History of Amtrak California
December 21, 2007
In most states, intercity passenger train service is provided solely by Amtrak, with no assistance of any sort from State or local governments. This level of service usually includes only a few long distance trains such as the Coast Starlight or California Zephyr, with perhaps a small number of shorter distance trains operating within the State. This was the situation in California prior to 1976.
Since 1976, California has been one of several states which assist Amtrak in order to provide more service than the basic system. Through Caltrans, the State of California provides capital grants and support for station and track improvements (including signaling), locomotives and cars, connecting Amtrak bus service, and operating assistance for three corridors:
Pacific Surfliners (formerly San Diegans)
San Joaquins
Capitols 
The Amtrak Bus Service began with the realization that significant portions of the State were not rail accesible due to accidents of geography and politics. Private railroads were created to reach specific markets, and interconnection between them was not always seamless. When Amtrak was created, some of this was bridged, but in places where the operating railroads were unable or unwilling to come to an agreement with Amtrak for service provision, bus links were created to fill the gap temporarily and to gain momentum for train extensions later. 
In some cases, original bus lines have already been replaced by trains: north of Los Angeles on the Pacific Surfliners, between Sacramento and Stockton on the San Joaquins, and easterly of Sacramento on the Capitols. In other cases, work remains to be done, particularly between Bakersfield and Los Angeles. Yet, the majority of bus links are never likely to be replaced by trains, connecting smaller communities to rail heads and opening up California's northwest coast, and connecting the Central Valley to Central Coast, linking the southeastern desert communities. Today, nearly 60% of San Joaquin riders make a part of their trip by motor coach. You've probably seen our buses and our stop signs while you have been travelling the state.
Caltrans, working together with Amtrak, had increased the frequency of Pacific Surfliner trains from three round trips daily in the mid 1970's, with annual ridership around 300,000, to eleven round trips (twelve on Fridays) daily with ridership exceeding 2.6 million for the fiscal year 2005-2006. Revenue for the same period was $32.6 million
The length of the corridor has expanded incrementally over the years from the original 125 miles from San Diego to Los Angeles. First the trains were extended to Santa Barbara. In 1995, the corridor was extended to San Luis Obispo, for a total of 232 miles. In addition, Amtrak California motor coaches bridge the gap between San Luis Obispo and the Bay Area several times daily.
Now there are eleven daily round trip (twelve on weekends), with ridership approaching three million passengers annually. During this same period, commuter agencies using the same tracks and many of the same stations have developed significant ridership as well, with their weekday only rush hour services.
In the San Joaquin corridor, trains have increased from a single round trip carrying approximately 80,000 riders per year, to six round trips daily with ridership exceeding 800,000 in Fiscal 2005-2006. Revenue rose during the same period to over $26 million.
In 1991, Caltrans created the Capitol corridor between Sacramento/Roseville and San Jose where no local (non-interstate) trains had operated for over twenty years. With three trains operating daily, ridership was higher than the Pacific Surfliner ridership was when Caltrans got involved there -- approximately 400,000 per year. In Fiscal 96-97. one daily round trip was added to the Capitols, and ridership eclipsed the previous year's total by nearly 100,000. Revenue rose 6.6% during the same period to nearly $6 million. In 1998, the service was removed from Caltrans' management. Since then, frequency of service have increased to sixteen round trips daily. Ridership has reached 1.2 million in FY 2005-2006. Revenue was approximately $16 milion for the fiscal year.
At the same time, Caltrans has, through the Transit Capital Improvement Program, invested millions of dollars in repairing old stations and building new ones throughout the state, from Redding to Bakersfield, Oakland to Santa Ana. (Example: Van Nuys Station.) Although this program has been replaced for future years as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 45, Caltrans expects that some funds will continue to be available for station improvement and repairs under the SB 45 plan.
Using bond funds passed by the voters in 1992 Caltrans has designed and purchased new locomotives and cars to be used on various Caltrans supported corridors.
This combination of equipment, capital, and operating support to Amtrak by your State Transportation Department has allowed you and other Californians much greater mobility due to the orderly expansion of rail service within the State.
The passage of Proposition 1B in the fall of 2006 is expected to infuse the Amtrak California partnership with $400 million in new funds to expand passenger services and to make all passenger and freight railroad operation more efficient by improving the capacity of rail lines and the improving sidings and track signals.