California 6 Locos and 40 Cars

[Daniel]

In he recent HSR funding package, CA was awarded $100 million for 6 locomotives and 40 coaches for its 3 corridor services. Isn't that a lot of cars and locomotives for just those routes, considering the entire fleet is about 100 cars? Could there be any other new routes added as well, like the Coast Daylight or service to Vegas?

 

[bretton88]

The Coastal Daylight will finally happen with these new cars. And another surfliner la-slo frequency. The Coastal Daylight has been on Caltrans wishlist for the last 3 years tho.

 

[GiantsFan]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

If they do indeed bring back a coast daylight back to san francisco, they should do it like this: Use the HSR for the express (obviously), and supplement it with the Daylight as the "local" with NO stops between san francisco and san jose - as that would be caltrain's role.

Or use it to supplement the coast starlight but between SF-LA .. not EMY-LA.

 

[zephyr17]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

If they do indeed bring back a coast daylight back to san francisco, they should do it like this: Use the HSR for the express (obviously), and supplement it with the Daylight as the "local" with NO stops between san francisco and san jose - as that would be caltrain's role.

Or use it to supplement the coast starlight but between SF-LA .. not EMY-LA.

The plan for the "Coast Daylight" has always been to run it via the Coast into San Francisco. It will be run as an extension to the current LA-SLO Surfliner 798-799. The assignment of those numbers is a hint in and of itself (considering SP's Coast Daylight ran as 98/99). Don't know about stops on the Peninsula. My guess if it did stop on the Peninsula, it would only be a couple of places, like Palo Alto and Burlingame.

 

[GiantsFan]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

If they do indeed bring back a coast daylight back to san francisco, they should do it like this: Use the HSR for the express (obviously), and supplement it with the Daylight as the "local" with NO stops between san francisco and san jose - as that would be caltrain's role.

Or use it to supplement the coast starlight but between SF-LA .. not EMY-LA.

The plan for the "Coast Daylight" has always been to run it via the Coast into San Francisco. It will be run as an extension to the current LA-SLO Surfliner 798-799. The assignment of those numbers is a hint in and of itself (considering SP's Coast Daylight ran as 98/99). Don't know about stops on the Peninsula. My guess if it did stop on the Peninsula, it would only be a couple of places, like Palo Alto and Burlingame.

Sounds like they already had plans ready to go soon as funding came in haha ... And they wouldn't have to do much work either, the station at 4th and king already has 12 tracks so there is plenty of room to fit a few amtraks!

I think peninsula stops should be (If any at all), should be millbrae (SFO), hillsdale, palo alto, and mountain view.

 

[Crescent ATN & TCL]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

If they do indeed bring back a coast daylight back to san francisco, they should do it like this: Use the HSR for the express (obviously), and supplement it with the Daylight as the "local" with NO stops between san francisco and san jose - as that would be caltrain's role.

Or use it to supplement the coast starlight but between SF-LA .. not EMY-LA.

The plan for the "Coast Daylight" has always been to run it via the Coast into San Francisco. It will be run as an extension to the current LA-SLO Surfliner 798-799. The assignment of those numbers is a hint in and of itself (considering SP's Coast Daylight ran as 98/99). Don't know about stops on the Peninsula. My guess if it did stop on the Peninsula, it would only be a couple of places, like Palo Alto and Burlingame.

Sounds like they already had plans ready to go soon as funding came in haha ... And they wouldn't have to do much work either, the station at 4th and king already has 12 tracks so there is plenty of room to fit a few amtraks!

I think peninsula stops should be (If any at all), should be millbrae (SFO), hillsdale, palo alto, and mountain view.

Why not make the same stops as the original, with some consideration given to population changes over the years?

 

[bretton88]

Well, one of the biggest differences is that the Daylight will make all the local stops, including places like Guadalupe. The CS skips most of these. The coastal route in my mind would really benefit from electrification for better acceleration and tilting. That would chop a lot of time off. Oh well, only in my dreams.

 

[eagle628]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

If they do indeed bring back a coast daylight back to san francisco, they should do it like this: Use the HSR for the express (obviously), and supplement it with the Daylight as the "local" with NO stops between san francisco and san jose - as that would be caltrain's role.

Or use it to supplement the coast starlight but between SF-LA .. not EMY-LA.

San Joaqins have to stay where they are, the route south of Bakersfield is the busiest single-track freight route in the world, there's no way Amtrak could fit in passenger trains without adding additional tracks, which with the topography isn't possible with the money they have to work with.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

I'd like to know more about this. Will it use the coast route, Or hop over with the HSR and use the central valley? Or will they just extend the san jouqins to LA? Any links?

San Joaqins have to stay where they are, the route south of Bakersfield is the busiest single-track freight route in the world, there's no way Amtrak could fit in passenger trains without adding additional tracks, which with the topography isn't possible with the money they have to work with.

Eagle, that's correct for the moment. But once the HSR line is built, there will be plenty of capacity for passenger trains to go from LA to San Jose/San Francisco via Bakersfield. That's what GiantsFan is asking about.

But no, GiantsFan, in the California State Rail Plan, the Coast Daylight is called for to run up and down the coast on the same route as the Starlight.

 

[George Harris]

In the California Rail Plan of quite a few years back, now, included in the resurrected Coast Daylight plan were quire a few improvements to curves, signaling, etc. so the train could at least approach the run time of the original. As to Penninsula stops: I would be inclided to go with Millbrae, for the airport, and Palo Alto, for the college.

 

[Mark Del Monte]

Don't know about stops on the Peninsula. My guess if it did stop on the Peninsula, it would only be a couple of places, like Palo Alto and Burlingame.

I thought I heard Palo Alto maybe Redwood City not sure on that one and for sure Milbrae BART/Caltrain. I have noticed ever since the Milbrae Station opened in 2003 they have had an extra long cal train platform easily long enough for a long distance train *hint* *hint*. This and with its transit connections leads me to believe Milbrae would 100% for sure be a stop for the Coast Daylight.

Mark Del Monte