Dear Riders,
Thursday, October 21, was not a day we were proud of here at the Capitol Corridor. Anything that could have gone wrong did, and I know many of you had a difficult day as a result.
On behalf of the Capitol Corridor team and our operator, Amtrak, I want to apologize for the delays and let you know what happened. Early Thursday morning, a small fire spread to a power pole that provides power to the signal house west of the Davis Station. The damage was extensive and the power pole must be replaced. This resulted in a signal outage and delays throughout the day as trains operated through the affected area at reduced speeds.
Union Pacific is currently working 24/7 to make repairs by midday on Saturday, October 23. Until then, trains will continue operating at reduced speeds through the affected area. Customers should plan on delays of up to 45 to 60 minutes through Saturday; however, we hope to minimize these delays until repairs are complete.
That was just the start of a bad day. In addition to the signal outage, Train 521 experienced significant delays due to a mechanical problem. Passengers were transferred to Train 523 which later struck a vehicle on the tracks in Oakland.
Other trains experienced delays due to a raised bridge and a brush fire. Because of these additional incidents, trains were further delayed and cancelled as equipment changes were made to adjust for these issues. All in all, our on-time performance was about as bad as it gets.
We appreciate the patience many of you showed us and hope you will join us back on board again. This is certainly not the type of service our customers expect and for that we are truly sorry.
Rain Storm on the Way
We want you to be advised that a significant storm is expected Sunday through Monday that will bring two to four inches of rain. If flash floods occur, there may be some additional delays to trains or buses, but we hope to keep these to a minimum. To stay on top of potential delays this weekend, be sure to sign up for ourย Weekend Service Alertsย orย follow us on Twitter.
We thank you for riding and appreciate your patience.
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All the best, Rob Padgette |