115-516: The San Joaquins is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California 's San Joaquin Valley . Seven daily round trips run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton , with onward service to Sacramento (two round trips) and Oakland (five round trips). For Fiscal year 2025, two additional trips to Sacramento will be added. The San Joaquins service is unique in
230-431: A dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have sleeping cars . Currently, much of travel on these distances of over 500 miles (800 km) is done by air in many countries but in others long-distance travel by rail is a popular or the only cheap way to travel long distances. One notable and growing long-distance train category
345-727: A 10-acre (4.0 ha) orchard and a herd of 13,000 cattle. Fort Sutter became a regular stop for the increasing number of immigrants coming through the valley. In 1847, Sutter Sr. received 2,000 fruit trees, which started the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. Later that year, Sutter Sr. hired James Marshall to build a sawmill so he could continue to expand his empire, but unbeknownst to many, Sutter Sr.'s "empire" had been built on thin margins of credit. In 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma (some 50 mi or 80.5 km northeast of
460-705: A 19.3% increase from the prior year. Like all regional trains in California, the San Joaquins service is operated by a joint powers authority . The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) is governed by a board that includes two elected representatives from each of eight counties the train travels through. The SJJPA contracts with the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission to provide day-to-day management of
575-608: A cost of approximately $ 20 million. The refurbished cars have reclining seats with tray tables, WiFi, two power outlets at each seat pair, luggage racks, trash/recycling bins, a restroom, and six workstation tables in the center of the car. Caltrans also pays to lease three Non-Powered Control Units ( F40PH locomotives converted into cab/baggage cars) from Amtrak. The agency also previously paid to lease three Horizon dinettes to serve as café cars. The Horizon dinettes were eventually returned to Amtrak, and conductors offer free snacks and water bottles instead. Caltrans had planned to use
690-1129: A day or two of light rainfall in May or October. The normal annual mean temperature is 61.8 °F (16.6 °C), with the monthly daily average temperature ranging from 47.3 °F (8.5 °C) in December to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C) in July. Summer heat is sometimes moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay , and temperatures cool down sharply at night. The foggiest months are December and January. Tule fog can be extremely dense, lowering visibility to less than 100 feet (30 m) and making driving conditions extremely hazardous. Chilling tule fog events have been known to last for several consecutive days or weeks. During Tule fog events, temperatures do not exceed 50 °F (10 °C). Snowfall
805-572: A fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains . Passenger trains may be made up of a number of passenger cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be made up of self-propelled railcars . Car design and the general safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making travel by rail remarkably safe. Some passenger trains, both long-distance and short-distance, use bi-level (double-decker) cars to carry more passengers per train. Passenger trains hauled by locomotives are more expensive to operate than multiple units, but have
920-602: A higher passenger capacity. Many prestigious passenger train services have been bestowed a special name , some of which have become famous in literature and fiction. The first occasion on which a railway locomotive pulled a train carrying passengers was in the United Kingdom in 1804, at Penydarren Ironworks in Wales , when 70 employees of the ironworks were transported 9 miles by an engine designed by Richard Trevithick . The first passenger train in regular service
1035-417: A massive adobe structure with walls 18 feet (5.5 m) high and three feet (0.91 m) thick. Representing Mexico, Sutter Sr. called his colony New Helvetia , a Swiss-inspired name, and was the political authority and dispenser of justice in the new settlement. Soon, the colony began to grow as more and more pioneers headed west. Within just a few short years, Sutter Sr. had become a grand success, owning
1150-612: A month 761 structures were re-built, many of them in brick. In spite of all these hardships the new city's location just downstream from the Mother Lode in the Sierra Nevada proved irresistible, and it grew rapidly during the early 1850s, attracting a population of 10,000. The Great Flood of 1862 from December 1861 to January 1862 caused the worst flooding in Sacramento's history. In 1861, Governor Leland Stanford , who
1265-685: A new store at 12th and K street, the US$ 2 ;million Senator Hotel was opened, Sacramento's drinking water became filtered and treated drinking water, and Sacramento boxer Georgie Lee fought Francisco Guilledo , a Filipino professional boxer known as Pancho Villa, at L Street Auditorium on March 21. Early in World War II, the Sacramento Assembly Center (also known as the Walerga Assembly Center)
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#17327808412731380-599: A second BART connection; routing some trains via the ACE route through the Tri-Valley ; consolidating all Stockton service at Robert J. Cabral Station ; and extensions to Marysville / Yuba City , Oroville , or Redding . The SJJPA ultimately plans to increase Sacramento service to hourly headways. In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted an application by Caltrans to enter
1495-401: A small Chinatown mall remains as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Sacramento's Chinatown. The Newton Booth Historic District, named for Newton Booth , is located on the southeast corner of Sacramento's original 1848 street grid. The oldest part of the town besides Sutter's Fort is Old Sacramento , which consists of cobbled streets and many historic buildings, several from
1610-1114: A train consisting of a single passenger car (carriage, coach) with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g. the Great Western Railway , used the term " railmotor ". If the railcar is able to pull a full train, it is more likely to be called a " motor coach " or a "motor car". The term "railcar" is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit that consist of more than one coach. Rapid transit trains are trains that operate in urban areas on exclusive rights-of-way in that pedestrians and road vehicles may not access them. Light rails are electrically powered urban passenger trains that run along an exclusive rights-of-way at ground level, raised structures, tunnels, or in streets. Light rail systems generally use lighter equipment that operate at slower speeds to allow for more flexibility in integrating systems into urban environments. Trams (also known as streetcars in North America) are
