NEWS RELEASE
On August 16, 2016, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) learned it was the recipient of one of 14 grants in California totaling $390 million to support Governor Brown’s focus on advancing the state’s public transportation system and reducing greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. Administered by the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), the Transit and Intercity Capital Program (TIRCP) grants are funded with proceeds from the state’s Cap-and-Trade auctions.
As one of the state’s three successful intercity rail services, the Capitol Corridor (Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose) received $8.9 million that will help fund the following three projects:
- Phase I of the Sacramento to Roseville Third Track Project – This project will add two additional daily round-trips during peak travel times between Roseville and Sacramento/Bay Area. Currently there is only one round-trip per day; the project would expand train service to three round-trips per day to meet increased ridership demand in this growing region of Northern California. The new service could begin sometime in 2019.
- Northern California Intercity Rail Optimization Study – Capitol Corridor will conduct a comprehensive study of the operations of Northern California’s intercity passenger rail systems – the Capitol Corridor, the San Joaquin, and the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE). The study will look at the agency’s shared equipment, schedules, maintenance procedures, and more, in order to enhance service plans for more efficient and coordinated operations. This would in turn reduce operating costs and/or increase ridership.
- Wayside Power Cabinets for Oakland Train Maintenance Yard – This project would add two more power cabinets at the Oakland train maintenance yard. Taking approximately 12 months to install, the additional power cabinets will allow locomotives that are being serviced at the Oakland Maintenance Facility to be powered by electricity rather than diesel, thus reducing fuel usage and costs and improving air quality. This would be similar to a Prius or another hybrid automobile idling at a traffic light being powered by its electric motor instead of the conventional gas-powered engine.
“We were thrilled to hear that Capitol Corridor had been selected to receive one of the TIRCP grants,” said David Kutrosky, managing director of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which manages the Capitol Corridor service. “These funds will allow us to move ahead on critical transportation projects that will not only improve mobility within the rapidly growing Northern California megaregion, but also contribute directly to Governor Brown’s goal of lowering harmful carbon emissions.”
For more information about CalSTA’s grant awards, visit https://calsta.ca.gov/Newsroom/CalSTA-News/CalSTA-News-Items/2016-08-16-Agency-Awards-390Mil-in-Cap-and-Trade-Grants.aspx.
About Capitol Corridor®
The Capitol Corridor serves 17 stations along the 170-mile rail corridor connecting Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties, paralleling both the I-80/I-680 and I-880 corridors in segments from Sacramento to San Jose. The CCJPA partners with Amtrak, Union Pacific Railroad, Caltrans and the communities comprising the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) to offer cost-effective intercity passenger rail and offers a convenient way to travel between the Sierra Foothills, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley/San Jose. For details about the Capitol Corridor, visit www.capitolcorridor.org, or call 1-877-974-3322. Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CapitolCorridor and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CapitolCorridor.