Under Caltrans’ management, Amtrak’s San Joaquin line grew from eight daily trains — four northbound, four southbound — in 1998 to 12 last year. But during the same period, the Capitol Corridor line between Sacramento and Oakland, which is managed by a joint agency rather than Caltrans, increased the number of daily trains from eight to 32.
“When you look at regional governance, the Capitol Corridor is a good model,” Leavitt said. “We think that by doing this, Caltrans will still be a big partner, but we’ll be able to be more responsive to the needs of passengers and to people who don’t ride trains but might if we can reach out to them better.”
San Joaquin County was the first to join the new agency, followed by Sacramento, Stanislaus, Merced, Contra Costa, Tulare, Madera and Alameda counties.
Kings County and Kern County have declared that they don’t plan to join, said Thomas Reeves, a spokesman for the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
The members of the joint agency will be looking for ways to pay for improvements to the freight railroad lines now shared by Amtrak so they can accommodate even more passenger trains and shorten travel times, providing a service that can attract even more passengers.
The first meeting of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority is set for March 22 in Merced. A formal takeover of the train service won’t happen until at least June 2014. Between now and then, the new agency will be working with Caltrans on myriad legal agreements necessary for the transfer.
A similar effort is under way to form a joint agency to take over the management of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner coastal corridor from Caltrans.
“We believe that three joint agencies working with the state can strengthen rail service throughout California,” Leavitt said.