1725-411: A type of passenger train that runs a tramway track on or alongside public urban streets, often including segments of right-of-way for passengers and vehicles. Heritage trains are often operated by volunteers, often railfans , as a tourist attraction or as a museum railway. Usually, the trains are formed from historic vehicles retired from national commercial operation that have retained or assumed
1840-697: Is expected to commence in 2029. The San Joaquins service runs from Bakersfield's Truxtun Avenue station northward on BNSF Railway 's Mojave Subdivision within Bakersfield, the Bakersfield Subdivision from Bakersfield to Calwa ( Fresno ), then on the Stockton Subdivision from Calwa to Stockton . At the Stockton Diamond the routes split to Oakland or Sacramento . The Oakland trains continue west on
1955-655: Is high-speed rail, which generally runs at speeds above 200 km/h (120 mph) and often operates on a dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to accommodate high speeds. The first successful example of a high-speed passenger rail system was Japan's Shinkansen , colloquially known as the "bullet train", which commenced operation in October 1964. Other examples include Italy's LeFrecce , France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), Germany's ICE (Inter-City Express), and Spain's AVE (Alta Velocidad Española). In most cases, high-speed rail travel
2070-543: Is in the process of refitting the cab/coach cars to have a space on the car's lower level for storage for checked luggage and bikes. Caltrans also owns several Surfliner bi-level cars that are used on some San Joaquins trainsets. The newer cars look very similar to the California Car fleet but feature reclining seats, open overhead luggage racks, and a restroom on the upper level of each car. The bi-level cars have doors that can operated remotely on either side of
2185-740: Is planned to be elevated over the BNSF line. Two additional Sacramento round trips are planned to be added, routed over the Union Pacific Railroad Sacramento Subdivision north of Stockton and west of the present route, which uses the Fresno Subdivision north of Stockton. Unlike the 1999-initiated route, the Sacramento Subdivision has spare capacity to allow the increased service. Six new stations are planned: Lodi (distinct from
2300-511: Is rare in Sacramento, which is only 25 ft (8 m) above sea level . In the downtown area, only three significant snow accumulations have occurred since 1900, the last one being in 1976. During especially cold winter and spring storms, intense showers do occasionally produce a significant amount of hail, which can create hazardous driving conditions. Snowfall in the city often melts upon ground contact, with traceable amounts occurring in some years. Significant annual snow accumulations occur in
2415-471: Is still possible to view portions of the " Sacramento Underground ". The city's current charter was adopted by voters in 1920. As a charter city , Sacramento is exempt from many laws and regulations passed by the state legislature . The city has expanded continuously over the years. The 1964 merger of the City of North Sacramento with Sacramento substantially increased its population, and large annexations of
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#17327808412732530-528: Is the fastest-growing major city in California, owing to its status as a notable political center on the West Coast and as a major educational hub, home of California State University, Sacramento and UC Davis . Similarly, Sacramento is a major center for the California healthcare industry , as the seat of Sutter Health , UC Davis Medical Center , and the UC Davis School of Medicine . In 2013,
2645-440: Is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (310 to 370 mi), as airport check-in and boarding procedures can add at least two hours to the overall transit time. Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of jet fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is taken into consideration. Air travel becomes more cost-competitive as
2760-727: The Pacific Surfliner or Amtrak's long-distance trains), the city of San Francisco , the Central Coast , the North Coast , the High Desert (including Las Vegas ), Redding , Reno , and the Yosemite Valley . The San Joaquins is Amtrak's seventh-busiest service in the nation and the railroad's third-busiest in the state of California. During fiscal year 2023, the service carried 847,364 passengers,
2875-964: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (predecessor to BNSF), and the San Joaquin Daylight on the Southern Pacific Railroad (later acquired by Union Pacific). Prior to 1960s service cutbacks passenger service continued south of Bakersfield, to Glendale and Los Angeles. In April 1965, as ridership on passenger trains continued to drop, the Santa Fe Railway received permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to severely curtail Golden Gate operations, with service finally abandoned three years later. The San Joaquin Daylight
2990-489: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Each trainset typically consists of two coach cars, a coach/baggage car, a café (food service) car, and a cab/coach car. The cab/coach car is similar to other coaches but with an engineer's operating cab and headlights on one end, allowing the train to be operated in push-pull mode , which eliminates the need to turn the train at each end-point. Caltrans
3105-682: The California High-Speed Rail system. These improvements are being done in cooperation with Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) as part of the Valley Rail project . The Stockton Diamond , a level junction in Stockton where the two San Joaquin routes diverge, was the busiest rail junction in the state by 2019. As part of the Valley Rail project, these lines will be grade separated: the north-south Union Pacific line
3220-540: The Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins voted to shift to a new contractor in 2023, citing the contractor's ability to adhere to high maintenance quality and cleanliness and be more agile with overhaul projects. The San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor share a combined fleet of 13 EMD F59PHI and ten Siemens Charger SC-44 locomotives. The Charger locomotives meet EPA Tier IV emission standards and are capable of operating at 125 mph in revenue service. Many of
