http://www.capitolcorridor.org

The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) is the managing agency for the Amtrak-operated, state-sponsored Capitol Corridor ® (Auburn, Sacramento-Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area-San Jose) intercity passenger trains.

As administrator of the service, the CCJPA's primary focus is the continuous improvement of the Capitol Corridor train service through effective cost management, revenue enhancement, and customer-focused delivery of a safe, frequent, reliable, and environmentally friendly transportation alternative to the congested Northern California I-80, I-680 and I-880 highway corridors.

HIGH-SPEED RAIL

The CCJPA, through Caltrans Division of Rail, was awarded $29.2 million from the initial $8 billion in High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) capital grants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009.

ARRA funds for the followingHSIPR projects have been obligated:

• Construction in underway for the San Jose South Terminal Project
• Construction is set to begin in May 2011 for the Sacramento Railyard Relocation Project

Prior to the initiation of the HSIPR Program, the Capitol Corridor has received more than$800 million in state and regional/local transportation investment funds to upgrade track infrastructure, add or improve stations, and acquire locomotive and passenger rail cars.  These investments have resulted in increased ridership, improved on-time performance (OTP) and service reliability, and reduced travel times. 

In the near term, there are more than $250 million in projects currently underway to:

• Maintain a state of good repair, which will keep travel times and reliability competitive with autos on the parallel highways;
• Upgrade or add new stations to increase ridership; and
• Improve passenger safety, access and services (such as security cameras, wireless internet service on trains).

The CCJPA has identified approximately $800 million in capital investments over the next 10 years that will:

• Add track capacity for service frequency expansion to San Jose/Silicon Valley, which will provide access to and from the planned California High-Speed Trains at the San Jose intermodal terminal;
• Acquire additional locomotives and rail cars to add to the existing trains to accommodate near-term ridership increases as well as to provide added trains for planned service expansion; and
• Add track infrastructure for service frequency expansion to Placer County (east of Sacramento), which will provide access to and from the planned California High-Speed Trains at the Sacramento Valley Station facility.