Month: January 2007

  • San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee meeting report

    SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY RAIL COMMITTEE Meeting Report January 11, 2007, Bakersfield Reported by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director The meeting had to be accelerated due to the hour and a half delay just south of Modesto of San Joaquin train #702 (southbound) which carried numerous committee members from the north. Cause of the delay was the…

  • Caltrain Faces Electric Hurdles

    There’s a new twist in the quest to electrify Caltrain, as ANG Newspapers (which includes the San Mateo County Times and Oakland Tribune) reports. With Caltrain eying non-FRA-compliant Electric Multiple Units to increase capacity and reduce trip times — and Positive Train Control as added safety, there is new pressure on the Federal Railroad Administration…

  • Capitol Corridor riding high

    15 years of clean comfortable trips leave most passengers satisfied as commuter line marks anniversary. — San Francisco Chronicle, 13 December 2006. Fifteen years ago, Amtrak and Caltrans began a new passenger train service connecting the Bay Area and Sacramento with three round-trip trains a day. The Capitol Corridor trains quickly drew standing-room crowds on…

  • Trains, Trolleys finally hook up

    from the Sacramento Bee, 8 December 2006. For two decades, Sacramento’s light-rail system has been running on its own loop, unconnected to the greater train-travel world. Until today.

  • Our new site

    We are pleased to announce that our new web page will be more up-to-date than ever, and more useful as well. You will find all the previous content here, with the exception of the older meeting reports; those are all still at the archived 2006 site. We hope to move those remaining articles here within…

  • January 2007 Rail Pictures of the Month

    Here are this month’s four California Rail Pictures of the Month. Note: Previous California Rail Pictures of the Month have been reactivated and are temporarily archived at our Gallery. December was a busy month at the Sacramento Valley Rail Station. In addition to the daily comings and goings of passengers, the Sacramento RT dedicated its…

  • Looking ahead with delight

    Editorial by Noel Braymer To get a good idea what improvements we in California can expect in the near future, the best place to look is at is the current CALIFORNIA STATE RAIL PLAN prepared by Caltrans Division of Rail. You can study the entire document on line at the Caltrans web page at www.dot.ca.gov/rail/go/dor/division-of-railreports…

  • Sacramento, December 2006

    The Sacramento train station hosted two big events in December… A Photo Report by Russ Jackson, RailPAC Secretary. Inside the dedication tent on December 8, Sacramento area officials gathered to enthusiastically support the half-mile extension of the RT light rail line from the K Street “Downtown” Mall into the Amtrak station. In this picture are…

  • RailPAC President Paul Dyson’s busy December

    Operation Lifesaver On a cold rainy night on Saturday 16th December, RailPAC along with the Southern California Transit Advocates and Operation Lifesaver supported the Van Nuys Station holiday open house organized by station agent Gail Cunningham. The event coincides with the Metrolink Holiday Toy Express and was attended by about 150 parents and children. SoCaTa…