3335-561: The Carter administration . The state of California stepped in to provide a yearly subsidy of (then) $ 700,000 ($ 2.94 million adjusted for inflation) to cover the train's operating losses, and it was retained. The state asked Amtrak to add a second round-trip between Oakland and Bakersfield and to extend the service south over the Tehachapi Pass to Los Angeles . Amtrak added the second train on February 4, 1980, but attempts to extend
3450-572: The Lodi Transit Station ), Elk Grove , three locations in Sacramento, and Natomas . Trains operating on the Sacramento Subdivision route will not serve the existing Sacramento Valley Station , but SacRT light rail connections and a shuttle bus to Sacramento International Airport are planned elsewhere. When the Valley Rail project is complete, ACE will share the route to Natomas from Stockton and add an additional branch south to Ceres in 2023 with an extension to Merced in 2027. When
3565-590: The Natomas area eventually led to significant population growth throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Sacramento County (along with a portion of adjacent Placer County ) is served by a customer-owned electric utility, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). Sacramento voters approved the creation of SMUD in 1923. In April 1946, after 12 years of litigation, a judge ordered Pacific Gas & Electric to transfer
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3680-712: The Next Generation Bi-Level Passenger Rail Car , but a prototype car failed a buff strength test in August 2015. After the test failure, Sumitomo canceled its contract with Nippon Sharyo, and turned to Siemens to be the new subcontractor. The cars are being built at the Siemens factory in Florin, California , and will be hauled by California's existing fleet of diesel-electric locomotives. California's trainsets will be used exclusively on
3795-685: The Río del Santísimo Sacramento (Sacramento River), after the Blessed Sacrament . In 1839, Juan Bautista Alvarado , Mexican governor of Alta California , granted the responsibility of colonizing the Sacramento Valley to Swiss -born Mexican citizen John Augustus Sutter , who subsequently established Sutter's Fort and the settlement at the Rancho Nueva Helvetia . Following the American Conquest of California and
3910-569: The Sacramento Public Library , and K Street , a historic street home to apartments, retail, and historical buildings. In addition, Downtown Sacramento is home to several hotels including the Citizen Hotel, housed in one of the first skyscrapers built in the city. East Sacramento is a neighborhood in between Midtown and Sacramento State. This neighborhood is well known for being home to McKinley Park and Rose Garden and
4025-534: The Sacramento River . Sutter Jr. and Brannan had United States Army Captain William H. Warner assigned to draft the official layout of the city, which included 26 lettered and 31 numbered streets (today's grid from C St. to Broadway and from Front St. to Alhambra Blvd.) Relations between Sutter and his son became embittered after Sacramento became an overnight commercial success. (Sutter's Fort, Mill, and
4140-596: The San Joaquins route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program . Proposed improvements include additional frequencies and an extension north to Chico and Redding. The program grants $ 500,000 toward service planning and prioritizes the corridor for future federal funding. In 2024, the Butte County Association of Governments released a Strategic plan, named North Valley Rail to extend The San Joaquins service to Chico. Construction
4255-415: The San Joaquins' remaining California Car trainsets, along with adding cars to some Capitol Corridor trainsets. The Comet Cars have major limitations for San Joaquins service, such as their manually-operated doors, which slow down boarding. The Comets have high floors and lack integrated wheelchair lifts, so passengers in wheelchairs must be lifted onto trains with a portable, hand-cranked lift. Since
4370-688: The Tehachapi Loop , the only line between Bakersfield and points south and one of the world's busiest single-track freight rail lines. Amtrak chose the Santa Fe route over the Southern Pacific, citing the higher speed of the Santa Fe ;– 79 miles per hour (127 km/h) versus 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) – and freight congestion on the Southern Pacific. The decision was not without controversy, with Sisk alleging that
4485-720: The United States began in the 1830s and became popular in the 1850s and '60s. The first electric passenger train was exhibited at the Berlin Industrial Exposition 1879 . The first successful commercial electric passenger train, the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , ran a year later in Lichterfelde . Long-distance trains travel between many cities or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have
4600-739: The confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California 's Sacramento Valley , Sacramento's 2020 population of 524,943 makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, the sixth-most populous in the state , the ninth-most populous state capital, and the 35th most populous in the United States . Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and
4715-1437: The farm-to-fork movement, which promotes the consumption of locally-grown food). After 4,000 displeased citizens signed a petition protesting the change, officials agreed to include both slogans on the water tower. The city groups most of its neighborhoods into four areas: Additional prominent regions and neighborhoods in the region include American River Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Arden Fair, Cal Expo, Capital Avenue, Coffing, College Glen, College Greens, Cordova, Creekside, East Fruitridge, Elder Creek, Elkhorn, Elvas, Erikson Industrial Park, Excelsior Sunrise, Foothill Farms, Franklin, Frates Ranch, Gateway Center, Gateway West, Glenwood Meadows, Hansen Park, Heritage Park, Johnson Business Park, Johnson Heights, Mayhew, Metro Center, Mills, Natomas Corporate Center, Natomas Creek, Natomas Crossing, Natomas Park, Newton Booth, Noralto, Northpointe, Norwood, Oak Knoll, Old North Sacramento, Parker Homes, Point West, Raley Industrial Park, Regency Park, Richardson Village, Richmond Grove, Rosemont, Sierra Oaks, Sports Complex, Strawberry Manor, Sundance Lake, Swanston Palms, Town and Country Village, Upper Land Park, Village 5, Village 7, Village 12, Village 14, Village Green, Walerga, Walsh Station, West Del Paso Heights, Westlake, Willowcreek, Wills Acres, Winn Park, Woodside, and Youngs Heights. Capitol Mall connects West Sacramento and Downtown Sacramento. Some notable landmarks on this road include
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4830-603: The governor of California . Sacramento is also the cultural and economic core of the Greater Sacramento area , which at the 2020 census had a population of 2,680,831, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in California. Before the arrival of the Spanish , the area was inhabited by the Nisenan , Maidu , and other indigenous peoples of California . In 1808, Spanish cavalryman Gabriel Moraga surveyed and named
