I find the Amtrak San Juaquin route to be an interesting route because of the switching between the lines owned by the BNSF and the UP.

Is it true that the Santa Fe Railway had a better working relationship with Amtrak when the service was re-initiated in 1974 than the SP railroad did which was a reason that that Amtrak chose to operate the San Jaoquin train on that railroads Bakerfield Line down the Central Valley instead of the SP Fresno Line although I have heard that Amtrak originally wanted to acquire the use of that line for that purpose? It seemed back in those days that the Santa Fe had a better working professional organization than the SP did? Right? Does that legacy still affect how the BNSF and the UP operate today? Wouldn't Amtrak have had the Eminent Domain powers under the law to force the SP to comply and offer the use of their line anyway for that purpose?

Interestingly, if an Amtrak San Jaoquin Train Detour or future ongoing re-route was needed the UP Fresno line could serve as a viable route because all the San Jaoquin has to do is just stay on the UP Fresno line from Sacramento or switch on to it at Stockton from the Bay Area and leave it at the Jasco connection line in Bakersfield and take that line right to the BNSF Bakersfield line and turn east at the wye and take the train right to the Bakersfield Amtrak Station along the BNSF line. Right?

Even the Calwa Crossing in Fresno could serve as a route change point between Stockton and Bakersfield between the UP Fresno and BNSF Bakersfield lines. I believe there is a connection there point there. Right?

Another concern is if the ACE commuter train service was ever extended to Modesto, would it use the current Amtrak Station on the east side on the BNSF Bakersfield Line as an origination/ termination and connection point to serve the Amtrak San Jaoquin trains since an established station already exists there as well or using the ex-SP station in downtown Modesto as an origination point which might justify the Amtrak San Jaoquin trains establishing a new route on the UP Fresno Line? n the other hand there would be the problem of moving the already established Amtrak Stations on the BNSF Bakersfield Line.

I have noticed that the UP Fresno Line which for the most part does not serve as the Amtrak San Jaoquin Route in the Valley is being used by BNSF Freight Trains under a trackage rights agreement but the reverse apparently isn't the case with the BNSF Bakersfield line that the Amtrak San Jaoquin Trains use. Is it because of the reason to avoid to many trains being on any one single tracked line by conferring regular trackage rights to no more than one other tenant railroad in addition to the owner railroads use?

Anyone have any ideas about the future of this route?

Interestingly, two Amtrak trains run between Sacramento and Los Angeles the Coast Starlight which is actually the through train but runs on a more time extended schedule and the San Jaoquin that dosen't actually go all the way but runs currently only as a stub route to Bakersfield with a bus bridge connection to Los Angeles. Have there been negotiations with the UP for a trial run on the UP Bakersfield and Saugus lines to completely extend the Amtrak San Jaoquin train movement all the way the Los Angeles. As a matter of fact a part of this route extension known as the Saugus Line is already used in passenger train service by Metrolink between Lancaster and Los Angeles. If there ever was a route extension what would be the pros and the cons of making numerous switches between lines owned by different railroads the UP from Oakland to Port Chicago, BNSF from Port Chicago to Stockton, UP from Sacramento to Stockton, the BNSF from Stockton to Bakersfield and the UP Bakerfield to Los Angeles.

I recall that the current Amtrak San Juoquin route was the one used by the Santa Fe San Francisco Chief many years ago that ran from Barstow to Richmond. Right?

Interestingly, I rode the San Jaoquin train on Monday,September 24, 2007 from Bakersfield to Sacramento and got to Sacramento 5 minutes early after the train was running 10 minutes late between the intermediate stations. Also, apparently a hobo took a ride on top of the train all the way from Bakersfield and two Sacramento Police cars were at the Sacramento Valley Amtrak Station to take him into custody for illegally riding the train without a ticket.

Apparently, the BNSF seems to manage Amtrak movements in a timely manner over their line and they should be praised for that.

Any other interesting Amtrak San Jaoquin experiances any of you readers might want to share?