The past two days I have ridden Capitol Corridor to downtown Sacramento, and it has been quite the experience, and something I hope to continue in the future. And now — more than ever — I really wish the station in Hercules will open on-schedule (albeit with a Waterfront-appropriate architectural style).*

I left my house a little after 6am and had a few minutes to spare at the Martinez station (MTZ) before the train arrived. It was officially two minutes behind its scheduled 6:29 depart time. Unfortunately, MTZ is as far as it possibly can get from Hwy 4, although traffic on city streets is minimal that early in the morning. Parking is free, but it is limited and first come, first served.

The scenery on the eastbound trip is nothing short of spectacular: the sun rises over the Sierras, the golden fields, the morning fog retreats through the outcropped Fairfield hills. The trip lasts roughly an hour with two stops in-between. Speeding past at-grade intersections with the train’s horn blaring has a sort of, um, sensual feeling to it, at least for me, but I’m an engineer and I’m also mad about New Urbanism and transit-oriented development, as well as rail travel in general. (Mad in a good sense of course. Speaking of which, the area surrounding the Suisun-Fairfield station is in desperate need of some quality T.O.D.; the potential for a return on investment is huge.) The return trip with a setting sun is just as picturesque.

There is a café in one of the cars and the seats recline three times more than airline seats with three times more legroom. I would have easily been able to sleep (or continue reading the book I’m reading, currently Guns, Germs, and Steel) had the experience not been so new and adventurous for me. In the morning there are quiet cars (no talking allowed) but I am not sure how to tell which cars are which before you board (and it is more difficult to switch seats, compared to riding BART, since the train attendant posts a note about your destination above your seat after he checks your ticket; maybe I am making more of this than is necessary).

You could even use the café as a dinner alternative, if eating train food satisfies, but relying on such is probably similar to those that insist on getting In-N-Out via drive-through even though they are not in a hurry or even going anywhere. In my opinion, sitting in an In-N-Out is just as Californian as sitting in an idling vehicle waiting for your food. A good burger is a good burger.

For the productivity inclined, there is a power outlet in every seat row, and free wifi access is apparently coming soon. You could easily bill an hour if that tickles your fancy.

Something that certainly caught my eye was that all the stations on the way to Sacramento — MTZ, Suisun/Fairfield, Davis and Sacramento Valley (SAC) — all feature at-grade pedestrian crossings, that is, passengers must physically cross the tracks to board the trains. One of the features that has made the planned Hercules intermodal station what it is is the requirement for grade-separated crossings, i.e., a series of stairways and ramps. This requirement imposed on our fair city is apparently new, although it may make sense since not all trains will stop at the future station (e.g., regular Amtrak, etc.), unlike at MTZ and SAC. (I am not sure if all trains stop at the other two.)

In any sense, based on the newly-revised options for the station, the Hercules station will be the cream of the crop along the line. SAC is nice and historic (and coincidentally matches the Waterfront-warehouse style being courted in Hercules) but does not marry the waterfront as neatly (although the river is nearby). SAC is also multi-modal: light rail and buses depart along with the Capitol Corridor and Amtrak trains. A future ferry in Hercules will clearly push our station over the top.

I bought a 10-ride ticket; I’ll do the same trip tomorrow. So when does construction start?

* This post is admittedly bit more personal in nature as people continue to ask why I keep doing this [that is, the blog], and wonder how much money I make from the (silly) ads that are shown. (Answers: I have an inflated sense of self-worth, and not much.)