Officials in the state’s Central Valley have worked to improve service from Bakersfield to Sacramento, rebranding the Amtrak San Joaquins rail service as the Gold Runner. As part of the rebranding — which became official last month — the Gold Runner will soon operate seven daily round trips to Central Valley cities starting Dec. 8, a return to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The rebranding effort is being led by the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA), as it aims to strengthen mobility options across the Central Valley and beyond. Amtrak will continue to operate the area’s rail and bus services.
“Over the years, SJJPA has continued to expand and adjust these routes to improve convenience, add new destinations, and strengthen connections throughout the state,” Ahdel Ahmed, public relations manager for the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, said in an email.
There are three public-sector-supported Amtrak services in California: Pacific Surfliner, which connects San Diego to San Luis Obispo; Capital Corridor, connecting Sacramento with the Bay Area; and the Gold Runner, connecting cities in the Central Valley.
The Gold Runner service is perhaps best known for its extensive Amtrak bus connections, providing train-bus travel options for riders stretching from Los Angeles in the south all the way to Humboldt County, near California’s northern edge.
“The thruway bus network is a vital part of the Gold Runner system, and SJJPA consistently highlights its importance as a cornerstone of statewide connectivity, ensuring communities beyond the rail line have access to the broader passenger rail network,” Ahmed said.
A one-way, 650-mile trip from Los Angeles to Arcata, Calif., on the Gold Runner would cost $98, including 15 hours of traveling across a bus-rail-bus combination of modes, according to the Amtrak booking site.
Service on the Gold Runner “will continue to evolve,” Ahmed said. “Future enhancements may include upgraded amenities, dedicated business class seating, or other premium options designed to elevate the travel experience.”
Other rail services in California have introduced expanded and improved services. Caltrain, which operates commuter rail from San Francisco to Gilroy, Calif., a 77-mile route south of the city, introduced a new fleet of electric trains this year, allowing for cleaner and faster service.
“It is like a light switch has been flipped in terms of the impact of electrification,” Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain executive director, said during a Sept. 22 panel hosted by the Transportation Research Board. The electrification of Caltrain — a $2.4 billion project — enables the trains to operate “much faster, from end to end,” she said.
Express service between San Francisco and San Jose is now down to 60 minutes. Driving times on this route can range from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2 hours or longer, she said. Electrification has also cut 20 minutes off of the end-to-end run time for the local service.
“We really are pulling together as a region to make sure that the customer experience is as seamless as possible, particularly when transferring between modes,” Bouchard said.
