San Joaquin (train)

Golden Gate/San Joaquin Daylight

Ex-Southern Pacific EMD FP7 on the San Joaquin at Oakland in 1975

The San Joaquin runs over lines that once hosted several passenger trains a day. The top trains were the Golden Gate on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (predecessor to BNSF), and the San Joaquin Daylight on the Southern Pacific Railroad (later acquired by Union Pacific). Prior to 1960s service cutbacks passenger service continued south of Bakersfield, to Glendale and Los Angeles.^[5]

In April 1965 as ridership on passenger trains continued to drop, the Santa Fe Railway received permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to severely curtail Golden Gate operations, with service finally abandoned three years later. The San Joaquin Daylight was discontinued with the start-up of Amtrak in May 1971.

Other passenger trains that ran through the Central Valley included Southern Pacific's Owl and Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief and Valley Flyer.

Amtrak era

Passengers in the lounge seating area in the café car of a San Joaquin train, 2014

Amtrak routed all Los Angeles-San Francisco service over the Southern Pacific's Coast Line in its initial 1971 route structure, leaving the San Joaquin Valley without service. Both the Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Daylight and the Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief had served the region.^[9] Beginning in 1972 Amtrak revisited the decision at the urging of area congressmen, notably Bernice F. Sisk, who favored service between Oakland and Barstow or, failing that, Barstow and Sacramento.^[10] Service began on March 5, 1974 with one round-trip per day between Bakersfield and Oakland and a bus connection from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. Amtrak chose the Santa Fe route over the Southern Pacific, citing the higher speed (79 miles per hour (127 km/h) vs. 70 miles per hour (113 km/h)) of the Santa Fe and freight congestion on the Southern Pacific. The decision was not without controversy, with Sisk alleging that the Southern Pacific lobbied the Nixon Administration to influence the decision.^[11]

In 1979 Amtrak proposed discontinuing the San Joaquin as part of system-wide reductions ordered by the Carter Administration. The state of California stepped in to provide a yearly subsidy of (then) $700,000 ($2.36 million adjusted for inflation) to cover the train's operating losses, and it was retained. At the time the state asked Amtrak to add a second daily frequency between Oakland and Bakersfield, and to extend the service south over the Tehachapi Pass to Los Angeles.^[12] Amtrak added the second train in February 1980, but attempts to extend the train over the Tehachapi Loop failed due to Southern Pacific's opposition.^[13][14] Until 1993, the San Joaquin also stopped in Berkeley.

Direct trains to Sacramento were first posted in the May 16, 1999 timetable.^[15]

Over the past 30 years service has increased from just one round trip per day to seven: five round trips to Oakland, plus two round trips to Sacramento.

Future and limitations

Statewide Rail Modernization Map, courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Additional Sacramento service north of Stockton is planned to be implemented further east along Union Pacific's Sacramento Subdivison, where additional passenger capacity is available.^[16][17] Several stations will be added between Lodi and Sacramento along this corridor as part of a joint expansion with Altamont Corridor Express.^[18] This new service will bypass Sacramento Valley Station, but will still facilitate RT light rail transfers and terminate near Sacramento International Airport with a shuttle connection.^[16] Additionally, commuter trains are planned to run from Ceres to Sacramento under San Joaquin branding.^[19]

Long term plans include expansions as far north as Redding and the possibility of extending the Oakland terminus to Oakland Coliseum station.^[20] The San Joaquin has never continued south of Bakersfield due to capacity limits in the Tehachapi Pass, the only line between Bakersfield and points south and one of the world's busiest single-track freight rail lines.^[21]

Locomotives

Amtrak California operates its own fleet of EMD F59PHI, GE P32-8WH and Siemens Charger locomotives that are used on San Joaquin trains. These locomotives are owned by Caltrans and carry its CDTX reporting marks. Amtrak owned locomotives are also occasionally used on the San Joaquin, including the P42DC.

California Car bi-level trainsets

San Joaquin train at the Fresno station

The San Joaquin is equipped with Amtrak California's fleet of California Car bi-level, high-capacity passenger cars owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Each trainset typically consists of two coach cars, a coach/baggage car, a café (dining) car, and a cab/coach car. The cab/coach car is a similar to other coaches but with an engineer's operating cab and headlights on one end, allowing the train to be operated in push-pull mode, which eliminates the need to turn the train at each end-point. Caltrans is in the process of refitting the cab/coach cars to have a space on car's lower level for storage for checked luggage and bikes.

Caltrans also owns several Surfliner bi-level cars that are used on some San Joaquin trainsets. The newer cars look very similar to the California Car fleet, but feature reclining seats, open overhead luggage racks and a restroom on the upper-level of each car.

In 2007 Caltrans paid to repair several wreck-damaged Superliner I coaches in exchange for a six-year lease of the Amtrak owned cars that are normally used on long-distance trains. Four of these cars are painted to match the California car livery and often appear in service on the San Joaquin route in place of a coach/baggage car.

Comet Car single-level trainsets

A single-level trainset on the San Joaquin

Increasing ridership on the San Joaquin led Caltrans to purchase 14 Comet IB rail cars from New Jersey Transit in 2008 for $75,000 each. The former commuter cars were refurbished and reconfigured by Amtrak's Beech Grove Shops to serve as intercity coaches at a cost of approximately $20 million. The refurbished cars have reclining inter-city seats with tray tables (4 per row), AmtrakConnect WiFi, two power outlets at each seat pair, luggage racks, trash/recycling bins, a restroom, and 6 workstation tables in the center of the car.^[27]

Caltrans has also paid to lease and refurbish 3 Non-Powered Control Units (F40PH locomotives converted into cab/baggage cars) and 3 Horizon Dinettes to serve as café cars (using the same equipment as other Amtrak California trains).^[27]

These single-level cars will be used to create two Comet Car trainsets that will run between Oakland and Bakersfield. This will allow Caltrans to break up two bi-level California Car trainsets and use the cars to add another coach car to each of the San Joaquin's remaining California Car trainsets.^[27]

Caltrans had planned to use the Comet Car trainsets on trains starting in July 2013, but the refurbishing process took longer than expected. The first Comet Car trainset was put into regular service on October 21, 2013^[28] and the second trainset was put into regular service on April 15, 2014.