Capitol Corridor Awarded $42.51 Million from the Federal Railroad Administration

Amtrak Capitol Corridor train.

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Oakland, Calif. – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced it has awarded $42.51 million to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, to complete Phase 1 of its Sacramento to Roseville Third Track Project (SR3T). Once completed, two additional roundtrips will be added between Sacramento and Roseville.  

“This is a significant grant. It’s the first federal funding awarded to CCJPA under the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the first federal investment in our service since 2009,” said Capitol Corridor Managing Director Robert Padgette. “These investments will provide better connections, reliability, and safety for more people throughout the region.” 

CCJPA is actively pursuing other state and federal support for rail enhancement projects along the Capitol Corridor’s 170-mile corridor from Auburn to San Jose. The CRISI award will close the remaining funding gap, enabling the completion of the Phase 1 project. The state of California will provide a 71.9 percent non-federal match. This is one of the twelve Northern California Megaregional projects supported by the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG). 

The heavily traveled rail corridor owned by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) serves Capitol Corridor, Amtrak Long Distance service and UP freight traffic. In 2008, CCJPA and UP identified the third track project was needed for development in two phases: 

The first phase of the project will allow two additional round trips over the current one round trip for a total of three round trips.  

The second phase would add an additional seven round trips for a total of ten round trips to/from Roseville. Additional improvements include new railroad signals; existing track rehabilitation of a detour track to facilitate the project construction phasing; utility relocation; retaining walls, crash walls, a new railroad bridge over Dry Creek; a new CCJPA Layover facility, safety enhancements to two public and three private at-grade crossings along the alignment, and additional right-of-way security fencing to deter trespassers. CCJPA is nearing the 90 percent design completion and is working to secure additional right-of-way in preparation of entering the construction phase of the project in late 2024.