Service Performance Overview The Capitol Corridor set a record for monthly ridership and revenues in. A total of 141,520 passengers rode Capitol Corridor trains during the month, representing a remarkable 11% Year-over-Year (YoY) growth. Revenue for was an exceptional 7.2% over July 2017. The FYTD 18 System Operating Ratio remained at 57%, well above the FY 18 standard of 52%. Customer Satisfaction rose to 88% for June 2018 (the most recent result), edging closer to the FY 18 standard of 90% as On-Time Performance (OTP) improved in July to 95%. July s OTP represents a steady improvement over the June 2018 OTP of 91%. This superior service reliability in June and July is due to a steep reduction in host railroad (Union Pacific) signal delay minutes and improved mechanical performance of the Capitol Corridor locomotives by Amtrak. The following are ridership highlights for : Average weekend ridership for was up 4.3% compared to July 2017 due to the Buy One Get One promotion, which is available to riders through the end of September 2018. Average weekday ridership for continued on a positive trend, with an 8.6% YoY increase due to the robust economy and job growth in Northern California. State and Federal Legislation and Funding Upcoming November 6, 2018 Ballot Measure State Proposition (Prop) 6 Repeal of the Road Repair and Accountability Act: If passed by voters, Prop 6 would repeal a state gas tax increase and other transportation fees enacted by the State Legislature in April 2017 via Senate Bill (SB) 1. SB 1 increased state transportation funds by approximately $5 billion per year after decades of underinvestment by the State. The primary goal of SB 1 is to restore the condition of the state highway system and local streets and roads while increasing funds for local transit, commuter/intercity passenger trains, and pedestrian/bicycle facilities. In addition to canceling all revenue sources added by SB 1, Prop 6 stipulates that any tax on motor vehicle fuel or vehicles must be subject to a vote by the people, retroactive to January 1, 2017. As a result, Prop 6 would eliminate funding in the near term and limit the options to restore any lost funds in the future. Prop 6 would cut all SB 1 funding, which represents nearly half of local governments transportation money for roads, streets, transit services, and pedestrian/bicycle facilities. The impact to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) from the passage of Prop 6 would be immediate, as SB1 funds recently received by the CCJPA have been invested in safety and reliability projects that resulted in improved system OTP through signal upgrades and the clearing of debris and repairing barriers along the tracks. Other projects impacted by the passage of Prop 6 would include: Oakland-San Jose Phase 2A Project (15-minute travel time reductions to/from San Jose), the Sacramento-Roseville 3 rd Track Project (up to 20 daily
trains to/from Roseville), and the replacement and upgrade of the Passenger Information Display System. The CCJPA Board of Directors will take a formal position on Prop 6 at its September 19, 2018 meeting. State Legislative Matters CCJPA Support Positions Assembly Bill (AB) 2034 (Kalra) Human Trafficking Training/Rail Transit Agencies: This bill would require all rail transit agencies in the State to have a comprehensive human trafficking training program for their respective operations and security staff members. The general specifications on this training will be developed by the CA Department of Justice if AB 2034 is enacted. Both the CCJPA and Amtrak staff have met with the author s staff and have supported the provisions of this bill. Status: Referred to Comm on Approps on June 20. Federal Legislation Notice of Funding Opportunities The Federal Rail Administration (FRA), as the grantor of the federal FAST Act Rail Title funds, has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the following appropriated federal funds: FY 18 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) [$318M]: Competitive grants will finance improvements to passenger and freight rail services in terms of safety, efficiency, and reliability. Positive Train Control (PTC) and other technology items, as well as rail line relocation, are also eligible for funding. A 20% match is required, with 50% encouraged. Grant applications are due in mid-september 2018. The CCJPA intends to submit an application to support the environmental documentation and preliminary engineering for the shift in service to the Coast Subdivision between Oakland and Newark. FY 17 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) [$65.2M]: In June 2018, the CCJPA joined an application led by Caltrans that would provide funding for PTC along two sections of the Coast Subdivision, between Gilroy and San Luis Obispo and between Oakland and Newark, as well as a new crossover and siding in Santa Clara to improve service reliability between San Jose and Oakland. Project selections have not yet occurred. These federal funding opportunities mark a vast improvement over prior appropriations and represent support from Congress in state-supported Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) services. With the recent allocations of new SB 1 revenues, the CA IPR services are strongly positioned to secure federal program funds. Proposed Federal FY 19 Budget On February 12, 2018, the President introduced his budget proposal for FY 19. The proposal includes the transferring of management and financial support of the longer distance trains (more than 750 route miles) to states, while flat-lining financing for state-supported IPR services. Recently, the House and Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee released their respective proposals for the FY 19 FRA funding grants (see table below), illustrating another strong year of funding if such appropriations are included in the FY 19 federal budget.
