Possible passenger trains draw interest
A passenger train connection between Chico and Sacramento has high interest locally, judging from the turnout at an online public workshop Thursday evening.
More than 100 people logged in for the Zoom meeting about the rail service, which could start as soon as 2028.
As currently envisioned, trains would leave Chico twice each morning heading south. The trains would stop in Gridley, Marysville and Plumas Lake, and on to Natomas, just north of Sacramento.
From there, a shuttle bus service would run to the Sacramento airport, and links would be available to rail passenger service extending to the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley.
Two trains would return north each evening, making the same stops northbound.
Bus service from Oroville would be coordinated to the trains’ arrivals in Gridley. A similar arrangement is planned between the Marysville station and other cities in Yuba and Sutter counties.
By 2030, the number of trains would increase to four in each direction, with two of those continuing on to Merced, where they would connect with the state’s high-speed rail system that will extend to Bakersfield
One of the other trains from Chico would go on to Union City in the South Bay. The fourth would stop in Stockton, where riders could transfer to a train to Oakland.
From Chico, the trains would deliver riders to Natomas in 75 minutes, according to those planning the potential service. It would take 90 minutes to get to midtown Sacramento, 4 hours to get to Union City in the South Bay, and 2 hours and 30 minutes to get to Merced.
Questions about what a ride between Chico and Natomas would cost were deferred Thursday night as that hasn’t yet been determined. However Dan Leavitt — regional initiatives manager for the agencies that operate Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains — said fares would be similar to those on that line.
Currently a train ride from Merced to Stockton costs $14. That is roughly comparable to the distance between Chico and Natomas.
Public input
Participants in Thursday evening’s workshop were able to ask questions via chat, and were asked to answer several poll questions.
The poll indicated 67% of those logged in were from Chico. Sacramento was a desired destinations for 90% of respondents and the Bay Area for 68%. (Poll takers could make more than one choice.) Although the train would be scheduled as a commuter line, only 36% said they would use it for that. Instead, 85% of respondents said they would use it for leisure and recreation, and 40% for business. Comments indicated the link to the Sacramento airport was important.
Questions included whether the train service might be expanded, including more stops and an extension north to Redding. Repeatedly it was emphasized that what is being proposed is just a starting point, and additions were possible in the future.
For example, the trains from Chico would not stop at the Sacramento Valley Station in Sacramento, which is the eastern terminus of the popular Capitol Corridor commuter trains to the Bay Area. Instead they’d stop at the Midtown Sacramento Station. Those wanting to board the Capitol Corridor would have to shuttle to the other station
BCAG’s point man on the train project, Chris Devine explained there simply isn’t capacity on existing rails now, and waiting until there is could delay service another decade.
“It’s definitely a connection we want to make,” he said, “but it’s not going to happen by 2030.”
The Zoom session was recorded, and should be posted on the web in the next week or so at http:// www.bcag.org/Planning/ North-Valley-PassengerRail-Strategic-Plan/index. html. The site also includes ways to comment or ask questions. Additional public workshops are planned
Consultants will also be at the March 4 farmers market in Chico to hear from residents.
How it would work
The passenger service between Chico and Natomas would be an extension of the existing Amtrak San Joaquin trains. They now run between Bakersfield and Stockton, and between Stockton and Oakland.
Construction is expected to start next year on a $1.6 billion expansion north to Elk Grove, Sacramento and Natomas.
Commuter trains from Stockton to Union City in the South Bay — the Altamont Corridor Express — are also operated by the consortium that operates the San Joaquin trains.
That group, consisting of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and the San Joaquin Joint Powers Agency, has been talking with the Butte County Association of Governments about an extension to Butte County since 2018.
In 2021, a $500,000 Caltrans grant was approved to see if what’s being called North Valley Rail would work. That planning process is what’s underway now.
So far potential station sites have been identified, some scheduling assumptions have been made, and discussions have taken place with Union Pacific, which owns the tracks the passenger trains would run on.
The railroad has indicated some improvements would be necessary to fit passenger trains into its freight schedule on the line through Chico. Most of the route is “single track,” meaning there’s only one set of rails. Second, parallel sets of tracks are necessary to allow northbound and southbound trains to pass. UP has indicated more “double track” stretches would be needed.
The railroad would not pay for them, although it would take ownership of them when they are completed.
“Their position is that any capacity improvements are to allow for passenger train slots,” said Leavitt. “The tracks work fine for them now.”
Union Pacific will have to approve any passenger service on its tracks, which is one of the things that could prevent it from happening.
The other potential barrier is funding. It would cost an estimated $500 million to get the passenger trains to Chico. Most of the money would have to come from the state, but this is the kind of project Sacramento has been supportive of.
“We feel pretty confident there’s money available,” said Devine.