Passenger Trains > UP Digging up Jack London Square

Union Pacific has resumed a track project that was partially completed two years ago(Oct. 2010) with the rebuilding of the street trackage on 1st St./Embarcadero through Oakland's Jack London Square. Two blocks(Webster to Broadway) of this four block stretch saw new rail and ties installed with the old crumbling asphalt removed and replaced by concrete panels of the type commonly seen at grade crossings but in this case extending for several hundred feet. UP has now picked up where they left off two years ago and will now finish up with the two blocks from Broadway to Clay. The final phase of the project will involve repaving for vehicular traffic from the edge of the concrete panels to the curb, presumably by the City of Oakland with all four blocks in need of this work. This will finally bury the old unused and disconnected lead track on the water side that has occupied the pavement for years.

The work will take place over the next two weeks with the greatest impact being to Amtrak service to OKJ. In regular service access to the platforms at OKJ can only be via main two and during the project only one track will be in service. A very short(about 15' long) asphalt platform does extend out to main one but it looks as if Amtrak would prefer to keep its use to a minimum. The impact to Capitol Corridor service is as follows:
http://www.capitolcorridor.org/news/whats-new/temporary-service-change-november-5-16-2012/

In addition, all San Joaquins except the late evening 717 will originate or terminate at Emeryville. Amtrak #11(4) did not stop at OKJ this morning--those passengers detrained at EMY and hopped aboard #527 and got off at that shorty platform at OKJ. Don't know what the plans are for #14 in the evening.

Three views from this morning:

1) Amtrak #528 rolls north on main one past UP crews digging up the asphalt around track two. The train occupies part of the two block stretch upgraded two years ago. City of Oakland dump trucks were hauling away the aspahlt debris this morning indicating this project as a joint railroad/city effort.

2) Amtrak #11(4) creeps by on main one.

3) Amtrak #527 passes new track panels staged at CP King that in a few days will be buried under concrete crossing panels which will then extend over the entire four blocks from Webster to Clay.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/12 14:48 by shed47.

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Is track 1 really on the south side?

So why did it take 2 years to finish this project?

I visited this spot before & after after the first project was completed. Before the project, the asphalt over the tracks was very rough which was a good way to keep drivers off the ROW. After the project, the concrete panels were the smoothest part of this section of the Embarcadero and some (but not all) drivers went out of their way to drive on the tracks. It will be interesting to see what happens when this project is finished.

Sweet, caught an upgraded P40(42) leading the Starlight.

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

Subdivision runs north and south.


timz2 Wrote:
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> Is track 1 really on the south side?

Frontrunner Wrote:
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> So why did it take 2 years to finish this project?

Spoke briefly today to some UP workers and they stated "budgetary issues".

It looks like UP has agreed to pay for even the street paving between the tracks and the curb. A little more from the Oakland Public Works Agency:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/pwa/documents/pressrelease/oak038322.pdf



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/12 21:09 by shed47.

In the first photo, it is clear that UP and the CC folks could have designed and installed a crossover switch from Main 1 to the outside passenger platform at Jack London, thus increasing routing flexibility, certainly in situations like this one. Why they didn't do it just makes me shake my head. As it is, all passenger traffic has to arrive / depart via the #2 Main, which is now "out of service" for a while. Any other problems on Main 2 could also negate station access. Dumb planning.

Have railroads forgotten the lessons / flexibility planning of the past?

The crossover switch from main track 1 to main track 2 is shown in picture 3 at CP King. CP King is behind you in picture 1.

Stephanie Ann

Yes, but the problem still remains--only 1 track access into a 2-track station.