Capitol Corridor News – April 24, 2009

National Train Day- May 9, 2009
Celebrate National Train Day with 25% Off! In celebration of National Train Day on May 9th, we invite you to enjoy 25% off when you travel between May 9th and May 16th, 2009. This offer is good for service on Capitol Corridor®, Pacific Surfliner® and San Joaquin® trains and connecting thruway motorcoach services. Tickets must be purchased in advance between April 1st and May 13th, 2009. Tickets can be purchased at Amtrak.com, at a staffed Amtrak® station or at an Amtrak Quik Trak ticket machine. Please refer to discount code V321 at time of purchase.Join us in Sacramento! Come celebrate National Train Day at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento between 10:00am and 5:00pm. Show your train ticket on May 9th, and you’ll receive free admission to the museum. To celebrate, there will be vintage steam train rides, museum tours, model railroad exhibits, and much more train-related fun. Local radio stations KGBY My 92.5 and KHYL V101.1 will broadcast from the event. Exhibits at the museum include several 1st and 2nd generation combustion engine trains, vintage steam trains from 1862 to 1944, and new modern railroad equipment provided by Amtrak. And the Sacramento train station is just two short blocks from the museum. Sacramento’s National Train Day celebration is an event you don’t want to miss, so bring your family and friends to enjoy all the fun!
S.F. Motorcoach Service Advisory – April 26, 2009
This Sunday, April 26th, San Francisco will be hosting a “Sunday Streets” event. This will close down part of the Embarcadero and affect the Ferry Building (SFC) and Pier 39 (SFW) Motorcoach stops from approximately 9:00am until 1:00pm. During this time, the Ferry Building (SFC) stop will be temporarily relocated to Steuart and Mission Streets. Motorcoach buses will pick up at Mission and Steuart Streets, one block west of the current Ferry Building stop. Station agents from the Ferry Building station will be available to assist passengers with this transition. Service to the Pier 39 (SFW) stop will be temporarily suspended during this time. There will be no service to this location from 9:00am until 1:00pm. If you are traveling to San Francisco on Sunday, April 26th, we suggest you connect to BART at the Richmond or Oakland Coliseum stations and exit at the Embarcadero stop. For connections to Pier 39 and other San Francisco destinations, visit the Bay Area’s 511.org to plan your trip.
Kids Ride Free on Weekends now through October!
Make your next family getaway a trip aboard the train! Explore the best that Northern California has to offer by taking the train to a ballgame and spending an afternoon at Raley Field cheering on the Sacramento River Cats. Or, wander through Berkeley’s eclectic Fourth Street shopping district. Set your imagination free in San Francisco and explore the creative events and exhibits at ZEUM. Go play and learn from the interactive displays at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. With Kids Ride Free on Weekends, Capitol Corridor is travel made simple! View promotion details
Bike Racks onboard
If you bring your bicycle on board regularly, you may have noticed that some of the new cab car floor-mounted bicycle racks have been removed. During peak travel periods, when the bike racks were filled to capacity, the unsecured and improperly secured bicycles did not always provide enough safe clearance for wheelchairs, scooters and general foot traffic. Those floor-mounted bike racks were installed in Fall 2008 to supplement the original three vertical racks at the ends of cars to accommodate increased demand for bike storage on our trains. Even with these additional 8-bike capacity racks, peak period demand for bicycle space has exceeded on board capacity, and unsecured and improperly secured bicycles have become a safety issue.At this time, CCJPA is working with Caltrans on a new bike rack design that will minimize the amount of loose bicycles and ensure that the aisles are clear for foot and wheelchair traffic. The first prototype should be available for installation, with instructions on proper use, within the next 2-3 months. We will provide you with updates on progress. The Capitol Corridor trains will continue to welcome bicycles, as we work to accommodate the demands of all our passengers. This is not an easy task, as between 8 and 9 percent of all our passengers now access to our trains by bicycle, among the highest percentage of bicycle-to-transit use in the country. At the same time, we must allow for the safe passage of general foot traffic and also accommodate our mobility-impaired passengers who are unable to, or have difficulty, maneuvering up the stairs, and must be seated on the lower level. Please continue to bring a bungee cord with you, and if the bike racks are full, please follow the instructions of the train crew on where to place and secure your bicycle with a bungee cord so that it won’t impede the flow of all traffic in the lower levels. Thank you for your cooperation.
Train 553 Motorcoach connection- Colfax advisory
Due to planned construction on I-80, the motorcoach bus connecting to Train 553 will not stop at Colfax to pick up passengers on Mondays and Tuesdays April 13th – May 5th. Beginning Monday, May 11th, the motorcoach bus connecting to Train 553 will not stop at Colfax to pick up passengers. The motorcoach bus will continue to bypass the Colfax stop until construction is completed. The motorcoach will make all other scheduled stops at Auburn, Rocklin and Roseville, arriving in Sacramento at 8:55pm to connect with Train 553.