4945-429: The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo , the waterfront developed by Sutter began to be developed and incorporated in 1850 as the City of Sacramento. In 1852, the city offered its county courthouse to the state of California to house the state legislature, resulting in the city becoming the permanent state capital in 1854 and ushering in the construction of a new state capitol building which was finished in 1874. Sacramento
5060-446: The 1850s and 1860s. Buildings have been preserved, restored, or reconstructed, and the district is now a substantial tourist attraction, with rides on steam-powered historic trains and horse-drawn carriages. The Poverty Ridge Historic District is within Sacramento's original 1848 street grid and bounded to the west by 21st Street, to the north by S Street, to the east by 23rd Street, to the south by W Street and U.S. Route 50, and includes
5175-723: The Blessed Sacrament.)" The valley and the river were then christened after the "Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ," referring to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist . John Sutter Sr. first arrived in the area on August 13, 1839, at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers with a Mexican land grant of 50,000 acres (20,000 ha). The next year, he and his party established Sutter's Fort,
5290-624: The COVID-19 pandemic, the Comet Cars have seen less use. One of the trainsets has been broken up, with its cars inserted into other trainsets on the San Joaquins service. In this use, the Comet Cars do not carry passengers, and serve to meet a minimum train length requirement imposed by BNSF. San Joaquins trains are required to have a minimum of 28 axles to protect against track circuit malfunctions, an issue known as " loss of shunt ." When not properly mitigated, loss of shunt can interfere with
5405-649: The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which has been operating the Capitol Corridor regional train in Northern California since 1998. The first SJJPA Board meeting was held on March 22, 2013, to begin planning for the shift in control. In that time, the SJJPA board contracted with the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission to provide day-to-day management of the service and contracted with Amtrak to continue to operate
5520-412: The Comet Car trainsets on trains starting in July 2013, but the refurbishing process took longer than expected. The first Comet Car trainset was put into regular service on October 21, 2013, and the second trainset was put into regular service on April 15, 2014. The addition of the Comet Cars to the fleet allowed Caltrans to break up two bi-level trainsets and use the cars to add another coach car to each of
5635-431: The Downtown Plaza shopping mall, the district opened in 2016 along with Golden 1 Center . Downtown Commons, otherwise known as DOCO, is home to the Sawyer, a 16-story skyscraper with a 250-room hotel and 45 condominiums, a Macy's anchor store, an IMAX theater, and retail space with a variety of restaurants and shops. Downtown Sacramento is home to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and Theater , Sacramento City Hall,
5750-408: The F59PHI have been re-engined to meet more stringent EPA Tier II emission standards. These locomotives are owned by Caltrans and carry its CDTX reporting marks . Amtrak-owned locomotives are also occasionally used on the San Joaquin , including the P42DC . The San Joaquins service is equipped with Amtrak California 's fleet of California Car bi-level, high-capacity passenger cars owned by
5865-443: The Fabulous Forties, home to some of the most expensive, largest, and architecturally unique homes in the city. East Sacramento was home to Ronald Reagan during his term as Governor of California and this neighborhood was prominently featured in Greta Gerwig's film Lady Bird . The Opium Wars of the 1840s and 1850s, along with the California gold rush, brought many Chinese people to California. Most arrived at San Francisco, which
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#17327808412735980-407: The Martinez Subdivision within Sacramento. If the tracks for the Central Valley segment of California High-Speed Rail (HSR) are completed prior to that system's full startup, there are calls for the San Joaquins trains to use the HSR infrastructure to speed up traditional rail service to 125 mph. The route is Amtrak's seventh-busiest service in the nation and the railroad's third-busiest in
6095-429: The Natomas runs are initiated, one existing Oakland trip is planned to terminate at Stockton-Downtown, freeing a slot for a full Natomas to Bakersfield round-trip while continuing to provide five trips from the Bay Area. The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority will serve as the high-speed rail service provider in the Valley per a memorandum of understanding with the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Upon completion of
6210-418: The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau stated that the city receives 15.3 million visitors per year, and is home to the California Museum , Crocker Art Museum , California State Railroad Museum , California State Capitol Museum , the Sacramento Convention Center Complex , and Old Sacramento State Historic Park . Nisenan (Southern Maidu ), Modoc , and Plains Miwok American Indians have lived in
6325-407: The Sacramento River. A Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote: Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne , and ( the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. "¡Es como el sagrado sacramento! (It's like
6440-402: The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) to assume administration and management of the route, while the state of California would continue to fund operations. Under the joint powers authority model, the service would be governed by a board composed of eight elected officials, appointed by an agency in each of the counties the train travels through. The governance structure was modeled after
6555-443: The San Joaquins service and will consist of seven cars each: five coaches with economy seating, a café car, and one cab car (control car) with economy seating and a compartment for checked baggage. The order includes 49 cars for California, formed into seven semi-permanently coupled trainsets. The advantage of semi-permanently coupled trainsets is a more seamless gangway between cars to allow for easier movement from car-to-car, including
