Return of the "Daylight"

[Allouette]

The Coast Line is mostly ABS/TWC, with a mix of old SP searchlights and tri-lights (the searchlights may be gone by now...). I don't think the traffic density will trigger PTC as a requirement, more likely it's a political requirement in California.

[MattW]

Actually I believe Class 1 railroads that host passenger service must have PTC on those segments. Smaller railroads require a certain number of passenger trains before triggering the PTC requirement.

[gokeefe]

I think that's correct. As I recall Pan Am being a Class II was part of the reason they were able to get a waiver in the first place. This allowed Amtrak up to 12 trains (6 round-trips) per day for the Downeaster.

I'm kind of fascinated by the "Coast Sub" as a track segment. I would have never imagined track owned by a Class I railroad in California that was so lightly utilized.

[WhartonAndNorthern]

Actually I believe Class 1 railroads that host passenger service must have PTC on those segments. Smaller railroads require a certain number of passenger trains before triggering the PTC requirement.

I googled the CFR:

(6)New rail passenger service. No new intercity or commuter rail passenger service shall commence after December 31, 2020, until a PTC system certified under this subpart has been installed and made operative.

I did not know that! I thought it would sneak under the thresholds since it was around 4 passenger a day plus a few freights.
The full cite is 49 CFR 236.1005(b)(6)

Edit: Had it been existing service then 49 CFR 236.1019(c)(3) might have applied. Downeaster probably falls under the c(2) exemption

[D.S. Lewith]

Apparently, if I read this link correctly, there are two rail projects underway for the CRCC region.
(1) A Caltrain extension underway from Gilroy to Salinas that will reach downtown San Francisco.
(2) An Amtrak train being planned from Oakland to Los Angeles using recent FRA funds to install PTC between Oakland and San Louis Obispo.

Doesn’t the existing Coast Starlight need these PTC improvements anyways?
And improving the bus service between Salinas and SLO is apart of the Caltrain extension service above.

I do not think a new Daylight service will be a slam dunk yet, it may or may not happen.

There's a significant travel market with high frequency air shuttle service. Rail is underutilized and has minimal freight interference. Intermediate points have minimal service to/from urban centers. And to top it all off the highways are heavily congested.

Sounds like a classic case for new service to me. Agreed that end to end wouldn't be competitive against air. But a lot of other city pairs definitely would be.

There's gonna be improvements regardless. Some areas will need completely new tracks

* There is a long, winding, single-track route between Santa Margarita and San Luis Obispo, a legacy of the old SP Coast Line. Building a rail tunnel between SLO and Santa Margarita will speed up the traffic significantly.

Other improvements
* As the UP Coast Line has a dozen freights a day, acquiring the remainder of the line (between Tamien and Ventura) should be fairly doable. Caltrain/PBJX can get the Tamien-Salinas segment, CRCC gets the Salinas-Goleta segment, and Metrolink/SCAX can get the Goleta-Ventura segment.
* New SLO-Goleta line. This will will follow US-101 more closely, serving more cities as it bypasses Vandenberg AFB.
* Rebuilding the Salinas-Santa Margarita line. This section is fairly flat and straight, so grade-separating it to eliminate all grade crossings should be easy.
* Santa Barbara-Ventura rebuid. This will largely relocate the tracks to be along the US-101 corridor.
* New Ventura-LAUS line. This is the most extreme part of an improved Pacific Surfliner+Coast Daylight Route in terms of the amount of construction, as this will involved not only new tracks but a wholly new route and tunnels through the mountains.
* Electrification: This could be carried in stages, starting from Tamien-Salinas, then to SLO (this will include a new rail tunnel), then to Santa Barbara, then to Ventura, and then to LAUS.

Rolling stock-wise, Amtrak would still be using the Chargers/Geneses+Superliners and soon Calidot cars. As electrification proceeds, Amtrak will use ACS-64s on the electrified route, mandating an engine switch to the nonelectrified parts. Once the whole route is electrified, Amtrak will use only electrics

[gokeefe]

My understanding thus far is that "as proposed" UP would have maintained ownership of all of their existing segments.