SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ridership on the tax-payer funded Amtrak San Joaquins Corridor service exceeded all expectations during the month of November with a dramatic jump of 13.1 percent, according to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced.
In all, 78,577 passengers rode the line last month, compared to 69,450 in November 2006.
Under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, rail funding for Caltrans’ intercity passenger rail program has grown to $79 million annually, making it the largest state-supported program in the nation.
“This is great news for the traveling public,” Caltrans Director Will Kempton said. “Not only are we able to relieve traffic congestion by providing the traveling public a good alternative to their private vehicles, we are also helping reduce air pollution.”
The average daily train ridership on the route during the Thanksgiving holiday period totaled 30,751, an increase of 14.5 percent or 3,893 passengers from the year before.
California’s three intercity passenger rail lines are the second (Pacific Surfliner), third (Capitol Corridor) and sixth (San Joaquins) busiest in the nation.
Caltrans partners with Amtrak to provide service on three intercity rail corridors in California, which carry over four million passengers annually to over 200 destinations.
Caltrans supports train service between the Bay Area and Sacramento on the Capitol Corridor, between Oakland or Sacramento and Bakersfield on the San Joaquins, and between San Diego and San Luis Obispo (via Los Angeles and Santa Barbara) on the Pacific Surfliner.
— Business Wire