6670-459: The Southern Pacific lobbied the Nixon administration to influence the decision. Madera station and Richmond station were added on October 30, 1977, along with a Stockton–Sacramento connecting bus. The schedule was changed on July 19, 1979, with an earlier northbound and later southbound departure, allowing single-day round trips to the Bay Area. In 1979 Amtrak proposed discontinuing the San Joaquin as part of system-wide reductions ordered by
6785-625: The Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Daylight and the Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief had served the region. Beginning in 1972 Amtrak revisited the decision at the urging of area congressmen, notably Bernice F. Sisk , who favored service between Oakland and Barstow or, failing that, Barstow and Sacramento . The first run was on March 5, 1974 – revenue service began the following day with one daily round-trip between Bakersfield and Oakland and bus connections from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and Oakland to San Francisco. The San Joaquin could not continue south of Bakersfield due to capacity limits over
6900-431: The Stockton Subdivision to Port Chicago . At Port Chicago they cross to the Union Pacific Railroad 's Tracy Subdivision to Martinez , continue on the Martinez Subdivision to Emeryville , and finally travel a few miles on the Niles Subdivision to Oakland's Jack London Square station . Trains to the Sacramento Valley Station diverge in Stockton and run north to Sacramento on Union Pacific's Fresno Subdivision and on
7015-552: The Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento, and the California State Capitol Building. Capitol Mall is considered to be the business district of the city. Skyscrapers such as the Wells Fargo Center and U.S. Bank Tower , two of the tallest buildings in the city, are located on Capitol Mall and are home to several major companies. The street is also home to major festivals such as the annual Farm to Fork Festival. Sacramento's historic Japantown once occupied much of today's Capitol Mall, spanning 4th street from K to P streets. The area suffered from
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#17327808412737130-531: The ability to move between cars in a wheelchair. Passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars . Passenger trains stop at stations or depots , where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on
7245-424: The area for perhaps thousands of years. Until the settlers arrived who would eventually make Sacramento their home, these tribes left little evidence of their existence. Their diet was dominated by acorns taken from the plentiful oak trees in the region and by fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots gathered throughout the year. In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga encountered and named the Sacramento Valley and
7360-415: The area turned out to be a bane. By December 1848, John Sutter Jr., in association with Samuel Brannan , began laying out the City of Sacramento, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of his father's settlement of New Helvetia. This venture was undertaken against the wishes of Sutter Sr., but the father, being deeply in debt, was unable to stop it. For commercial reasons, the new city was named "Sacramento City" after
7475-440: The assembly center site is now part of the Foothill Farms-North Highlands subdivision. The Sacramento-Yolo Port District was created in 1947, and the ground was broken on the Port of Sacramento in 1949. On June 29, 1963, with 5,000 spectators waiting to welcome her, the Motor Vessel Taipei Victory arrived. The Nationalist Chinese flagship docked at the Port of Sacramento , being the first ocean-going vessel in Sacramento since
7590-448: The block bounded by 20th Street, 21st Street, S Street, and T Street. The Poverty Ridge Historic District was considered to be Sacramento's wealthiest neighborhood from 1868 to 1947. Sacramento has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csa ), characterized by hot, long, dry summers and cool winters with a decent amount of rainfall. Most of the annual precipitation generally occurs from November to April, though there may be
7705-399: The character, appearance, and operating practices of railways in their time. Sometimes lines that operate in isolation also provide transport facilities for local people. Much of the equipment used on these trains' systems is original or at least aims to replicate both the look and the operating practices of historic/former railways companies. Passenger rail is one of the modes of travel with
7820-420: The city. Between October and December 1850, Sacramento was hit with a cholera epidemic that killed 1,000 residents, including Mayor Bigelow and 17 of the city's 40 physicians. Up to 80 percent of the populace left town. On November 2, 1852, a fire known as the Great Conflagration burned more than 80 percent of the structures in the city. It is estimated that the total damage was around six million dollars. Within
7935-810: The conventional rail infrastructure to support trains that can operate safely at higher speeds. Many cities and their surrounding areas are served by commuter trains (also known as suburban trains), which serve commuters who live outside of the city they work in, or vice versa. More specifically, in the United States commuter rail service is defined as, "short-haul rail passenger transportation in metropolitan and suburban areas usually having reduced fare, multiple ride, and commuter tickets and morning and evening peak period operations". Trains are very efficient for transporting large numbers of people at once, compared to road transport. While automobiles may be delayed by traffic congestion , trains operate on dedicated rights-of-way which allow them to bypass such congestion. With
8050-445: The effects of climate change on vegetation in the future. Treepedia , a project run by MIT using Google Maps ' street-view data to calculate tree coverage in cities, ranked Sacramento the greenest city of 15 studied in the US, and third globally, after Vancouver and Singapore . A prominent water tower bore the slogan "City of Trees" until 2017 when it was repainted with the words "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" (referring to
8165-529: The fifth daily San Joaquins service round trip. A second Sacramento–Bakersfield round trip was added on March 18, 2002, along with an infill station at Lodi . Expansion of the service would stagnate after 2002, and 10 years later, frustrated by what was perceived to be Caltrans' slow response to regional concerns, local leaders pushed lawmakers to allow local control of the San Joaquins service. On September 29, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1779, which enabled regional government agencies to form
8280-482: The foothills 40 mi (64 km) east of the city, which had brief and traceable amounts of snowfall in January 2002, December 2009, and February 2011. The greatest snowfall ever recorded in Sacramento was 3 inches (7.6 cm) on January 5, 1888. On average, there are 76 days with a high of 90 °F (32 °C)+, and 14 days with a high of 100 °F (38 °C)+; On the other extreme, there are 8.5 days where
