The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine profiles several "extreme" commuters from San Francisco to Sacramento aboard the Amtrak Capital Corridor train. Complete with great photos and anecdotes, it portrays the Amtrak bus and train ride quite accurately.
"The Capitol Corridor is a line made possible by the voters, who in 1990 approved Prop. 116 to provide state funding for intercity passenger rail service. Until 1998, there were only four trains each direction per day and the morning commute was essentially westbound only. Now there are 16 roundtrips. The State of California owns the rolling stock, Union Pacific owns the tracks, BART supplies administration, Amtrak staffs the trains and stations and a joint powers authority oversees it. The Capitol Corridor is like Caltrain with more layers of agencies
Between four morning trains, 1,000 passengers ride from the Bay Area to Sacramento daily. Emeryville is by far the busiest station, with 135 daily commuters."
"The fare from San Francisco is $24 one-way. Half the passengers buy blocks of tickets, bringing it down to $14 one-way. Unlike Amtrak lines, there is no federal money involved in the Capitol Corridor. Its $40 million budget comes from passenger fares and the state, on a 50-50 split
At least two of the regulars on the 6:40 have some indirect connection to funding - Bourgart, 62, whose agency oversees Caltrans, a major funding source of the Capitol Corridor, and Crane, 54, who serves on the high-speed rail authority. To be sure everything goes smoothly, Gene Skoropowski, managing director of the Capitol Corridor, boards the train in Martinez."
"Crane started by driving to the Capitol, but switched to the train four years ago. "Because you can work so pleasantly in the train, it's delightful," he says, "as long as you like to work."

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free
Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Fort Worth
planning NEXT
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie