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Capitol Corridor
30 Years of Connecting Northern California

25 Years Ago

1991

December 1991

December 1991

On December 12, 1991, the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak®) initiated the Capitol Corridor intercity train service with 6 daily trains between San Jose and Sacramento.

1998

July 1998

July 1998

Legislation enacted to establish the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), a partnership among six local transit agencies to share in the administration and management of the Capitol Corridor intercity train service. The CCJPA is overseen by a Board of Directors comprising members from each of the six transit agencies along the Capitol Corridor route.

1998

October 1998

October 1998

CCJPA begins managing the operations of the Capitol Corridor service with 8 trains between Sacramento and San Jose.

2000

February 2000

CCJPA institutes service increase to 14 daily trains.

2001

May 2001

May 2001

Service level increases to 18 trains per day between Sacramento and Oakland.

2001

June 2001

June 2001

Capitol Corridor welcomes its One Millionth Passenger, Angela Smart, on board Train #523 to San Jose.

2001

July 2001

Remodeled Richmond Intermodal Station opens; today it is the fourth busiest station along the Capitol Corridor route.

2001

September 2001

September 2001

New Martinez Station opens.

2002

September 2002

September 2002

Capitol Corridor carries 1,080,000 annual passengers. Construction kickoff for track/station improvements between Oakland and San Jose.

2002

November 2002

Oakland Maintenance Facility Groundbreaking and CCJPA increases service to 20 daily trains.

2003

May 2003

Service levels increase to 24 weekday trains between Sacramento and Oakland.

2003

June 2003

June 2003

Electronic Passenger Information Display Signs (PIDS) electronic signage installed at all Capitol Corridor stations.

2004

March 2004

March 2004

CCJPA initiates its first wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) trial.

2004

October 2004

October 2004

Yolo Causeway construction project underway, enabling a 10-minute reduction in travel time.

2005

February 2005

February 2005

Capitol Corridor holds its first award-winning Stitch ‘n Ride™ promotion to encourage knitters to take the train to the annual Stitches West convention in Santa Clara.

2005

May 2005

May 2005

Oakland Coliseum Intermodal Station opens.

2006

March 2006

Capitol Corridor welcomes its Ten Millionth Passenger, Kirk Swenson, on board Train #527 at Davis Station.

2006

August 2006

August 2006

CCJPA announces its largest service expansion ever with an increase to 32 weekday trains between Sacramento to Oakland and 14 trains from Oakland to San Jose.

2006

November 2006

Proposition 1B bond measure passes, authorizing new construction funds for intercity rail.

2008

May 2008

May 2008

Capitol Corridor participates in the first National Train Day and honors Doras Briggs with the State Advocate of Rail (STAR) Award.

2008

June 2008

June 2008

Capitol Corridor participates in its first Spare the Air campaign to promote transit usage on anticipated high-pollution days.

Passenger revenue now funds 50% of the cost to operate the service (system operating ratio), exceeding Capitol Corridor’s budget goals.

2008

July 2008

July 2008

Bahia Crossover groundbreaking event in Benicia; this event kicks off the next phase of service and infrastructure improvements.

2009

2009

2009

Achieved On Time Performance of 93 percent – an all-time high.

2010

June 2010

Fight Hunger One Stop at a Time, a two-week food drive that provided more than 700 pounds of groceries to feed 139 families.

2011

November 2011

November 2011

Launched Amtrak Connect Wi-Fi service on all trains.

2012

April 2012

April 2012

eTicketing formally launched. Capitol Corridor test and pilot programs contributed to eTicketing system development.

2012

June 2012

Capitol Corridor welcomes 20 Millionth Passenger as ridership reaches 1.75 million riders.

2013

February 2013

February 2013

A comprehensive Bicycle Access Plan adopted by the CCJPA board.

2013

2013

Reduced fuel consumption by 111,000 gallons due to installation of wayside power cabinets and engine upgrades.

2014

October 2014

October 2014

Rider appreciation events are relaunched as “Cappy Hour” with discounted drinks across evening trains.

2014

November 2014

November 2014

Reached 1st place in Amtrak system for On Time Performance, with a 95% OTP rating — the fifth consecutive year that Capitol Corridor was the most reliable service in the system.

Vision Plan Update vol. 1 adopted.

2015

2015

2015

Revenue reaches $30 million annually.

Interactive Real-Time train status launched to riders.

2016

February 2016

February 2016

Capitol Corridor carries over 1,000 excited football fans to Super Bowl 50 at the newly-opened Levi’s® Stadium in Santa Clara.

2016

August 2016

August 2016

Launched Weekend Optimization schedule, biggest schedule change since 2006. New schedule aligns trains with many events at newly-opened Golden 1 Center, and offers additional peak hour service to business travelers in Oakland and San Jose.

2016

September 2016

September 2016

Vision Plan Update Volume 2 adopted.

2016

October 2016

October 2016

Golden 1 Center opening

Golden 1 Center, the new home of the Sacramento Kings, opens and is walking distance from the Sacramento Valley station.

2016

December 2016

December 2016

Capitol Corridor celebrates its Silver Anniversary.

2017

April 2017

April 2017

Charger Locomotives

Capitol Corridor receives its first order of Siemens Tier IV Charger locomotives.

2017

April 2017

Senate Bill 1 (SB1)

In April 2017, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), was enacted to provide federal funding for road and transportation projects. SB1 funding has allowed the Capitol Corridor to forge ahead on projects such as signal replacements; safety and security improvements; South Bay Connect; Sacramento to Roseville Third Track Project; Statewide Integrated Ticketing; and several others.