8395-408: The forced eviction of its Japanese residents during WW2 and never recovered, resulting in the remaining properties taken through eminent domain to create the grand promenade of today's Capitol Mall . The Nisei Memorial Hall at 4th and Q remains the last remaining property associated with Sacramento's former Japantown. One of the newest districts in the city is Downtown Commons . Formerly home to
8510-467: The fort), numerous gold-seekers came to the area, increasing the population. In August 1848, Sutter Sr.'s son, John Sutter Jr. , arrived to assist his father in reducing his debt . The Sutters struggled to contain the effects of thousands of new gold miners and prospectors in the area, many of whom squatted on unwatched portions of the vast Sutter lands or stole various unattended Sutter properties or belongings. For Sutter, his employee's discovery of gold in
8625-411: The furthest points of the journey. This practice allows less populous communities to be served in the most cost-effective way, at the expense of a longer journey time for those wishing to travel to the terminus station. Higher-speed rail services operate at top speeds that are higher than conventional inter-city trains but below high-speed rail services. These services are provided after improvements to
8740-483: The help of the city, agreed to build a new arena in the downtown area. With a final estimated cost of $ 558.2 million, Sacramento's Golden 1 Center opened on September 30, 2016. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city covers 100.1 square miles (259 km ). 97.81% of it is land, and 2.19% of it is water. Depth to groundwater is typically about 30 feet (9 m). Much of
8855-1122: The high-speed rail initial operating segment, trains are expected to terminate at that system's new Merced station to act as a feeder to high-speed service. A new rail link is planned to run between the BNSF line currently used and the Union Pacific subdivision on which that station is planned in order to facilitate trips and transfers. Sacramento to Merced service is thus planned to increase in frequency to hourly service. As of 2019, Oakland to Bakersfield trips take just over six hours, which requires an expensive crew change in Merced. The SJJPA wishes to reduce travel times to eliminate this expense, which may involve terminating some trains at Emeryville, skipping stops on some trains, increasing current 79-mile-per-hour (127 km/h) speeds to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and/or operational improvements like decreasing dwell times. Longer-term proposals include extending Oakland trains to Oakland Coliseum station to provide service to Oakland International Airport and
8970-507: The historic Sacramento Rail Yards . From 1862 until the mid-1870s, Sacramento raised the level of its downtown by building reinforced brick walls on its downtown streets and filling the resulting street walls with dirt. The previous first floors of buildings became basements , with open space between the street and the building, previously the sidewalk , now at the basement level. Over the years, many of these underground spaces have been filled or destroyed by subsequent development. However, it
9085-539: The land to the west of the city (in Yolo County ) is permanently reserved for a vast flood control basin (the Yolo Bypass ), due to the city's historical vulnerability to floods. As a result, the contiguous urban area sprawls only four miles (6.4 km) west of downtown (as West Sacramento, California ) but 30 miles (48 km) northeast and east, into the Sierra Nevada foothills, and 10 miles (16 km) to
9200-523: The late 1910s. It was the first US city to be designated a City of Trees by the Arbor Day Foundation in 1978. In the early 21st century, the tree cover is well above that of the average tree cover of other major cities in the United States and the rest of the world, with the main species being the London plane . Other species are being introduced to increase diversity and to help cope with
9315-443: The lowest carbon dioxide emissions. Rail travel emits much less carbon dioxide per mile than air travel (2–27%) or car travel (2–24%). Sacramento, California Sacramento ( / ˌ s æ k r ə ˈ m ɛ n t oʊ / SAK -rə- MEN -toh ; Spanish: [sakɾaˈmento] ; Spanish for ' sacrament ') is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County . Located at
9430-952: The national Capitol, was started in 1860 and completed in 1874. In 1861, the legislative session was moved to the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco for one session because of the massive flooding in Sacramento. From 1862 to 1868, part of the Leland Stanford Mansion was used for the governor's offices during Stanford's tenure as the Governor; and the legislature met in the Sacramento County Courthouse. The legislative chambers were first occupied in 1869, while construction continued around them. With its new status and strategic location, Sacramento quickly prospered. It
9545-621: The nearby San Francisco Bay Area , as well as immigration from Asia and Latin America. In 1985, Hugh Scrutton, a 38-year-old Sacramento, California, computer store owner, was killed by a nail-and-splinter-loaded bomb placed in the parking lot of his store. In 1996, his death was attributed to the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski . After acquiring the majority stake in the Sacramento Kings , the team's new owner, Vivek Ranadivé , with
9660-674: The new state's capital. From California's statehood beginning September 9, 1850 through 1851, the legislature met in San Jose. It moved to Vallejo in 1852 and Benicia in 1853, before ending up in Sacramento in 1854. During the 1850s the city was consolidated with the County of Sacramento. In the Sacramento Constitutional Convention of 1879 , Sacramento was named the permanent state capital. The Classical Revival -style California State Capitol , similar to
9775-537: The population of 4,739 was transferred to the Tule Lake concentration camp. The site was then turned over to the Army Signal Corps and dedicated as Camp Kohler . After the war and the end of the incarceration program, returning Japanese Americans were often unable to find housing and so 234 families temporarily lived at the former assembly center. Camp Kohler was destroyed by a fire in December 1947, and
9890-602: The safe operation of block signaling systems, and can prevent grade crossing signals from activating. Caltrans plans to reassign the Comet Cars to services in Southern California when the full fleet of Siemens Venture cars is delivered. In November 2017, the California Department of Transportation announced that it would be ordering seven Siemens Venture trainsets through its contractor Sumitomo Corporation . The state had initially contracted Sumitomo, which in turn subcontracted with Nippon Sharyo , to build
