At the February 16, 2005 meeting of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors, Roger Dickinson, of the Sacramento Regional Transit District, was elected Chair, and Forrest Williams, of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency, was elected Vice Chair.
Dickinson, who serves as a director of the Sacramento Regional Transit District, a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors since January 1994 (and current Chair), serves on numerous other Sacramento boards, including the Air Quality Management District and the Area Council of Governments. “I really appreciate the vote of confidence from my fellow board members in electing me to this position, and am looking forward to serving as Chair during this period of growth for the Capitol Corridor.” He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and received a law degree from UCLA.
Williams, a member of the San Jose City Council since November 2000, serves on various City committees and is the current Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. “I’m honored that my fellow board members have put their trust in me to help lead the Capitol Corridor service. This is an exciting time to for me to be part of the CCJPA, particularly because of our planned service expansion to San Jose later this year.” Williams holds BSEE, MSEE and DEECS degrees and served as Senior Engineering Manager for IBM Corporation.
Dickinson and Williams will lead the Capitol Corridor board for the next two years. The board is comprised of members from six local Northern California transportation agencies that includes eight counties from Santa Clara County to Placer County.
The CCJPA Board of Directors provides policy direction to the CCJPA staff in delivering quality passenger rail service along the corridor that stretches from San Jose to Sacramento. The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) is a unique organization charged with providing the administrative management of an intercity passenger rail service. The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) provides the full-time management staff, Amtrak operates the service for the CCJPA, and Union Pacific Railroad dispatches the trains and maintains the tracks. Funding is virtually 100% from passenger fares and state transportation funds. Over the past six years under CCJPA management, the Capitol Corridor has achieved enormous strides in service performance- 152% increase in ridership, 200% increase in service levels, and 110% increase in revenues.
On weekdays there are 24 daily trains, with 18 on weekends, serving the Capitol Corridor route spanning 170 miles with stops at 16 stations in Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara Counties. Dedicated motorcoach routes extend service south of San Jose to Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, and east of Sacramento to Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Reno.
“This board is comprised of a number of excellent people and agencies who have created a service that really brings communities together”, said new CCJPA Chair Roger Dickinson, “and anyone who lives or works in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Silicon Valley regions can see the benefits of having the Capitol Corridor service available to their community.”
