Special Message to Riders - December 2025

Dear Riders, 

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. I want to take a moment to talk about the past few weeks, both what went well and where we fell short.  

Some of you experienced significant delays, and in some cases our communications did not reach you as quickly as they should have.  

On Wednesday, December 3, a trespasser incident in Berkeley required both tracks to be closed for several hours while railroad personnel and first responders were on scene. This resulted in delays of up to two to three hours on multiple trains and one cancellation. Our first customer notification went out later than it should have, and I understand how frustrating that was for many of you. We are reviewing our processes so that information reaches you more quickly in the future.  

Even as we work through these challenges, there is also encouraging news about how the service is performing overall. Thanksgiving week was our highest ridership since 2019, with more than 31,000 passengers traveling and nearly 6,000 riders on our busiest day. Several trains carried more than 500 passengers, and many exceeded 400. 

As of Monday, December 8, full service has returned, with 15 weekday round trips (30 weekday trains) and 22 weekend trains, bringing us back to pre-pandemic service levels for the first time in more than five years. To support this growth, we’ll be adding more equipment to the service over the coming months. Your feedback has been essential in shaping these schedule adjustments, and we will keep listening as you experience the new schedule.  

We know there is more to do. We are re-evaluating our real-time alert tools, improving coordination with our operating partners, and tightening internal processes so that updates reach you more consistently. You deserve clear communication and my team, and I are committed to delivering it.  

Thank you for your patience, for sharing your feedback, and for continuing to ride with us. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on the train.