10005-522: The same trackage (though not simultaneously), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers. "Inter-city" is a general term for any rail service that uses trains with limited stops to provide fast long-distance travel. Inter-city services can be divided into three major groups: The distinction between the three types of inter-city rail service may be unclear; trains can run as InterCity services between major cities, then revert to an express (or even regional) train service to reach communities at
10120-443: The service and maintain the rolling stock (locomotives and passenger cars). Control of the train service shifted from Caltrans to the SJJPA on July 1, 2015. A fifth Oakland–Bakersfield round trip was added to the service on June 20, 2016, the first expansion of the service in more than 14 years. Two years later, the SJJPA established an early-morning "Morning Express Service" between Fresno and Sacramento, allowing same-day trips to
10235-466: The service, Amtrak to operate the trains, and Transit Services America to maintain the rolling stock (locomotives and passenger cars). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) provides the funding to operate the service and also owns the rolling stock. The San Joaquins service runs over lines that once hosted several passenger trains a day. The top trains were the Golden Gate on
10350-504: The service. From 1987 to 1989 Amtrak used Superliner and ex-ATSF Hi-Level coaches. For a short period beginning on June 15, 1987, this included a full dining car on one of the trains. Amtrak reequipped the San Joaquin trains again in 1989, this time with new Horizon coaches, when service expanded to three daily round-trips. The San Joaquin began receiving Superliner-derived, bi-level California Cars in 1995. The bi-level fleet
10465-587: The south into valley farmland. The city is at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River and has a deep-water port connected to the San Francisco Bay by a channel through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta . It is the shipping and rail center for the Sacramento Valley . Sacramento has long been known as the "City of Trees" owing to its abundant urban forest . The city has more trees per capita than any other city in
10580-500: The state and nation because of its extensive network of dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus routes that are critical to the performance of the service. Over 55% of passengers on the service use one of these bus routes during part of their trip. Amtrak Thruway routes are timed to meet trains and offer connections to points in Southern California (including Los Angeles Union Station where passengers can continue their journey on
10695-479: The state capitol for the first time, was expected to result in increased ridership from business travelers. The change was criticized by Bakersfield-area officials, because it required ending the last southbound train of the day in Fresno, reduced daily service to Bakersfield by one daily round trip. The service began on May 7, 2018, but proved to be unpopular, with ridership counts showing an average of just 50 people on
10810-400: The state of California. The San Joaquins service has an extensive network of dedicated Amtrak Thruway buses. Over 55% of passengers on the route used an Amtrak Thruway bus on at least one end of their trip. For its first two years of operation, the San Joaquin used single-level coaches Amtrak had inherited from other railroads. In October 1976, Amtrak introduced new Amfleet coaches to
10925-539: The steamship Harpoon in 1934. In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the last Governor of California to live permanently in the city. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of several local military bases: McClellan Air Force Base , Mather Air Force Base , and Sacramento Army Depot. In 1980, there was another flood. Despite military base closures and the decline of agricultural food processing, Sacramento has continued to experience population growth in recent years. Primary sources of population growth are an influx of residents from
11040-526: The temperature remains below 50 °F (10 °C), and 15 freezing nights per year. Official temperature extremes range from 18 °F (−7.8 °C) on December 22, 1990, to 116 °F (46.7 °C) on September 6, 2022; a station around 5 mi (8.0 km) east-southeast of the city dipped to 17 °F (−8.3 °C) on December 11, 1932. The average annual precipitation is 18.14 inches (461 mm). On average, precipitation falls on 58 days each year in Sacramento, and nearly all of this falls during
11155-560: The title of Sacramento's electric distribution system to SMUD. Today SMUD is the sixth-largest public electric utility in the U.S. and is a leader in innovative programs and services, including the development of clean fuel resources, such as solar power . The year following the creation of SMUD, 1924, brought several events in Sacramento: Standard Oil executive Verne McGeorge established McGeorge School of Law , American department store Weinstock & Lubin opened
11270-421: The town of Sutterville , all founded by John Sutter Sr., eventually failed). Residents of Sacramento adopted a city charter in 1849, which was recognized by the state legislature in 1850. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, incorporated on February 27, 1850. On January 10, 1850, a flood occurred that devastated the city. The rushing waters uprooted homes and drowned livestock. The city
11385-459: The train from a single point of control. This feature allows the operator to maximize passenger flow in boarding and alighting operations, and thereby minimizing station dwell time. Increasing ridership on the San Joaquins service led Caltrans to purchase 14 Comet IB rail cars from New Jersey Transit in 2008 for $ 75,000 each. The former commuter cars were refurbished and reconfigured by Amtrak's Beech Grove Shops to serve as intercity coaches at
11500-489: The train over the Tehachapi Loop failed due to Southern Pacific's opposition. A third round trip was added on December 17, 1989. Two days later, southbound San Joaquin train 708 collided with a tractor-trailer rig at a crossing east of Stockton, killing the driver of the rig and two Amtrak engineers. A fourth round trip was added on October 25, 1992. On May 16, 1999, Amtrak added a Sacramento–Bakersfield round trip -
11615-585: The train, compared to 130 with the old timetable. The "Morning Express Service" was eliminated one year later on May 6, 2019, and trains were reverted to their previous schedule. Sacramento service was discontinued and one round-trip to Oakland was cancelled on March 25, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic . The cancelled Oakland trip was reinstated on June 28, 2021. As of 2020 the agency is increasing capacity on its routes to avoid conflicts with freight trains and add additional trips as well as plan for connections to
