Oakland Subdivision No More?

[Kris94]

http://www.acgov.org/pwa/documents/UPRR_Executive_Summary.pdf

I was riding BART and they had placed fences on sections of the rail line. I saw this in 2012 and last year. Sucks I never got to see trains on the tracks. I only seen a red signal on the line a few times and active gates twice as they were malfunctioning. I can't show any photos as it was physically impossible given the speed and where I was sitting on BART.

 

[pdkoester]

Kris94,

Which area do you reside? Oakland is not too far from me, so this kind of is of interest to me, also.

Paul

 

[nicky9499]

At the risk of being accused of invading his privacy...Elk Grove, California?

 

[NIARTcar]

Oakland Subdivision No More?

No, not really. Two thirds of the makeup of the Oakland Sub is actually the line from Niles to Stockton California, passing through Pleasanton, Livermore, and Tracy as well. This part of the line still sees fair traffic daily in addition to the regular commuter service over the Altamont Pass. This part of the line is far from dead. However, the Oakland leg of the line heading north has been on the decline for quite some time, so it is not surprising. UP favors the Niles Sub for any northward activity as well as AmCal (mainly due to the structure of the Niles interchange). Though I expect them to maintain the leg should future expansions ever arise. Up tends to hold onto valuable land assets like this, The Tracy Sub heading out of the center of town (Ex SP yard) is a prime example of this. All the crossings and equipment are well maintained
despite the rare usage.

cheers

 

[Kris94]

[/FONT]
No, not really. Two thirds of the makeup of the Oakland Sub is actually the line from Niles to Stockton California, passing through Pleasanton, Livermore, and Tracy as well. This part of the line still sees fair traffic daily in addition to the regular commuter service over the Altamont Pass. This part of the line is far from dead. However, the Oakland leg of the line heading north has been on the decline for quite some time, so it is not surprising. UP favors the Niles Sub for any northward activity as well as AmCal (mainly due to the structure of the Niles interchange). Though I expect them to maintain the leg should future expansions ever arise. Up tends to hold onto valuable land assets like this, The Tracy Sub heading out of the center of town (Ex SP yard) is a prime example of this. All the crossings and equipment are well maintained
despite the rare usage.

cheers

That's because of the merger with the SP. It had four options but I doubt UP was going to use all four because of costs. The Cal-P and Niles line is the fastest and best route unless traffic coming from central and southern California is going to the bay area, then it'd be better for the Oakland Line or the dormant Morocco line. That's why the Sacramento Subdivision isn't as busy as it once was because UP had the Fresno line to move traffic on.

 

[NIARTcar]

That's because of the merger with the SP. It had four options but I doubt UP was going to use all four because of costs. The Cal-P and Niles line is the fastest and best route unless traffic coming from central and southern California is going to the bay area, then it'd be better for the Oakland Line or the dormant Morocco line. That's why the Sacramento Subdivision isn't as busy as it once was because UP had the Fresno line to move traffic on.

Additionally, the line may see some occasional use still. Last I checked, there are still three operating industries using railcars to move product along the line. They seem to be closer to Oakland, where the Niles and Oakland Subs join once more, so it is feasible that UP could and would continue to operate the end of the line to service said industries coming down south from Oakland (If they haven't been doing this already). Bart earthquake retrofits may also be to blame here, the line between Fremont and Oakland parallels the Bart Viaduct for a good portion of the distance. Bart has been working on beefing up it's supports for the line to meet federal standards and due to the proximity to the line, it may be safer and more efficient to close the line then operate it with construction on-going in the adjacent areas.

 

[Kris94]

Additionally, the line may see some occasional use still. Last I checked, there are still three operating industries using railcars to move product along the line. They seem to be closer to Oakland, where the Niles and Oakland Subs join once more, so it is feasible that UP could and would continue to operate the end of the line to service said industries coming down south from Oakland (If they haven't been doing this already). Bart earthquake retrofits may also be to blame here, the line between Fremont and Oakland parallels the Bart Viaduct for a good portion of the distance. Bart has been working on beefing up it's supports for the line to meet federal standards and due to the proximity to the line, it may be safer and more efficient to close the line then operate it with construction on-going in the adjacent areas.

I still see signaling on the dormant part of the line but no trains however. There was one time I saw a locomotive passed the railroad crossing on San Leandro Street just before the Oakland Line submerges to the Niles Subdivision but that's it. Oh wait, I forgot one one other occasion I saw another local freight but it was in the South Hayward/Union City area as well.