Added note about train speeds below.

The plans of Californians for Electric Rail for the Greater Sacramento Region were promoted today in a meeting I participated in. I think this is a great organization. They have correctly identified the roadblocks thrown up by special interests, the freight railroads and business as usual government agencies, and solutions to those roadblocks. It is well worth looking at their website and materials. I have long supported serious consideration of electrifying (overhead catenary) Capitol Corridor, at least the Sacramento to Oakland Jack London section.

I am glad to see that light rail extension beyond Cosumnes River College into Elk Grove is not on the map. That would be a total waste of funds for a low ridership route, better served by bus.

However, I have concerns with some of the specifics for the Sacramento region.

• I support more frequent service between Sacramento and Davis. There are a lot of Capitol Corridor Riders on this section. However, I question ridership for Sacramento to Roseville. The once-a-day Capitol Corridor to Auburn has few riders on or off at Roseville. The Amtrak buses to Reno have few riders on or off at Roseville. The once-a-day Amtrak California Zephyr has few riders on or off in Roseville. The Placer County Transit Route 10 has few riders on or off at Roseville, though admittedly the Galleria transit stop is not what most transit riders want. There are ways of increasing rider demand on this corridor, but without a plan to do so, I don’t think this should be a ‘Primary Buildout’ project, regardless of whether it is in the State Rail Plan. The Sacramento to Roseville 3rd track project has been delayed by years, due to funding issues and Union Pacific intransigence and delay. I think a focus on Sacramento to Davis would be much more useful.
• Light rail to the airport (Green Line to the Airport) has an unproven demand. The hourly SacRT Route 142 bus is frequently empty. The hourly Yolobus 42A/B bus has more passengers, but that is because it serves Davis and Woodland as well as downtown Sacramento. If a regular bus isn’t being used, the idea that light rail will be used is speculative, and not the basis for spending $2 billion plus on rail. The SacRT study of BRT along a similar route is useful, but again, is a step well beyond basic bus service.
• The idea of using the Woodland Division of the Sierra Northern railroad on the west side of the Sacramento River, and new tracks from there to the airport is intriguing. I’d never seen that proposal before. Using mostly existing track, and some new, might provide a much lower cost alternative to new light rail construction to the airport. Apparently there is a recreational train on a portion of this route, leading me to wonder what the condition of the tracks is.
• Valley Rail is shown with a suggested connection into Sacramento Valley Station (SVS). I have not heard of any such proposal from San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. So far as I can tell, their intent is to remain separate from SVS, with connections via light rail, but not passenger rail. There is also no bus service shown from this line to the airport. Without such a connection, the Valley Rail project probably will remain low ridership. Again, these issues can be addressed, but I’m concerned that they are not in this proposal.

Train speed

The Sacramento region page says “Existing railroad infrastructure could support up to 125 mph top speeds” under ‘Advantages of regional rail’. The current maximum speed, set by the state based on both train equipment and track condition, is 79 mph. But actual speeds on Capitol Corridor are often about 55 mph, reaching 79 mph only on some stretches. Though the trainsets are theoretically capable of 125 mph, it would require significant improvement of track quality and better trainset maintenance to accomplish this.