority
* Beach Cities Transit
* Big Blue Bus
* Burbank Bus
* Carson Circuit Transit System
* City of Commerce Municipal Bus Lines
* City of Santa Clarita Transit
* Culver CityBus
* El Monte Transit
* FlyAway
* Foothill Transit
* GTrans
* Glendale Beeline
* Long Beach Transit
* Los Angeles County Public Works
* LADOT Transit
* Los Angeles Metro
* Montebello Bus Lines
* Monterey Park Spirit Bus
* Norwalk Transit
* Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority
* Pasadena Transit
* Torrance Transit

Orange County|

* Anaheim Resort Transportation
* Orange County Transportation Authority

Riverside County|

* Beaumont Transit
* RidePV
* Riverside Transit Agency
* SunLine Transit Agency

San Bernardino County|

* Mountain Transit
* Basin Transit
* Needles Area Transit
* Omnitrans
* Victor Valley Transit Authority

San Diego|

* North County Transit District
* San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

San Luis Obispo|

* San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority
* SLO Transit

Santa Barbara|

* City of Lompoc Transit
* Clean Air Express
* Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District
* Santa Maria Regional Transit

Ventura County|

* Gold Coast Transit
* Thousand Oaks Transit
* VCTC Intercity

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