And other California Corridor statistics.
Reported by DAVID B. KUTROSKY, Managing Director

Ridership for FY2013 continues to drop compared to last year’s historical
highs. For March 2013, 145,271 passengers used the Capitol Corridor,
representing a 4.7% drop compared to March 2012. Revenue for March 2013 has
showed a negligible decrease of 0.4% versus March 2012. On-time
performance (OTP) continued to be solid and above standard at 94% with
year-to-date system operating ratio at 52%, on par with business plan
projections.

I have not yet received detailed statistics on March 2013 ridership, but
based on the February 2013 and prior month results we will be looking at
the four stations that have been experiencing significant declines in
ridership [-10% or worse] — Sacramento, Davis, Roseville, and
Richmond . We will also evaluate the previously poorly performing midday
trains. I anticipate that weekend trains will continue the trend of
improved ridership due to the 50% online discount for weekend travel.

Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority

Continued Reduction in Service Delays

Service delays continue to decline due to the efforts of our service
partners. Of the 850 Capitol Corridor trains that were operated in March
2013, only 47 (or 6%) were late. There were sixteen days in March when all
trains are arrived on-time, representing “100% on time” days for the
Capitol Corridor. Only four late trains (9% of total late trains) were
attributable to mechanical malfunctions thanks to the diligence of Amtrak
and CCJPA mechanical staff . Twelve (12) Capitol Corridor trains were late
(nearly 25% of all late trains) on one day due to the early morning
derailment of a Union Pacific worktrain on March 5, 2013 at the most
heavily traveled segment of the corridor between Richmond and Hercules.
Delays due to bridge lifts of the Suisun-Martinez rail drawbridge in March
2013 were down significantly — a 15% reduction in incidents and a decrease
of 35% in delay-minutes. This reduction in delays is directly attributable
to a revised protocol developed and implemented by the UPRR, Coast Guard,
Amtrak, CCJPA and the Bar Pilots (tugboat operators).

Project Updates

Oakland-San Jose Phase 2 Project; The CCJPA is currently working with passenger rail agencies in Northern California (ACE, San Joaquin/Caltrans,
Caltrain) and the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) on the
CHSRA’s Year 2018 High Speed Train (HST) Blended Service Plan. This
planning effort includes the development of an integrated, comprehensive
service expansion plan and train schedule to utilize and connect with the
CHSRA HST First Construction Segment (FCS) between Bakersfield and
Fresno/Madera. Included in these efforts is the CCJPA’s Capitol Corridor
Oakland-San Jose Phase 2 Project, which identifies an initial list of track
infrastructure projects to allow for the expansion of Capitol Corridor
train service from 14 to 22 daily trains to/from Silicon Valley/San Jose.
Both host railroads for the Project, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and
Caltrain, have been actively involved in the development of the projects to
support Year 2018 HST Blended Service Plan and are currently conducting
network simulation modeling exercises to confirm previously identified
track capacity projects to support the CCJPA 22-train (and the ACE
12-train) service expansion plan to San Jose/Silicon Valley. At this
point, the CCJPA is now ready to advance the design plans and complete the
environmental documentation for the Project, which include subprojects that
will provide track capacity for the ACE service expansion plan. The 2012
State Transportation Improvement Program includes funds [$3.53 million] to
support the pre-development work for the project, which were allocated by
the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to the CCJPA at its March 5,
2013 meeting. Initial design efforts and any required environmental review
are expected to begin later this summer.

Sacramento-Roseville 3rd Track Project

Environmental Review/Preliminary Engineering. Initial design has been completed on the proposed alignments for the 3rd track and potential sites for the proposed relocation of the Roseville Station, which, when constructed, will allow for the operation of 20 trains to/from Roseville. Numerous meetings have occurred and are set in the near term with the UPRR and the City of Roseville to elicit their
comments on the various alignment alternatives and potential station
relocation options. The next step is to take the input from these project
partners and resolve any differences in alignment preferences and develop a
cost estimate for the design elements that may resolve the alignment
differences.

Summary

Monthly ridership for FY2013 continues to drop compared to last year’s
historical highs. Year-to-date, ridership is 3.9% below last year.
Despite this ridership decline, other performance measures are pointing in
the right direction. Year-to-date, revenues are up 1.5%, system operating
ratio is meeting business plan standard of 52%, and OTP is a respectable
94%, keeping the Capitol Corridor trains as one of the most reliable
services in the Amtrak system. The CCJPA is now working with Amtrak to
develop a revised weekday train schedule that will reallocate some of the
poorer performing late morning trains to other more attractive times that
will increase ridership, optimize revenues and maintain/reduce operating
costs. The CCJPA team working with our service partners, has achieved
progress in reducing delay-minutes and improving safety metrics along the
route and will stay focused on maintaining these achievements while also
moving ahead on completing the pre-development work for the service
expansion projects (San Jose/Salinas, Placer County) and introducing
customer enhancement initiatives (bike access/storage, e-Ticketing
upgrades).

Capitol Corridor March 2013:
– Ridership: 145,271 riders; -4.7% vs. March 2012; -3.9% vs. prior YTD
– Revenue: $2,490,328; -0.4% vs. March 2012; +1.5% vs. prior YTD
– On-Time Performance: 94%, YTD OTP of 94% (#3 in the nation).
– System Operating Ratio: 52% YTD vs. 50% in FY12
__________________________________________________
Pacific Surfliners March 2013:
– Ridership: 224,648 passengers; -4.1% vs. March 2012; +4.3% vs. prior YTD
– Ticket Revenue: +4.6% vs. March 2012; +11.6% vs. prior YTD
– On-time performance: 87% (YTD FY13 on-time performance: 87%)
__________________________________________________
San Joaquin February 2013: (Mr. Kutrosky may mean March -Ed.)
– Ridership: 104,970 passengers +7.6% vs. March 2012; +8.9% vs. prior YTD
– Ticket Revenue only: +8.9% vs. March 2012; +6.0% vs. prior YTD
– On-time performance: 63% [lower OTP due to track maintenance projects]
(YTD FY13 on-time performance: 84%)