California

State Details

See California; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.

Maps

California is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume California & Nevada and by the Sonrisa Publications California Railroad Map

Rail Operators

• AMTRAK - AMTRAK have an extensive network within California, including the following services
  • Interstate services
    • The California Zephyr - Runs from Chicago to Emeryville (San Francisco), entering the state west of Reno, Nevada. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA4.
    • The Southwest Chief - Runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, entering the state east of Needles, California. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA2, CA7 and CA8.
    • The Sunset Limited - Runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles entering the state at Yuma. Shares the California section with the Texas Eagle, which runs Chicago - San Antonio - Los Angeles. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA2.
    • The Coast Starlight - Runs Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and Los Angeles, entering the state south of Klamath Falls, Oregon. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA12 and CA14.
  • AMTRAK California.
    • The Pacific Surfliner - The Pacific Surfliner serves Southern California on a route between San Luis Obispo and San Diego via Los Angeles.
    • The San Joaquins - The San Joaquins operate between Bakersfield and Stockton, then to either Sacramento (calling at Stockton Downtown) or San Francisco (calling at Stockton San Joaquin Street). See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA13.
    • The Capitol Corridor - The Capitol Corridor route runs from San Jose to Sacramento via Oakland, Richmond, Martinez, Suisun City and David. One Capitol Corridor train per day continues east of Sacramento to Auburn.
• Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a 86 mile commuter rail service connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only.
• Arrow is a rail service in San Bernardino County running for 9 miles between the San Bernardino Transit Center and the University of Redlands. It is operated under contract by Metrolink.
• Caltrain is a 77 mile commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon 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 electrified 51 miles of its route between 4th and King and Tamien.
• Coaster is a commuter rail service San Diego County operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). Trains run 41 miles between San Diego Santa Fe depot and Oceanside Transit center. The service operates primarily during weekday peak periods, with limited midday, weekend, and holiday service. The same tracks are used by AMTRAK California services.
• Metrolink an eight line commuter rail system serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, as well as to Oceanside in San Diego County. There are 545.6 miles of track. This includes Arrow (see separate entry), which Metrolink operates under contract. System maps are here. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA6.
• Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a 45 mile railroad in Sonoma and Marin counties running between Larkspur and Sonoma County Airport with an extension to Windsor commencing on 31 May 2025.

Service further north to Healdsburg is estimated for 2027, and the final leg to Cloverdale, where a station already exists, in the 2030s.

Updated May 2025.

