Amtrak Capitol Corridor (California) Thread

[gprimr1]

Just making a little joke based on the numbers.

[GG14935]

Thanks a lot!

[Irish Chieftain]

Not sure why Amtrak maximizing revenue a bad thing.

I'm sure if they offered the service for free, ridership numbers would be a lot higher.

If losing a few passengers to higher fares is more than offset by increased total revenue, I think that makes it a sound business decision.

I've never heard of airlines operating like that; drive away passengers to maximize revenue?

[jck]

Irish,

Are you being sarcastic? Airlines, on routes which there's little competition, do this all the time.

Any reasonable business will take $$ over passenger numbers, unless they're running a charity operation.

[David Benton]

Good news overall . with increased fuel prices (even if not in the current year , adjusting to allow for previous increases ) , its not surprising fares have risen .

[mikeydc03]

OK so what I am wondering is if 15 minute turns are possible for the current trainsets at the end points? From what I have heard and seen the engineer needs to do brake tests when switching locations from cab to engine...vice versa. Also some cleaning is required like a walk through for trash maybe spray a little air freshener/febreeze. Other than that are the sets good to run all day? Is there a mileage per day restriction, or does fueling play a role in the decreased utilization? Any info would be a great help, thanks.

[ZephyrHogHead]

I would assume that a 15 min. turn on the equipment is completely possible in SAC. I know they have a team of coach cleaners there that litterally attack the train like an army once everyone is off of it.

As for any milage restrictions there are none. The equipment can run all day long back and forth. When turning the train you are correct the engineer does have to do required air tests before departing. When changing ends we cut out the brake stand on the end operating from. Then you go to the other end, cut in the brake stand. Once cut in per rule it is required to perform a "set and release" on the train from the newly cut in brake stand to ensure 100% applocation and release of the brakes at the rear of the train. When this is being performed the Conductor or Brakeman must position themselves at a location to observe the Brake pipe pressure via an air gage. Basically the will go i the locomotive or cab car and watch the reduction on the air gage and increase in air. After this the only other brake test is a "running brake test". This is done when you leave the depot, before you reach 20mph. The engineer has to make a sufficient brake pipe reduction to slow the train, thus assesing the condition and effectiveness of the brakes. This give us a general idea of how well a train will brake for us since some of them brake very well and other dont brake worth a sh^t.

Hope this helped you !!

[mattmason]

Personally, I think the Capitol Corridor has the best equipment utilization around. They took what they had and was able to add extra trains without buying more trains. Gene has done an EXCELLENT job on this line and may he live forever to see it through.

I can remembr when the Metroliners had only one round trip from DC to Sunnyside scheduled a day. I think some of the CC equipment makes a full two round trips a day.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Mr. Hoghead, have you got an Agreement on your property regarding "Short Turnarounds' that enable T&E on runs less than 80 miles to have more than one run from their Home Terminal as part of a "Day"?

[ZephyrHogHead]

Mr.Norman,

Our current agreement has no milage restrictions on it. when i was on csx we did work based on milage but amtrak works purely off of hourly wages and turns. we can infact work a turn out of our home terminal, work back to that terminal, and then work another job out again. i have done this on trains 5 and 6 where i work out on say a monday come back tuesday and then turn back out that same tuesday after my arrival.

per our agreement doing such is looked at as a purely "voluntary action". when working a trun around job the carrier will make it work one of two ways. you can work out of terminal to end point and then directly back or you can work down and get a 4 hour cut and work back. the 4 hour cut is more ideal for pay purposes as you get a second timeslip for working back to your terminal. not to mention it allows you to work the balance of the 12 hours when you take a 4 hour break. so you can essentially pick up where you left off on your hours of service.

in the event that an engineer elects to work a second job the same day, due to being called and asked such in the case of an emergency (i.e. no engineers left in the crew base to work) then we can claim a penalty for time and a half during our "new" tour of duty being that 1. it is a called in emergency situation, and 2. it is a second start same day. although, the second start same day claims are more recognized on the corridor than out west. best claim out here is to claim called in emergency calim time and half account such.

hope this has answered your question. let me know if there is anything else i may be able to further explain for you.

[Douglas John Bowen]

Just to show that it's hard for any of us to keep up with current reality, data, "facts," or figures, we at NJ-ARP note that the Capitol Corridor's booming ridership, ongoing now for at least two years, makes it a third "success story" for Amtrak, even if Amtrak itself isn't the driving force. So that's three, not two, locales (adding to the NEC and "SoCal") where Amtrak service makes a difference.

In fairness, we note that all three remain within Sen. McCain's definition of where Amtrak works and where it doesn't. But we at NJ-ARP remember when passenger rail critics insisted only the Northeast Corridor worked. Then--oops!--they begrudgingly added a second. We (if no one else) now see at least a third. That hard-and-fast line keeps slipping and sliding.

[John_Perkowski]

Moderator's Note:

Split from the Boston.com op-ed thread.

[gprimr1]

I rode on the capital corridor/San Joaquin service on my trip, and I can say that it is a success. The cafe car was actually well done, in good condition with an assortment of decent foods.

Hopefully, this corridor can receive additional funding to cut down on the amount of busing needed.

[Fan Railer]

It took me forever to get these two clips uploaded, considering they're around 2.5 hours each. Hard to sit through and watch, but they still make for great background audio. Enjoy =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx5Vuv8z2uw - Amtrak Exclusive: Capitol Corridor Train 528 From Fremont to Sacramento 7-5-12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wlmtL5geuY - Amtrak Exclusive: Capitol Corridor Train 543 From Sacramento to Fremont 7-5-12

[Jersey_Mike]

If you ride the Starlight you can get a good camera angle out the back and a non-tinted window. I used to try side-window videos, but the tint, light reflection and restricted angle convinced me to just not bother. Here's a 20 minute segment I took out the back on Train 79 back in May when a rain front made taking stills through the two panes of tinted rear Amfleet glass impossible. I use standard def because the wide screen doesn't work when going through both rear doors, a problem not encountered on Superliner stock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUa-gR-yosc

Two more standard defs, LANE to ISELIN and LINCOLN to HAM on the NEC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lvvb_lhDwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FnhBObMy5k

And high def BAY to CHARLES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhlnJI80GEE&feature=plcp