California State Rail Plan 2007-08 to 2017-18

Chapter VIII – The Capitol CorridorThe Capitol Corridor extends 169 rail miles from Auburn to San Jose (35 mileseast of Sacramento and 134 miles west of Sacramento.) Except for three miles ofright of way (ROW) owned by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board,UP owns this entire route. Amtrak operates the Capitol Corridor under provisionsof its contract with UP. Figure 8B describes the current ownership, segmentmileage, and track and signal characteristics of the Capitol Corridor.HISTORICAL PERFORMANCEFigure 8C shows ridership and financial performance data on an annual basis fromthe start of State-supported Amtrak rail passenger service in 1991-92 through2005-06. Ridership and revenues have increased over that period, as haveexpenses, loss, and State cost. The farebox ratio on this Route has not fluctuatedas much as on the San Joaquins and Pacific Surfliners for a number of reasons.First, when the Capitol Corridor service started, Amtrak had already begunincreasing costs that are included in the farebox ratio. By 1996-97, Amtrak wascharging a cost basis similar to the current basis. Also, the Capitol Corridorservice is still relatively new and has added frequencies at a relatively fast rate.Thus, the growth in revenue tends to be offset by new expenses for increasedfrequencies. The Capitol Corridor service has a lower farebox ratio than the othertwo routes, primarily as a result of its shorter trip length. The Capitol Corridorfarebox ratio (40.6 percent in 2005-06) has ranged between a high of 43.4 percentin 1995-96 and a low of 29 percent in 1996-97.OTP on the Capitol Corridor was fairly low during the initial years of the service.With the completion in early 1999 of major track and signal work over much ofthe route, OTP improved considerably. In 2005-06, OTP averaged 72.3 percent.New trackage and signal improvement projects between Oakland and San Jose andthe Yolo Causeway Second Main Track project have improved theCapitol Corridor’s reliability and OTP by facilitating both passenger and freighttrain movements and by providing more opportunities for trains to pass each other.In addition, CCJPA funding of a dedicated track maintenance crew has resulted ina significant decrease in slow orders which has further improved OTP over what itotherwise would have been.131