(The Sacramento Bee posted the following editorial on its website on July 11.)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This wasn’t the reaction that train passengers between Auburn and San Jose had in mind. Riders and Capitol Corridor rail officials pleaded in May with the Union Pacific (owner of the tracks and dispatcher of the trains) to help improve its pathetic on-time performance. UP delivered — in reverse.
In April, the Capitols were on time 69 percent of the time. On the week of June 23, the trains ran on time only 16.7 percent of time.
Why? The root problem is still that UP doesn’t take the human beings who ride its tracks as seriously as the humans who depend on its freight. The immediate cause, however, keeps changing.
Recently, as Capitols chief Gene Skoropowski charitably explained things to riders on the service’s Web site (www.amtrakcapitols.com ), the stretch of track between Martinez and Richmond needed maintenance. The railroad was fixing the tracks and stopping trains during the Capitols’ rush hours to do so.
Caltrans learned years ago that big jobs on big freeways should be done mainly when most people are asleep. This appears to be a novel concept to UP, which needed repeated nudging to switch its maintenance work to night hours.
What next? How about on-time trains? Skoropowski writes that UP plans to increase the on-time performance of the Capitols to 95 percent come August. On-time performance for the Capitols is at 90 percent for July so far. Perhaps the 95 percent on-time goal by August may not be just a train buff’s dream.