Capitol Corridor

The First transcontinental railroad was completed to Oakland from the south in 1869. Following the completion of the California Pacific Railroad in 1879, most long-distance service of the Southern Pacific (SP) reached Oakland from the north. Long-distance service from the south ran to San Francisco via the Peninsula; some trains had Oakland sections. The Western Pacific Railroad (completed to Oakland in 1910) and Santa Fe Railroad (completed to Oakland in 1903 over the former California and Nevada Railroad track) ran primarily long-distance service with limited local stops. Commuter service around Oakland was largely provided by the electric interurban trains of the SP-owned East Bay Electric Lines (1911–1941) and Key System (1901–1958).

By the end of the 1930s, the SP operated five daily local round trips plus a number of long-distance trains between Oakland and Sacramento. The Oakland Lark and an unnamed local train (an Oakland connection for the Coast Daylight) provided local service between Oakland and San Jose on the Coast Line. The inland Niles Subdivision was served by a daily Oakland–Tracy local and a commute-timed Oakland–San Jose local (which ran via Centerville and part of the Coast Line on the northbound trip and Milpitas southbound).[2]

The increasing prevalence of auto ownership and improvements in local roads meant that numerous commuters began to drive their own vehicles rather than take the train. The decline in ridership resulted in SP discontinuing the Oakland–San Jose trip on the Niles Subdivision on September 29, 1940, followed by ending the Oakland–Tracy trip in 1941.[3]^: 37, 40 The two Oakland–San Jose trips on the Coast Line were discontinued on May 1, 1960.[3]^: 7 The last local service between Oakland and Sacramento was the Senator, discontinued by the SP on May 31, 1962 (though long-distance service continued).[4]^: 140

A Capitols train at Sacramento in 1995

From the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s, three Amtrak intercity trains operated in the Bay Area: the long-distance California Zephyr (Oakland/Emeryville–Chicago) and Coast Starlight (Los Angeles–Seattle), and the regional San Joaquins (Bakersfield–Oakland).

Of the three lines, only the Coast Starlight ran between San Jose and Sacramento—once a day in each direction, and at inconvenient times (southbound early in the morning, northbound in the evening). In 1977, Amtrak approved an additional Oakland–Sacramento round trip, the Sacramentan; the service was never operated.[5]

In 1990, California voters passed two ballot propositions providing $105 million to expand service along the route. The new service, named Capitols, debuted on December 12, 1991, with three daily round trips between San Jose and Sacramento. Of these, a single round trip continued to Roseville, an eastern Sacramento suburb.[6][7]

One of the ballot propositions, Proposition 116, provided the name Capitol Corridor—so named because it links the location of California's first state capital, San Jose, with the current capital, Sacramento. State Capitol buildings were operated in each city.[3]^: 7 The service was known as the Capitols until April 29, 2001, when Amtrak renamed it the Capitol Corridor.[8][9]

Interior of the Capitol Corridor train

The Capitols originally ran via the Coast Line from Elmhurst to Santa Clara, with no stops between Oakland and San Jose. In 1992, after the completion of track and signal work, the Capitols were rerouted onto the Niles Subdivision further inland between Elmhurst and Newark. The new route allowed the addition of infill stations at Fremont in 1993 and Hayward in 1997.[3]^: 33 The Oakland 16th Street station, which had been damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, was closed in 1994. It was replaced by new stations at Emeryville in 1993 and Oakland-Jack London Square in 1995.[3]^: 33 Additional infill stations were added at Santa Clara – Great America in 1993, Oakland Coliseum (with a close connection to BART) in 2005, the Caltrain station in Santa Clara-University in 2012, and Fairfield–Vacaville in 2017.[10]

One daily round trip was extended east to Colfax via Rocklin and Auburn on January 26, 1998. The trip was cut back to Auburn (with the Rocklin stop retained) on February 27, 2000.[3]^: 73

Service was gradually increased from the original three daily round trips. The fifth round trip was added in November 1998, followed by the sixth in February 1999.[11]

Installation of positive train control along the route was completed by November 2018.[12]

In response to low ridership as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Capitol Corridor schedule was reduced to five daily trips on March 21, 2020, with discontinued Auburn service and many trips ending in Oakland. Three runs were added back on June 1 and Auburn service restored.[13]

Additional stations have been proposed along the route at Hercules, Benicia, and Dixon.

A Capitol Corridor train passing the site of the planned Hercules station

The Capitol Corridor Vision Implementation Plan is a long-range outline of possible improvements to the service; several realignments along existing and new right-of-ways were considered and studied. Near-term suggested improvements include double tracking between San Jose and a realignment to the Coast Subdivision, and a new station at the Ardenwood Park-and-Ride, followed by track improvements between Emeryville and Richmond. Later goals include tunneling under Jack London Square to eliminate the street-running section there, rerouting freight traffic over another right-of-way between Sacramento and Martinez, and eventual electrification of the line.[14]

The 2018 Senate Bill 1 allocated $93 million in funds for the Capitol Corridor, partially for planning the realignment to the Coast Subdivision.[15] As of June 2020, the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the realignment (branded as South Bay Connect) is expected to be completed at the end of 2020, followed by the Final Environmental Impact Report a year later. Design is to take place in 2022–23, with construction beginning in 2024.[16] The project is to have a single new station at Ardenwood (at SR 84); stations at Hayward (at SR 92) and Newark Junction were considered but rejected.[16][17]

Two daily Capitol Corridor round trips, along with some Caltrain service, were planned to be extended to Salinas as part of the Monterey County Rail Extension.[18] Initial service will have intermediate stops at existing Caltrain stations at Tamien, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy; future phases will add new stations at Castroville and Pajaro/Watsonville.[19]

A third track between Sacramento and Roseville is planned to start construction in 2021,[20] which would allow an initial increase from one round trip per day to three, with plans for up to ten.[20][21] Extension east to Reno, Nevada was deemed unlikely in the Vision Implementation Plan due to heavy freight traffic over Donner Pass and lack of funding,[14] though plans for such an expansion were studied in 2022[22] with 83% of respondents indicating they would use the service if more frequent passenger rail were provided between Sacramento and Reno.[23]

Extending service to downtown San Francisco by crossing the bay is being considered as part of a proposed second Transbay Tube. A study of a joint project providing a second crossing for BART began in 2019.[20][24] San Francisco has not had direct intercity rail service since 1971.