Service alert on Capitol Corridor Options

[KevinKorell]

Capitol Corridor Service during Bay Bridge Closure - February 17-21, 2012

From 8pm on Friday, February 17 through 5am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012, Caltrans will perform extensive construction on the Bay Bridge. Bridge lanes will be closed in the westbound direction towards San Francisco. Although eastbound lanes will still be open, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains will NOT have bus connections to/from San Francisco.

Passengers will need to transfer to BART at Richmond to travel to/from San Francisco destinations. Amtrak and Caltrans staff will be at the Richmond and Embarcadero BART station stops for assistance.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our regular passengers and thank you for your cooperation. For complete details of our service adjustment during the Bay Bridge closure please visit the Capitol Corridor website at http://www.capitolcorridor.org/news or call 1 877-9-RIDECC (1-877-974-3322).
You may also call the Bay Area's 511 line, or visit http://www.baybridgeinfo.or/g to find out the latest news about Bay Area transportation alternatives during the closure. Also, http://www.BART.gov/ is your best source for BART schedules.

[BillMagee]

Although Amtrak does not have a service alert up, there are also changes for the LD trains. During the duration of the bridge closure, the buses to SF from the California Zephyr and the southbound Coast Starlight will depart from Martinez instead of Emeryville. The northbound Starlight buses will depart Oakland as usual, but will detour via the San Mateo bridge with an estimated running time of 1hr 10min to San Francisco.

I wonder if it would not have better to have the northbound Starlight bus connection at San Jose instead of Oakland thus eliminating the potential traffic issues on the San Mateo bridge.

[KevinKorell]

Forgot to mention that this was via e-mail from Capitol Corridor, not from Amtrak directly.

I wonder if it would not have better to have the northbound Starlight bus connection at San Jose instead of Oakland thus eliminating the potential traffic issues on the San Mateo bridge.

As long as BART is handling SF passengers at Richmond, why can't CalTrain handle SF passengers at San Jose from the Coast Starlight? The buses serve SFP anyhow, which is the SF CalTrain station.

[KevinKorell]

Although Amtrak does not have a service alert up....

They do now!

Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin Service: Thruway Motorcoach Service Suspended to and from San Francisco Due to Bay Bridge Closure

From 8:00 pm on Friday, February 17 through 5:00 am on Tuesday, February 21, Caltrans will perform extensive construction on the Bay Bridge. Bridge lanes will be closed in the westbound directions towards San Francisco. Although eastbound lanes will still be open, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin Thruway motorcoach connections will not be available to and from San Francisco.

Passengers traveling to and from San Francisco will transfer at the Richmond Amtrak/BART station to a San Francisco-bound Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train. Amtrak employees will be on duty at the Embarcadero and Richmond BART stations to help passengers with BART transfers. In San Francisco, passengers can use BART and limited Thruway motorcoach service to travel to their destinations, as noted below:

Westbound Travel: Getting to San Francisco

Passengers on board the train who have a San Francisco Thruway motorcoach ticket will exchange their Thruway motorcoach ticket for a BART ticket with the Café car attendant prior to the Richmond stop. BART tickets will also be provided to passengers with multi-ride tickets.

Passengers departing San Francisco may obtain a BART ticket from Amtrak employees at the Embarcadero BART station or Amtrak's Ferry Building station stop.

Passengers who do not have a San Francisco Amtrak Thruway motorcoach ticket or a multi-ride ticket, but are planning to travel into San Francisco, may purchase a BART ticket on board a Capitol Corridor or San Joaquin train from the Café car attendant. BART tickets may also be purchased at BART ticket vending machines located at BART stations.

Passengers Detraining at the Richmond Amtrak/BART Station

* Go downstairs into Richmond Amtrak/BART station. Once inside the BART station, passengers will use their BART tickets at the turnstiles to enter the BART system. BART trains to San Francisco run approximately every 20-30 minutes. Passengers should keep their BART tickets to use at their station destination to exit the BART system.
* Proceed upstairs to board a BART train destined for San Francisco Airport or San Francisco-Millbrae.
* Passengers may also use a Fremont-bound train and make a cross platform connection at the MacArthur station in Oakland for a San Francisco-bound train.

Passengers Detraining at the BART Embarcadero Station

* Exit the station using the Market and Drumm Streets exit at street level and look for Thruway motorcoaches to connect with additional San Francisco destinations.

During this period, Thruway motorcoaches will only serve the Hyatt Amtrak Thruway motorcoach stop (on Drumm at the Hyatt Regency Hotel), Pier 39 and the Ferry Building Amtrak station (at 101 Embarcadero at Mission Street).

Alternate Service to the Following Thruway Motorcoach Stops

Shopping District and Moscone: Passengers detraining at the BART Powell Street station are advised that Thruway motorcoaches will not stop at this station.

Caltrain Station: Thruway motorcoach service is not available at this station during the temporary service modification. Passengers detraining at the BART Embarcadero station should pay a separate fare for MUNI T-Third or N-Judah line train.

Eastbound Travel: Departing San Francisco to Connect to Trains in Richmond

Please allow extra time for transfers in this direction as travel on BART to the Richmond station is 40 minutes longer than regular train/bus service to Emeryville. Passengers will meet regularly scheduled Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains at Richmond. Thruway motorcoaches will pick up passengers at the Ferry Building and Pier 39 stops and take them to the Embarcadero BART station.

