Letter to Capitol Corridor passengers

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Superliner Diner

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Date: 3/24/03 2:00 PM

From: [email protected]

To all Capitol Corridor Riders:

On April 28, 2003, the Capitol Corridor Schedules will change. There will be two additional weekday trains operating, and some changes to existing train times. I want to explain why these changes were made and what we can expect in the future. Your comments are solicited and welcomed (even if we might not like to hear what you have to say!) The schedule is attached ('excel' format).

First, we were able to add an additional round-trip (the 23rd and 24th weekday Capitol Corridor trains) largely due to Amtrak reviewing the patterns of existing trains, crews and trainset storage times. Bottom line, we are able to add these two new trains mostly because we are already paying for the crew time and fuel cost (during layover on 'idle'), and because there is a need to get our trains into the maintenance yard more frequently. When the ridership has grown as much as it has, the wear and tear on the cars and locomotives has substantially increased (more people, more use of toilets, for instance).

Second, we have had many requests for a train from San Jose that is not as early as the 3.30pm departure, maybe around 4.30pm. So, that is why you will see a 4.40pm train leaving San Jose in place of the 3.30pm departure. This will also help fix another problem. Many of you now ride train Train #540, that is scheduled to leave Emeryville at 4.55pm. This train has not had the best 'track record' of being on-time. By starting train #540 out of Oakland, and leaving 10 minutes later (5.05pm from Emeryville) the reliability and attractiveness of this train should improve substantially.

Train #542 will operate 20 minutes later as a through train from San Jose. By eliminating the present 3.30pm train from San Jose, This should sustain the reliability of train #542 as well.

Third, there are other major changes in the later morning, both from Sacramento and from Oakland/Emeryville.

The two and two-and-a-half hour 'gaps' in service after Train #527 departs Sacramento at 7.40am will be substantially improved. Trains leaving Sacramento at 9.10am, 10.40am and 12.10pm will offer a train from Sacramento at least every 90 minutes until noon. The current 2.40pm from

Sacramento will move to 2.10pm.

From Oakland, a similar change will occur. The three hour gap in the morning is cut in half. There will be a departure for Sacramento from Oakland at 7.45am, 9.15am, 10.45am, 12.15pm, and 1.45pm, again providing a train at least every 90 minutes.

Lastly, what we cannot do yet is run more trains on weekdays to/from San Jose. The process for obtaining permits to build most of our track capacity improvements is painfully slow. Upgrading of the segments of the existing tracks has begun, as many of you have noticed. As soon as the environmental and other regulatory agencies render their approval to allow this work to start, you will see major changes in the track configuration between Oakland and San Jose. No one is more frustrated than I am over this delay, but we are following the process dictated by law to avoid any future delays that might be caused by failure to obtain all the required permits and permission.

Construction should take about half as much time as the process of getting permission to build the improvements. Have patience, we are getting there.

If any of you have suggestions for our fall schedule change, please send them to me. The only thing I want to alert you to, is that for the near term, we will only have the seven trainsets we have now. These seven sets of rolling stock will operate all 24 Capitol Corridor trains. We are using the trains we now have to their maximum practical utility. There are no new trains on order (and, with the state budget situation, not likely to be any soon) and it takes at least 24 months to deliver a train once ordered. And we can't place an order until we have money.

Short point: 24 trains are about all we can do for the foreseeable future. However, with only the seven existing trainsets and our present state funding, we will be able to extend at least two more Sacramento trains to Placer County (one to Roseville, one more to Auburn) when UPRR gives permission to do this, and by extending some Oakland trains to San Jose,

we will be able to increase service to San Jose to at least six (and perhaps seven) trains upon completion of the track capacity improvements.

I hope most of you find our efforts convenient. For those of you (hopefully few) who do not, please send me your suggestions so that we can place our future efforts efforts on satisfying your requests.

Your loyal servant,

Gene

[file removed as train-talk doesn't support attachments; converted to HTML and posted at: http://www.raines.com/raines/capcorr/CC.html

]

Send me your thoughts: [email protected] (reference "Train Schedules")

Eugene K. Skoropowski

Managing Director

Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority

1000 Broadway, Suite 604

Oakland, California 94607

e-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: 510.464.6990

Fax: 510.464.6901
 
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