Dear Valued Riders:
In the past few days, several of our trains have not achieved the on-time performance that you, our valued customers, have grown accustomed to.
For those of you who were onboard certain trains Friday, Sunday and Monday, I want to apologize for the delays you may have experienced and let you know what happened with our trains.
I acknowledge that the recent events, while out of the CCJPA’s direct control, significantly delayed many trains and disrupted travel for many of you. On Friday, April 15 in the evening, a trespasser, who was on the tracks near Crockett in Contra Costa County, was struck by Train 542. This tragedy occurred in an area where alternate transportation was unavailable, but as soon as local authorities released the tracks for train traffic, UPRR dispatchers brought Train 544 to transfer Train 542 passengers onto that train. In addition, passengers on other evening trains experienced significant residual delays.
Then, on Sunday morning, just after 9 a.m., a Union Pacific train struck a trespasser east of Suisun. This fatality impacted several morning trains, taking about two hours to resume normal scheduled operations.
On Monday afternoon at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Union Pacific Dispatcher encountered a problem with a track switch near Martinez that prevented trains 543 and 536 from passing each other normally. UPRR track maintainer arrived at approximately 5:40 p.m. to repair the switch and completed work at 6:30 p.m.; however, by then this malfunctioning switch affected the service of seven evening trains. Some trains were delayed 10 minutes, others for over an hour.
While these types of delays are beyond the CCJPA’s control and are rare occurrences, I am well aware that the delays to some of these trains were highly disruptive to our passengers’ daily lives. I thank you for your patience, understanding and cooperation during these past few days and again I apologize for any inconvenience these unusual circumstances may have caused.
On behalf of the CCJPA, I look forward to the return of the highly reliable Capitol Corridor service you have come to expect.
Sincerely,
David B. Kutrosky