2017

April 2017

California Passenger Rail Summit 2017

Hosted 5th Annual California Passenger Rail Summit.

2017

November 2017

November 2017

Fairfield-Vacaville station opened

Fairfield-Vacaville Hannigan station opens.

2017

December 2017

December 2017

Bike eLockers

Bicycle eLockers available at all stations

2018

January 2018

Richmond Station platform improvement flashing light

Richmond station has a flashing light on the platform to alert conductors of incoming BART trains so they can hold the train for passengers making a connection to Capitol Corridor.

2018

May 2018

Cal-ITP UC Davis Conference

A California Integrated Travel Program (Cal-ITP) kickoff event held at UC Davis and brought together local and international transit leaders for an exploratory event to understand how integration between transit agencies could happen more seamlessly.

2018

November 2018

Positive Train Control

Capitol Corridor was among the first in the nation to have Positive Train Control (PTC), a safety measure, installed on its fleet of equipment.

2019

May 2019

May 2019

California Passenger Rail Summit 2019

Hosted 7th Annual California Passenger Rail Summit in Oakland

2019

April 2019

April 2019

Fairfield-Vacaville Hannigan Station renamed for Thomas M. Hannigan

In May 2019, the stop was ceremonially named Fairfield–Vacaville Hannigan Station after former Fairfield Assemblymember Thomas M. Hannigan, who contributed to the development of the Capitol Corridor service.

2019

June 2019

Travel Time Savings Project

Travel Time Savings project which involved track improvements in the southern part of the route allowed for a 10-minute reduction in travel between Sacramento and San Jose.

2019

July 2019

Interactive Voice Response System

To provide customers with 24/7 phone support, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system was implemented.

2019

August 2019

August 2019

Stride On Board

Stride On Board is branded to encapsulate the college (student) marketing program offering a variety of fares and discounts for students.

2019

September 2019

Weekend Service Alerts

Customers can now opt into recieving weekend-only Service Alerts.

2019

September 2019

Capitol Corridor reaches 60% Revenue-to-Cost Ratio

With strong ridership and revenue figures, CCJPA reaches 60% farebox ratio.

2020

March 2020

March 2020

Evergreen Signage

Schedule signs and brochures for trains and buses were upgraded to an evergreen format with QR enabled codes to get schedule information. This effort supported efforts to become more sustainable.

2020

March 2020

March 2020

COVID Service Reduction

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory shelter-in-place requirements, Capitol Corridor makes drastic service reduction to operate as an essential service.

2020

June 2020

10-Ride ticket extended to 60 days

10-Ride ticket expiration date extended from 45 to 60 days, allowing passengers more time to do their trips.

2020

June 2020

Launch of South Bay Connect Project Environmental Review

South Bay Connect proposes to relocate Capitol Corridor service between Oakland Coliseum and Newark from the current route on the Union Pacific (UP) Niles Subdivision to the UP Coast Subdivision, which could save up to 13 minutes of travel time between Oakland and San Jose. The project also intends to facilitate new transbay connections for Capitol Corridor passengers between the East Bay and the Peninsula, an underserved market for the Capitol Corridor service.

2020

July 2020

July 2020

Our Stand Against Racism

In response to the killing of George Floyd and many others impacted by racial injustice, Capitol Corridor released “Our Stand Against Racism,” its statement to denounce racism.

2020

July 2020

July 2020

Railgoods.com

Railgoods.com was launched as a joint, online company store with BART to featured branded products from each service.

2020

September 2020

September 2020

Corridor Conversations

Corridor Conversations, a webinar series, was developed to reach and engage with passengers and followers to stay connected to the Capitol Corridor during the pandemic with record level ridership.

2020

September 2020

How Full Is My Train seat capacity checker launched

“How Full Is My Train” widget is added to website as a safety precaution, to make passengers aware of average seating capacity on trains.

2020

October 2020

October 2020

Next Generation Wi-Fi

Next Generation Wi-Fi is launched with a faster and more reliable connection. Passengers now connect to complimentary “Your Train” Wi-Fi

2021

January 2021

January 2021

Link 21 Program Launch

The Link21 Program is a partnership between CCJPA and BART that includes plans for a new transbay rail crossing between San Francisco and Oakland. The new crossing opens the possibility of providing faster and more reliable passenger rail service to major destinations in the 21-county Northern California Megaregion. The program will include improvements to the regional rail (commuter, intercity) and BART systems.

2021

February 2021

February 2021

CC Rewards

CC Rewards launches as Capitol Corridor’s first loyalty program. Members gain access to discounts from local businesses and exclusive rider promos.

2021

April 2021

April 2021

Charger Locomotives

Capitol Corridor recieves an additional order of Siemens Tier IV Charger locomotives.

2021

June 2021

Service Restoration/Increase

Initial service increase for Capitol Corridor since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, aligned with the State of California re-opening on 6/15/21

2021

July 2021

July 2021

El Dorado Transit

El Dorado Transit is onboarded to provide service for the Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe bus connection.

2021

September 2021

Renewable Diesel

Renewable Diesel’s Phase I testing completed.

2021

September 2021

Surfliner Door Panel Replacement

Over time, there has been an increase in delays associated with the existing door panels on 22 Surfliner rail cars; the door panels are in need of replacement due to age. The new door panels will mitigate related delays, be more secure, and offer a quieter ride by reducing exterior noise.

2021

September 2021

Flexible Fares

Capitol Corridor fares are moved to the Flexible Fares category within Amtrak’s reservation system, to better align with the terms and conditions of traveling on an unreserved service.