11730-729: The travel distance increases because the fuel accounts for less of the overall operating cost of the airliner. Some high-speed rail systems employ tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of tilting trains are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino , the N700 Series Shinkansen , Amtrak 's Acela and the Spanish Talgo . Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation , allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use
11845-399: The use of bilevel cars , which are tall enough to have two levels of seating, commuter rail services can haul as many as 150 commuters per train car, and over 1,000 per train: much more than the capacity of automobiles and buses. In British and Australian usage, a "railcar" is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term is usually used in reference to
11960-646: The winter months. Average January rainfall is 3.66 in (93 mm), and measurable precipitation is rare during the summer months. In February 1992, Sacramento had 16 consecutive days of rain, resulting in an accumulation of 6.41 in (163 mm) for the period. On rare occasions, monsoonal moisture surges from the Desert Southwest can bring upper-level moisture to the Sacramento region, leading to increased summer cloudiness, humidity, and even light showers and thunderstorms. Monsoon clouds do occur, usually during late June through early September. Sacramento
12075-443: The world. The first recorded use of the term was in 1855, and it was popular by the early 20th century. It was not always so: it was at first called the "City of Plains" because of the lack of trees, but soon afterward there were cottonwood trees planted, and eucalyptus varieties were imported to dry out swampland . Later, locust trees , and willows were planted along streets, then elms , then palm trees , then fruit trees in
12190-675: Was a horse drawn train on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which opened in 1807. In 1808, Trevithick ran a passenger-carrying exhibition train called Catch Me Who Can on a small loop of track in London. The exhibition, which ran for two weeks, charged passengers for rides. The first steam train carrying passengers on a public railway was hauled by Locomotion No. 1 on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 , traveling at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Travel by passenger trains in
12305-473: Was almost destroyed. Due to the efforts of Hardin Bigelow , Sacramento's first elected mayor, the construction of the city's first levee was completed in early 1852 (the city became known as "The Levee City"). However, a month after it was completed, it was breached during the first major storm of the season and the city flooded again. A new levee was built for $ 50,000, but it also broke, causing more flooding of
12420-690: Was designated as the western terminus of the Pony Express . Later it became a terminus of the First transcontinental railroad , which began construction in Sacramento in 1863 and was financed by " The Big Four "— Mark Hopkins , Charles Crocker , Collis P. Huntington , and Leland Stanford . Both the American and especially Sacramento rivers were key elements in the economic success of the city. Sacramento effectively controlled commerce on these rivers, and public works projects were funded through taxes levied on goods unloaded from boats and loaded onto rail cars in
12535-542: Was discontinued with the start-up of Amtrak in May 1971. Other passenger trains that ran through the Central Valley included Southern Pacific's Owl Limited and Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief and Valley Flyer . Amtrak routed all Los Angeles-San Francisco service over the Southern Pacific's Coast Line in its initial 1971 route structure, leaving the San Joaquin Valley without service. Both
12650-668: Was established to house Japanese Americans forcibly "evacuated" from the West Coast under Executive Order 9066 . The camp was one of fifteen temporary detention facilities where over 110,000 Japanese Americans , two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, were held while construction on the more permanent War Relocation Authority camps was completed. The assembly center was built on the site of a former migrant labor camp, and inmates began arriving from Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties on May 6, 1942. It closed after only 52 days, on June 26, and
12765-415: Was inaugurated in early January 1862, traveled to his inauguration in a rowboat. The California State Legislature , with the support of Governor John Bigler , moved to Sacramento in 1854. The capital of California under Spanish (and, subsequently, Mexican) rule had been Monterey , where, in 1849, the first Constitutional Convention and state elections were held. The convention decided San Jose would be
12880-525: Was not repealed until 1943. The mysterious fires were thought to be set off by those who resented the Chinese working class. Ordinances on what was viable building material were set into place to try to get the Chinese to move out. Newspapers such as The Sacramento Union wrote stories at the time that portrayed the Chinese in an unfavorable light to inspire ethnic discrimination and drive the Chinese away. While most of Sacramento's Chinatown has now been razed,
12995-543: Was on "I" Street from Second to Sixth Streets, called the China Slough . At the time, this area of "I" Street was considered a health hazard because, lying within a levee zone, it was lower than other parts of the city, which were situated on higher land. Throughout Sacramento's Chinatown history, there were fires, acts of discrimination, and prejudicial legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act that
13110-535: Was supplemented by a fleet of single-level Comet Cars (refurbished NJ Transit cars) between 2013 and 2024. Between 2024 and 2026, both the bi-level and Comet Car fleets are expected to be replaced by Siemens Venture trainsets. Daily inspections, cleaning, and maintenance of equipment are conducted in Oakland, Bakersfield, and Sacramento. Heavy maintenance is performed by Transit Services America in Stockton. Previously, all maintenance took place in Oakland, but both
13225-535: Was then the largest city in California and known as "Daai Fau" ( Chinese : 大埠 ; Jyutping : daai fau ; Cantonese Yale : Daaihfauh ). Some eventually came to Sacramento, then the second-largest city in California and consequently called "Yee Fow" (Chinese: 二埠 ; Jyutping: ji fau ). Today the city is known as " 萨克拉门托 " ( pinyin : Sàkèlāméntuō ) by mainland Chinese and as " 沙加緬度 " Sāgāmíhndouh and Shājiāmiǎnduó by Cantonese speakers and Taiwanese respectively. Sacramento's Chinatown
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