Line 55 Monterey - San Jose Express

An express bus service makes 3 round trips daily from Monterey and Salinas to San Jose, with stops at the Gilroy and Morgan Hill Caltrain stations. Caltrain passengers with a three-zone or greater monthly pass ride free. MST customers with day passes or monthly all-zone passes are allowed free transfers to VTA local buses and light rail lines. For more information on Line 55, see the Monterey-Salinas Transit website or call toll free 1-888-MST-BUS1

Salinas-Monterey Rail

There are plans to provide a new rail service from Salinas in Monterey County to San Jose. Proposed rail service would make one or two round-trips a day. Stations are planned in Salinas, Castroville and Pajaro en route to San Jose and San Francisco.


One of the rail service options under study. Source: TAMC

Estimated cost: $90 million
Secured funding (Jan 2007): $30 million
Projected ridership: 530,000 riders/year

» click here for official project website

It's not yet determined whether the service will be a Caltrain extension, a special Amtrak service, remain a bus service, or take some other form. The Transportation Authority of Monterey County (TAMC) is evaluating the alternatives, and strongly favors turning the service into a Caltrain extension, but Caltrain is lukewarm about the idea.

Caltrain is not keen to operate the service, for many reasons. Running a service to a far-flung locale like Monterey introduces a number of logistical and operational headaches to deploy personnel and equipment -- and worse -- additional subsidy for what is most likely a small number of riders.  The track is owned by Union Pacific and currently in poor condition. TAMC has yet to resolve issues with Union Pacific that have plagued other operators. Given these problems with UP, Caltrain is worried about being able to operate a safe and reliable service. An equally important but unspoken set of concerns include, whether Caltrain would have to alter its governing structure to include TAMC, and especially, who pays for the subsidies to transport riders from Monterey County to say, San Jose. The Santa Clara VTA is having difficulty enough paying their Caltrain subsidies as it is, and is likely to balk at contributing for Salinas service.

The sentiments of TAMC staff notwithstanding, they'd probably be more successful talking to the Amtrak Capitol Corridor folks to make this an extension of the Capitol Corridor service (riders would have to transfer in San Jose to go to San Francisco) or a revived Coast Daylight service, which is a better fit to the type of long-distance commute service they want to have. Salinas/Monterey rail is not likely to become a high priority of the Caltrain governing board any time soon -- politically speaking, their constituents would experience greater benefit from other projects like electrification, Dumbarton Rail, and the downtown SF extension. However, BayRail Alliance is supportive of the concept of Salinas/Monterey rail service. It remains to be seen if Monterey County folks can resolve the sticky funding and operational issues that the project faces.

Beginning August 28, 2006, Monterey-Salinas Transit introduced an express bus service to serve this corridor (see sidebar to the left).

Salinas/Monterey Extension Milestones

May 1, 1971: Amtrak takes over operation of the nation's intercity passenger trains. The northern terminal of the Coast Daylight to Los Angeles is changed to Oakland from San Francisco so as to go through to Seattle. Southern Pacific's Del Monte, which ran from San Francisco to Monterey, is discontinued altogether. As a result, commuter trains become the only rail passenger service between San Francisco and San Jose.

December 27, 1991: The PCJPB purchased the 51.4-mile railroad right-of-way from Southern Pacific. The right-of-way, which runs from San Francisco to San Jose, cost $219 million. San Mateo County provides the funding with the understanding that San Francisco and Santa Clara County would pay San Mateo County back, promises that are later broken and which create a sore point between the counties. Included with the purchase were trackage rights for the rails between San Jose and Gilroy, with an option to acquire half the right of way at a cost of $30 million (check this number). Santa Clara County fails to pursue this option to buy the right of way, and it expires in 1996.