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Dear Riders,
I want to take a moment to share an update about a temporary change in Capitol Corridor service over the coming weeks and explain what we’re doing to improve reliability.
Over the past month, some of you have experienced canceled trains or last-minute service changes. We know how disruptive this can be, especially for those who rely on our trains for daily commutes, and we appreciate your patience as we work through these challenges.
To reduce the risk of ongoing, unplanned cancellations and provide more consistent service, we will be implementing a temporary, planned service reduction beginning Monday, January 26, through Friday, February 27. While this is not an easy decision, it allows us to focus available equipment on the remaining service and deliver a more reliable experience overall.
During this period, the following trains will not operate:
- Train 520
- Train 526
- Train 534
- Train 531
- Train 537
The primary issue we are facing right now is limited locomotive availability. Capitol Corridor shares a fleet of locomotives with the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority who manage the Gold Runner. Under normal conditions, we rely on additional standby locomotives to fill in when mechanical issues occur. In recent weeks, those standby locomotives have not been available, which has made it more difficult to recover quickly from mechanical problems and has led to an increase in cancellations.
At the same time, work is underway to address these challenges. We are pursuing the short-term lease of additional locomotives, and our mechanical teams are actively returning sidelined equipment to service. Longer term, Caltrans is moving forward with a comprehensive program to overhaul our older locomotives that will strengthen fleet reliability for the years ahead.
We recognize the great inconvenience this temporary change may have on your travel plans. Our team has worked carefully to identify the least disruptive adjustments possible, and we will continue to monitor conditions closely. As locomotive availability improves, we will move quickly to restore full service and keep you informed every step of the way. In the meantime, we will publish the temporary schedule to our website this evening.
Thank you for your patience, your feedback, and for continuing to ride Capitol Corridor. We remain committed to providing safe, reliable service and clear communication, and we appreciate your continued trust as we work through this period.
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Sincerely,
Rob Padgette
Managing Director, Capitol Corridor
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