Commenter Wrote:
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> Well there is always the possibility that the San
> Joaquins will be the locals and stay on the
> present route. Places like Corcoran get more
> trains than they get buses right now, and no HSR
> trains will stop there as there won't even be a
> station on the HSR line.
>
> Cross platform transfers are more likely. When
> (if) the whole HSR line is built most will stay on
> the HSR train, but some will transfer to locals.
> Just like in the rest of the world.


No, not like the rest of the world. First off, Corcoran is south of Merced, we're talking about Stockton-Merced. Second, the UP line runs closer to the town centers and will have regional/virtual commuter trains for ACE and similar to Sacramento that function as locals. The new Sacramento line is supposed to function as the HSR connecting service until in theory HSR Phase Yeah Right finally is extended to Sac. So north of Merced the San Joaquins end up just an Oakland-Martinez-Merced regional with fewer stops than the parallel new UP service.

2 parallel lines a few miles apart shared and dispatched by freight railroads, and all the increased delays from freight interference and breakdowns that go along with that compromise. Better to not sink any more $$$ into the SJ's BNSF route Stockton-Merced and instead create a passenger only line in the UP ROW dispatched by a passenger operating entity. How they actually do it in much of 'the rest of the world.'