The next steps will be for the two Appropriations Committees to develop a compromise conference report, which will then be included in any approved FY 19 budget. If no such actions are taken prior to October 1, 2018, then it is likely that a Continuing Resolution (CR) will be enacted until formal action on the FY 19 Budget is passed. Customer Service Program Upgrades Bike Access Program: With the installation of secure electronic bicycle lockers at all stations complete, the next initiatives underway by CCJPA staff include development of the folding bicycle rental service project; gradual installation of new angled bike racks to increase onboard bike storage capacity; and completion of design for updated bike storage on two Amtrak Superliner cars in the Capitol Corridor service rotations. Café Car Update: Minor menu changes are slated for July, when prices on some items will increase slightly and some items will be eliminated to streamline operations. Café Cars will also be the first to receive the new On Board Information Sign (OBIS) displays, as part of OBIS testing taking place this summer. Marketing & Communications Advertising/Offers: Capitol Corridor s Buy One, Get One Saturdays is valid through the end of September 2018, while Friends & Family runs at least through the end of the year. As part of the FY 18 Advertising plan, all Capitol Corridor offers are being aggressively marketed through the end of August in the service area s key markets through a comprehensive media mix of digital, social, out-of-home, email, and radio. With the CCJPA Board approval of a new FY 19 advertising contract, marketing staff will meet later this summer with the ad agency to begin planning for post-august offers and advertising. Social Engagement/Partnerships/Events: Staff implemented two social media contests with partners in July one for tickets to Great America and one for tickets to San Jose Summer Jazz Fest and continued to work on activation of other marketing partnerships including the Oakland A s, Giants Enterprises, the Sacramento River Cats, Sac Republic, Visit Oakland, and Live Nation (request has been submitted and approved for a special late train for the Beyonce/JayZ concert at Levi s Stadium on September 29, 2018.) With football season around the corner, staff is also preparing for its execution of partnerships with the Raiders and 49ers (Levi s Stadium), including the 25% travel discount for home Raiders games and late-train service for a number of Raiders and 49ers games that have end times past Capitol Corridor s last return trains. New contracts: During the month of July, marketing staff implemented contracts for the following consultants: social media, web development, graphic design, and strategic partnership development, as well as contracts for an FY 2018-19 Climate Corp fellow and support of California Operation Lifesaver s Rail Safety Month digital campaign.
Other: Staff is involved in developing signage projects for stations to assist passengers in wayfinding and information. Staff also continues to work on communications related to a number of upcoming projects including PTC and OBIS. Safety and Service Reliability Initiatives Station Safety Upgrades: Amtrak has continued installation of security cameras at the Auburn, Rocklin, Roseville, and Suisun stations. This project also includes installation of lighting and a wayside power system at the Auburn layover site. Completion of these projects is expected by the end of summer 2018. Positive Train Control Update: Union Pacific (UP) and Amtrak continue to work together to launch PTC on Capitol Corridor trains. While the initial testing that began in mid-july indicated the basic systems performed as required, the parties are addressing discrepancies found during the testing. As of this writing, more than 75% of the state-owned Northern California rail vehicles (locomotives and cab control cars) have been commissioned by Amtrak and are ready for field testing and revenue service once the discrepancies have been addressed. Discussions continue with Caltrain on their installation plans and subsequent launch of PTC along the Caltrain corridor (SF-San Jose). State Rail Assistance (SRA) Funded Projects: Using the funds provided by the State of California under SB 1, Capitol Corridor has begun several improvement projects. Two projects being executed by UP are underway, the first of which is a series of signal upgrades to improve the reliability of the railroad and help avoid episodic delays. The initial set of improvements is expected to be complete in the summer of 2018. CCJPA staff will continue to work with UP to identify and execute additional improvements to the railroad signal system using this same funding source. The second UP project will establish a permanent right-of-way (ROW) abatement crew to improve safety and security along the route. This crew will remove debris and encampments, install and repair security fencing, and construct access deterrents to help reduce trespassing and related incidents. This work, which commenced in, should improve Capitol Corridor s OTP. In addition to these two projects, the SRA program is funding an initiative to replace and upgrade the California Passenger Information Display System and to support the rail relocation and service improvement project between Oakland and San Jose. Project Updates Travel Time Savings Project: UP has completed the final stage of the work remaining to adjust their railroad signal system to accommodate higher train speeds. The CCJPA, Amtrak, and UPRR will then conduct ride studies to verify the time savings. The intent is to reduce run times by up to 10 minutes for Capitol Corridor trains between Sacramento and San Jose. Sacramento-Roseville 3rd Track/Phase 1 Project: The design consultant has begun work on the final design of this Phase I project, with the 10% design plans submitted and currently under review by the CCJPA and UP. UP has begun providing design support and will also complete the railroad signal design plans later in the design phase. Current work by the design consultant includes site surveying. At present, the design is expected to be completed in late 2020. Following the completion of the design and then construction of the improvements, this Phase 1 project will permit the addition of two daily round trips between Sacramento and Roseville. Renewable Diesel Pilot Program Status Report: Staff, in partnership with Amtrak, has completed the testing of renewable diesel fuels on our test locomotive (the California F-59). This pilot program included coordination with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Testing began in early September 2017, with a companion locomotive to protect service, and in late October 2017, the locomotive operated as the sole power unit on the weekday test trains (#529/#536 Auburn-Oakland run). During the testing period, there have been no
noticeable changes in the performance of the locomotive, nor has there been any significant loss of power or equipment damage. On December 29, 2017, California Air Resources Board (CARB) personnel completed their emissions testing of the locomotive. Staff is awaiting the results from CARB s lab-based tests to determine emission rates by comparing the results from the typical petrol-based diesel fuels versus the piloted renewable diesel. The CCJPA and Caltrans are in discussions with Cummins (the manufacturer of the Charger locomotive engines) to determine if testing renewable diesel will have no impact on the Charger warranty. If approved by Cummins, renewable diesel fuel will be tested on a new Charger locomotive. If all tests show that renewable diesel is operationally suitable, the CCJPA will shift towards the use of renewable diesel for normal operations. Outlook Closing Through the first 10 months of FY 18, all performance indicators continue to improve. Ridership and revenues are above standard, operating costs continue to be under budget, and actions to address service reliability issues have resulted increase in end-point OTP to 90%, meeting the state standard. As expected, this return to the 90% OTP standard has resulted in higher customer satisfaction scores. Keeping safety at the forefront, the CCJPA and its service partners are diligently working to implement PTC on select trains by September, with a rollout to the entire fleet by November 2018. Over the next three months, the CCJPA will seek allocations of funds to support the various stages of development for the Sacramento-Roseville 3rd Track /Phase 1 project and the Oakland-San Jose Project/Phase 2A.