* Amtrak/Caltrans representatives will distribute BART tickets to Amtrak passengers holding Thruway motorcoach tickets at the Ferry Building Amtrak station.
* Amtrak/Caltrans representatives will distribute BART tickets to Amtrak passengers holding Thruway motorcoach tickets at the Embarcadero BART station (Market and Drumm Street station entrance at street level).
* Passengers may board BART at any other stop at their own expense.
* Passengers should board BART trains heading for Richmond in order to make connections with Capitol Corridor or San Joaquin trains at that station.

When traveling westbound on BART from Richmond to San Francisco, some schedules require a transfer at BART's MacArthur station in Oakland. For example, if you depart Richmond on a Fremont-bound BART train, you must transfer at MacArthur to a San Francisco Airport-bound train.

When traveling eastbound from San Francisco to Richmond, board a Richmond-bound BART train. You may also board a Pittsburg/Bay Point BART train; however you will need to transfer to a Richmond-bound BART train at the 19th Street or MacArthur stations in Oakland when traveling in this direction.

Checked Baggage

San Joaquin trains will not accommodate checked baggage to or from San Francisco February 17 through February 21, 2012.

Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin Schedule Information

On Friday and Monday (President's Day), Capitol Corridor trains will run on a weekday schedule. Saturday and Sunday Capitol Corridor trains will run on weekend/holiday schedule.

Get more detailed schedule information Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin SF Connection Schedules

Bay Bridge Closure Affects California Zephyr Thruway Motorcoach Service to San Francisco

Caltrans will perform extensive construction on the Bay Bridge, closing bridge lanes in the westbound direction towards San Francisco and affecting California Zephyr Thruway motorcoach 5005 on February 18, 19 and 20, as described below:

On February 18, 19 and 20, passengers on Train 5 who are traveling to San Francisco will detrain and board the motorcoach at Martinez instead of Emeryville. The motorcoach will operate between Martinez and San Francisco, on an alternate route via the Golden Gate and Richmond-San Rafael bridges.

(Train 5 Arrives at 3:26 pm)
Thruway Motorcoach 5005
February 18, 19 and 20, 2012

Martinez
Dp 3:35 pm

Ferry Building
Ar 4:45 pm

Fisherman's Wharf
Ar 5:00 pm

Shopping Center
Ar 5:15 pm

Caltrain Station
Ar 5:25 pm

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience.

Reservation and train status information is available on http://www.Amtrak.com/ , the free iPhone app and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Join us on http://www.facebook.com/Amtrak and follow us on http://www.twitter.com/Amtrak .

Bay Bridge Closure Affects Coast Starlight Trains 11 and 14 Thruway Motorcoach Service to San Francisco

Caltrans will perform extensive construction on the Bay Bridge, closing bridge lanes in the westbound direction towards San Francisco and affecting Coast Starlight Thruway motorcoach connections from February 17 through February 20, as described below.

Thruway Connection 6014 Schedule Change: February 17 through 20, 2012

Beginning Friday, February 17 through Monday February 20, Thruway motorcoach 6014 will operate between Oakland and San Francisco on an alternate route, arriving at all station stops later than the times shown in Amtrak printed timetables.

(Train 14 Arrives at 9:32 pm)
Thruway Motorcoach 6014
February 17 through 20, 2012

Oakland
Dp 9:50 pm

Financial District
Ar 10:55 pm

Ferry Building
Ar 11:00 pm

Fisherman's Wharf
Ar 11:15 pm

Shopping Center
Ar 11:30 pm

Thruway Connection 5011 Originates in Martinez Instead of Emeryville: February 18 through 20, 2012

Beginning Saturday, February 18 through Monday, February 20, Thruway motorcoach 5011, which normally operates between Emeryville and San Francisco, will operate between Martinez and San Francisco, via the Golden Gate and Richmond-San Rafael bridges. Passengers on Train 11 who are traveling to San Francisco will detrain and board the motorcoach at Martinez instead of Emeryville.

(Train 11 Arrives at 7:34 am)
Thruway Motorcoach 5011
February 18 through 20, 2012

Martinez
Dp 7:45 am

Financial District
Ar 8:55 am

Ferry Building
Ar 9:00 am

Fisherman's Wharf
Ar 9:10 am

Shopping Center
Ar 9:25 am

Caltrain Station
Ar 9:30 am

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience. Reservation and train status information is available on http://www.Amtrak.com/ , the free iPhone app and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Join us on http://www.facebook.com/Amtrak and follow us on http://www.twitter.com/Amtrak .

[KevinKorell]

So in a nutshell they are not running any Thruway service for the corridor trains (Capitols & San Joaquins), except for within the city of San Francisco between some of the stops, and will utilize BART to bridge the gap. For the LD trains, they will run buses eastbound over the Bay Bridge, and westbound via other bridges.

[KevinKorell]

E-mail from Capitol Corridor

Bay Bridge Reopened - Capitol Corridor Bus Service to/from SF Resumes on Monday 2/20

Caltrans has finished the construction work on the Bay Bridge ahead of schedule and will reopen the Wesbound traffic lanes as of 7:00pm on Sunday, February 19. Passengers traveling to/from San Franciso via the Capitol Corridor train service on Sunday, February 19 will continue to use BART for their connection into San Francisco for the remainder of the evening.

Capitol Corridor will resume motorcoach service to/from San Francisco on Monday, February 20, 2012. Passengers traveling to/from San Francisco Monday morning will make the regularly scheduled motorcoach bus connection at the Emeryville station. Capitol Corridor will operate on a weekday schedule on Monday February 20th for Presidents Day.

For more information, please call the Capitol Corridor transit information center at 1-877-974-3322 or visit the official Bay Bridge web site at: http://www.baybridgeinfo.org/