n TRANSPORTATION
I
t’s safe to say Jeffrey Callison never gives a thought to Sacramento area, especially in the past five years,” says
the Transcontinental Railroad when his alarm wakes Capitol Corridor spokesperson Karan Bakar.
him at 5:25 a.m., even though May 10 marks the TCRR’s
150th anniversary.
ALL ABOARD
Without it — and the 200,000-plus miles of track Such numbers are ref lective of an ongoing commuter mi-
that followed because of it — he wouldn’t be commuting gration that is gaining momentum.
to work by train.
“The data show us that Sacarameto is the No. 1 place
Callison drives from his Lincoln home at 6:40 a.m. to that Bay Area residents move to and that the Bay Area is the
catch the 7:02 a.m. train from Roseville Station, which second most preferred market for residents leaving Sacra-
delivers him to Sacramento Valley Station on I Street 22 mento,” says Elizabeth Myers, research and strategy man-
minutes later. From there, he walks the mile-and-a-half ager for the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.
to his job as assistant director of communications for the
Last year, 27,116 people moved to the six-county greater
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Sacramento area from the 10-county Bay Area, according to
On rainy days, he leaves Sacramento Valley Station and the U.S. Census Bureau.
boards a nearby light rail train that drops him a block from
But there’s a caveat: During that same time, 17,681 peo-
his office.
ple moved out of Sacramento and headed to the Bay Area,
He repeats the process at the end of the day, catching a net migration to Sacramento from the Bay Area of 9,435.
the 5:22 p.m. train back to Roseville. It’s a round trip he’s
However, many of the workers seeking a more afford-
done for 7 1/2 years.
able lifestyle in Sacramento “have
“It’s very relaxing, even though
maintained their jobs in the Bay
the train seems more crowded and
Area, as well as their friends, fam-
busier than when I first started
ily and other connections,” Bakar
taking it, as does the parking lot
says. “At the same time, traffic [on
around the station,” he says. “Still,
interstate highways] has gotten
I’m glad I don’t have to deal with
worse, and people don’t want to
the stress of commute driving,
deal with it.”
which I have done.”
Bay Area planning studies in-
The biggest change Callison
dicate that 125,000 new jobs will
has seen is to Sacramento Valley
become available in San Francisco
Station. “When I started taking
in the next 20 years, and they likely
Capitol Corridor, the tracks and
will be filled by train commuters.
platforms had not been realigned,
Such an expansion will require up-
and the main station building
grades.
— Karan Bakar, spokesperson, Capitol Corridor
hadn’t been refurbished.”
“The safety of our passengers is
Callison is a veteran among
Capitol Corridor’s No. 1 priority,”
a growing number of passengers
says Capitol Corridor Managing
(two-thirds are commuters) who
Director David Kutrosky. “Regular
regularly travel by rail on Capitol Corridor, the major pas- periodic maintenance is performed on all of the Capitol
senger-train path managed by the Capitol Corridor Joint Corridor locomotives, passenger cars and stations. We also
Powers Authority and operated by Amtrak. Connecting work closely with our operating partners to ensure that the
Sacramento and Placer counties to the Bay Area, it’s a 170- tracks, signals, bridges and other rail infrastructure are in
mile, 18-stop journey running through eight counties from state-of-the-art repair to ensure the Capitol Corridor trains
Auburn to San Jose.
can safely and reliably operate at maximum speeds.”
Last year, the train service carried 1.7 million passen-
gers (up 6 percent from 2017) and had a 43 percent increase UPGRADING THE RAIL
in new riders. This makes it the third-busiest route in the In 2013, the CCJPA board of directors asked its staff to
Amtrak system, after the Northeast and Southern Califor- “demonstrate a transformative service for the Northern
nia corridors.
California Megaregion.” For instance, Kutrosky says new
“A big factor that drives our ridership growth is the cars and locomotives will be purchased within two years.
shift of people moving out of the Bay Area to the greater The ultimate goal, according to the plan: “A modern rail-
“A big factor that drives
our ridership growth is the
shift of people moving out of
the Bay Area to the greater
Sacramento Area, especially
in the past five years.”
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comstocksmag.com | May 2019