Tourist Lines

• Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad - Operate a narrow gauge circular railroad with two loops in Oak Meadow Park, Los Gatos.
• The Calico & Odessa Railroad - This is a 2ft 6in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railroad in the ghost town of Calico, California.
• California State Railroad Museum - The museum operate the Sacramento Southern Railroad over 3 miles from Old Sacramento Waterfront alongside the Sacramento River.
• California Trolley & Railroad Corporation - Tracks from the Trolley barn in San Jose extend the length of Kelley Park to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, and free streetcar rides are available to the public on weekends. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA24.
• California Western Railroad - The California Western Railroad (popularly called the Skunk Train), operate rail freight services and also a heritage railroad in Mendocino County, California,running from the coastal town of Fort Bragg to the interchange with the Northwestern Pacific Railroad at Willits.
• Disneyland Railroad - This is a 3-foot (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. Its route is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long and encircles the majority of the park.
• El Dorado Western Railroad - Excursions are operated on the Placerville Branch between Shingle Springs and Missouri Flat Road. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA16.
• Ghost Town and Calico Railroad - A 3ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad and amusement park attraction within Knott's Berry Farm, located in Buena Park, California.
• Napa Valley Wine Train - This is a privately operated excursion train that runs between Napa and St. Helena. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA26.
• Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum - Provides rides on a circular woodland railway with two loops in Nevada City, California.
• Niles Canyon Railway- This is a heritage railway running 9.2 miles on the first transcontinental railroad alignment through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA23.
• Pacific Coast Railroad - A 3ft (914 mm) narrow gauge tourist railroad comprising a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) loop located at the Santa Margarita Ranch in Santa Margarita, California. Sees only limited public operation.
• Pacific Southwest Railway Museum - Operates train excursions from Campo, in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, to International Tunnel #4, a few hundred yards from the Mexican border.
• Poway–Midland Railroad - Poway–Midland Railroad is small circular heritage railroad in Old Poway Park in Poway, California. The gauge is 3ft 6 in (1,067 mm).
• Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - Based in Jamestown CA, the Museum run excursions for 6 miles on the original Sierra Railway marketed as the Sierra Railway.
• Redwood Valley Railway - The Redwood Valley Railway is a 15 inch (381 mm) gauge miniature railway at Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California.
• The Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad - This is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge tourist railroad that starts from the Roaring Camp depot in Felton, California and runs up to a loop at the top of nearby Bear Mountain, a distance of 3.25 miles (5.23 kilometers).
• The Sacramento RiverTrain - Operate excursion trains from West Sacramento station to Woodland, but see Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA21.
• Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway - This is the Santa Cruz Beach Train which operates an 8-mile (13-kilometer) route between Felton and Santa Cruz. It is adjacent to the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad at Felton. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger services CA17.
• The Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources The society operates The Railroad Museum at Ardenwood, which is a heritage railroad located at Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park in Fremont, California. Trains run between Ardenwood and Deer Park stations.
• South California Railway Museum- Located south east of Los Angeles in Perris, the Museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds and on a right of way into downtown Perris.
• Western Pacific Railroad Museum - Located in Portola, which is northeast of San Francisco near the Nevada border. Rides are offered in sidings and a loop around the Museum grounds.
• Western Railway Museum - Located in Solano County between Rio Vista and Suisun. A 1.5 mile (2.4 km) streetcar ride and/or a 10 mile (16 km) Interurban ride is available.
• The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad- This is a historic 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway located near Fish Camp, California, near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. Trains run over a 4 mile (6.4 km) section of track from Yosemite Mountain station to Lewis Creek. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA19.

Metro and light rail systems

• Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) This is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has six routes and 131 miles of track. A map of the system is here. Note that the system includes eBART, which is considered part of the Yellow line, but is a different gauge from the rest of the network and runs from an auxiliary island platform 0.6 miles east of Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch. Also note that the Oakland Airport Connector, a 3-mile automated guideway transit line serving San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport runs on rubber tyres and may not meet some people's definition of a railroad. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA10 .
• The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County consisting of six lines: four light rail lines (the A, C, E and K lines) and two rapid transit lines (the B and D lines). A map of the system can be found here. Note that the D line is in the process of extension in three phases. More information here. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA27.
• The San Francisco Municipal Railway also referred to as the SF Muni or Muni), is the primary public transit system of San Francisco
  • Muni Metro light rail system. Network map here. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA25.
  • Muni operate three historic cable car lines: the California Street line, the Powell-Mason line, and the Powell-Hyde line. A map is here.
  • Muni operate two historic streetcar (tram) lines. E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves. The former is suspended until further notice (as at November 2024).
• SacRT light rail system. This light rail system serves the Sacramento area. The three lines cover 42.9 miles. A network map is here.
• San Diego Trolley network includes a light rail system and historic trolley (tram). A map of the system is here
  • The San Diego Trolley light rail system has four lines (Blue, Green, Orange, and Copper) covering 67.9 miles of track. See also Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services CA22.
  • The San Diego Silver line is a heritage streetcar (tram) line that operates on holidays. Map and dates of operation here.
• VTA light rail. The VTA light rail system serves San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County. It has 42.2 miles of network comprising three main lines. Maps may be found here.

Recent and Future Changes

Recent Changes

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) open a 3 mile extension to Windsor commencing on 31 May 2025.

Future Changes

California High-Speed Rail - This is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about 494 miles (795 km) long, is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the Central Valley, and is partially funded and under construction. A proposed Phase 2 would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total of 776 miles (1,249 km). 2025 Project update here

Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services

See USA - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services - California.