Castroville is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 7,515, up from 6,481 in 2010. Castroville is known for its artichoke crop and for the annual Castroville Artichoke Festival, leading to its nickname as the "Artichoke Center of the World".
Caltrain is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley. The southern terminus is in San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as far as Gilroy. The northern terminus of the line is in San Francisco at 4th and King Street. Caltrain has 28 regular stops, one limited-service weekday-only stop, one weekend and holiday-only stop (Broadway), and one football-only stop (Stanford). While average weekday ridership in 2019 exceeded 63,000, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been significant: in June 2024, Caltrain had an average weekday ridership of 24,580 passengers.
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile (270 km) passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San Jose and Sacramento. The route runs roughly parallel to I-880 and I-80. Some limited trips run between Oakland and San Jose. A single daily round trip runs between San Jose and Auburn, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Capitol Corridor trains started in 1991.
The Altamont Corridor Express is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs. Service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, and operations are contracted to Herzog Transit Services. The 86-mile (138 km) route includes ten stops, with travel time about 2 hours and 12 minutes end-to-end. In 2023, the line had a ridership of 576,300, or about 3,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024. ACE uses Bombardier BiLevel Coaches, MPI F40PH-3C locomotives, and Siemens Charger locomotives.
The Third Street Light Rail Project was the construction project that expanded the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California, linking downtown San Francisco to the historically underserved southeastern neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley along the eastern side of the city. Construction was finished in late 2006, non-revenue weekend service began on January 13, 2007, and full service began on April 7, 2007. The new service, as the T Third Street Metro line, replaced the 15 Third bus line, which ran south from the Caltrain Depot at 4th and King streets, along Third Street and Bayshore Boulevard to the southeastern neighborhoods.
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a 70-mile (110 km) corridor between Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County and Larkspur Landing in Marin County. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 749,700, or about 3,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr.
Monterey–Salinas Transit (MST) is the public transit system for Monterey County, California. Service is primarily to the greater Monterey and Salinas areas, but extends as far south as Paso Robles and Big Sur and as far north as Watsonville. Most lines follow a hub-and-spoke system, connecting at hubs in Monterey or Salinas. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,470,300, or about 9,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Sprinter is a hybrid rail service operating in the North County area of San Diego County between the cities of Escondido and Oceanside, California, United States. The service uses the 22-mile (35 km) Escondido Subdivision of the San Diego Northern Railroad. Station platforms were constructed for the line's fifteen stations serving the cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido. The line provides service to California State University, San Marcos and Palomar College. Sprinter service operates every 30 minutes and is targeted towards students and commuters.
Gilroy station is a Caltrain station located in Gilroy, California, United States. It is the southernmost terminus of the Caltrain system, and is only served during weekday rush hours in the peak direction, with trains going toward San Francisco in the morning and returning southbound in the evening. The station building was constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1918 and restored in 1998. Future plans call for extended Amtrak Capitol Corridor service, as well as California High-Speed Rail trains, to also stop at Gilroy. The station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.
The VTA light rail system serves San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and has 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising three main lines on standard gauge tracks. Originally opened on December 11, 1987, the light rail system has expanded since then, and currently has 60 stations in operation.
The Del Monte was a passenger train operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad between San Francisco and Monterey, California. It ran from 1889 to 1971.
Salinas station, also known as the Salinas Intermodal Transportation Center, is an intermodal transit center in downtown Salinas, California, United States. As a transit hub, the facility is a passenger rail station and bus station.
The Portal, also known as the Downtown Rail Extension (DTX), is a planned second phase of the Salesforce Transit Center. When complete, it will extend the Caltrain Peninsula Corridor commuter rail line from its current northern terminus at 4th and King via a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) tunnel. The new terminus will be near the Financial District and will provide intermodal connections to BART, Muni, Transbay AC Transit buses, and long-distance buses. In addition, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) plans to use DTX and the Caltrain-owned Peninsula Corridor for service on the CHSRA San Francisco–San Jose segment. Because DTX uses a long tunnel, current diesel locomotives are not suitable and the Caltrain Modernization Program (CalMod), which includes electrification of the line and acquisition of electrified rolling stock, is a prerequisite.
The Eastside Transit Corridor is a light rail line extension that currently connects Downtown Los Angeles with East Los Angeles. However, the extension is planned to extend further southeast to connect with the Gateway Cities, continuing from a relocated Atlantic station southeast to a new Lambert station in Whittier.
Monterey station was a train station in Monterey, California located close to Fisherman's Wharf. Originally served by the Monterey & Salinas Valley Railroad, the line was purchased by Southern Pacific on September 29, 1879. Southern Pacific constructed a new station building in 1921. Train service ended with the cancellation of the Del Monte after April 30, 1971, when Amtrak took over passenger rail services in the United States.
Pajaro/Watsonville is a proposed train station that will serve both Pajaro and Watsonville, California. The station is expected to open after track improvements in the area and service commences to Salinas as part of the Monterey County Rail Extension. It will be located in Watsonville Junction near the corner of Salinas Road and Lewis Road, adjacent to the former Southern Pacific Railroad depot and current Union Pacific Railroad office. The station will eventually serve Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, and Coast Starlight. Construction of the station is expected to begin in 2027.
The Monterey Branch Line is a railway line located in Monterey County, California. It runs 16 miles (26 km) between Castroville, where it connects to the Union Pacific Coast Line, and Monterey, formerly running as far as Pacific Grove. It is roughly paralleled by California State Route 1.
The Monterey County Rail Extension is a planned commuter rail extension that would bring Caltrain passenger service south of its existing Gilroy, California terminus to Salinas in Monterey County, using the existing Coast Line owned by Union Pacific (UPRR). Implementation of the rail extension will occur over three phases, starting from Salinas and moving north. When construction is complete, there will be four trains operated over the extended line per weekday: two northbound trains that depart from Salinas and travel to San Francisco in the morning, and two southbound trains that return to Salinas in the afternoon.
