Existing law requires revenues attributable to a certain portion of the sales tax on diesel fuel to be continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency under a program commonly known as the State Rail Assistance Program for allocation to public agencies responsible for state-supported intercity rail services, and public agencies responsible for commuter rail services, to be used for operations and capital improvements. sets forth various provisions applicable to all public transit and transit districts and includes specific requirements applicable to public entities that operate commuter rail or rail transit systems.

This bill would require, as a condition of receiving funding under the program, a public agency responsible for commuter rail services that has a transfer connection station between 2 or more commuter rail services to adopt a special events service plan for each event that meets specified requirements. The bill would require the special events service plan to include schedules to access the event without requiring a transfer, ticket interoperability, and all other technical, equipment, and infrastructure requirements. require, on or before July 1, 2027, a regional rail operator, as defined, operating within an intercity rail corridor to ensure that its fare systems are fully integrated with the fare systems of the intercity rail operator, and any other regional rail operator, operating in the intercity rail corridor. By imposing additional duties on regional rail operators, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation, subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor. Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on an annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law requires the joint powers board to submit the annual business plan to the secretary for review and recommendation by April 1 of each year.

This bill would require an interagency transfer agreement to require a joint powers board to ensure that supplemental service is provided for major, publicly attended service planning is provided for special events, as specified. defined. The bill would require require, commencing with the 202728 fiscal year, the business plan to include a special events service plan that includes detailed operating schedules, fare information, and rolling stock requirements designed to satisfy the requirement to provide that supplemental service. establishes, among other things, an intercity rail operating schedule for special events and fare system integration between the intercity rail operator and regional rail operators. To the extent that the bill would add to the duties of a joint powers board, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires revenues attributable to a certain portion of the sales tax on diesel fuel to be continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency under a program commonly known as the State Rail Assistance Program for allocation to public agencies responsible for state-supported intercity rail services, and public agencies responsible for commuter rail services, to be used for operations and capital improvements.

This bill would require, as a condition of receiving funding under the program, a public agency responsible for commuter rail services that has a transfer connection station between 2 or more commuter rail services to adopt a special events service plan for each event that meets specified requirements. The bill would require the special events service plan to include schedules to access the event without requiring a transfer, ticket interoperability, and all other technical, equipment, and infrastructure requirements.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation, subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor. Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on an annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law requires the joint powers board to submit the annual business plan to the secretary for review and recommendation by April 1 of each year.

This bill would require an interagency transfer agreement to require a joint powers board to ensure that supplemental service is provided for major, publicly attended events, as specified. The bill would require the business plan to include a special events service plan that includes detailed operating schedules, fare information, and rolling stock requirements designed to satisfy the requirement to provide that supplemental service. To the extent that the bill would add to the duties of a joint powers board, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

SB 1136 (Blakespear) - Intercity rail and commuter rail: special events service plans: fare system integration

Bill Summary:

SB 1136 would require intercity rail operators to develop special event service plans and require any intercity and regional rail operator providing service within an intercity rail corridor to establish fare system integration, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• Unknown significant state costs and cost pressures, likely in the millions annually to provide increased subsidies to state-supported intercity rail operators to address the impacts of this bill on an accelerated timeline, including the development and incorporation of special events service plans into interagency rail operators’ business plans and integrating fare payment systems with regional rail operators. This would involve extensive external engagement with special event venues and regional rail operators to develop comprehensive operating schedules with maximized frequency of service, to integrate fare payment systems, and to develop strategies to improve wayfinding and messaging. (Public Transportation Account, State Rail Assistance Fund)
  
• The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) anticipates additional unknown, significant indirect fiscal impacts in the tens of millions of dollars, and potentially over $100 million, primarily due to rolling stock availability and equipment maintenance costs. To the extent the current inventory of rolling stock is inadequate for intercity rail operators to meet the increased service requirements of this bill, Caltrans would need additional resources to purchase rolling stock. In addition, Caltrans anticipates increased maintenance costs, potentially in the millions to tens of millions annually, due to more frequent use of railroad equipment, much of which is aging and in need of overhaul. (Public Transportation Account)
  
• Unknown significant local costs for regional rail operators to fully integrate fare systems with those of the intercity rail operators, which would involve extensive negotiations between agencies, public engagement, and procuring technological solutions to facilitate fare integration. Regional rail operators would also incur administrative costs to coordinate with intercity rail operators to develop special event service plans. While this bill has been keyed by Legislative Counsel as a state-mandated local program, staff assumes that it is unlikely that regional rail operator costs would be deemed reimbursable by the state because they have general authority to set transit fares to cover their operating costs. (Local funds, Public Transportation Account, State Rail Assistance Fund)

Background:

Existing law authorizes Caltrans, subject to approval of the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) assumes responsibility for administering the state-supported intercity passenger rail service, and associated feeder bus service, in a particular corridor. The Capitol Corridor JPA, San Joaquin JPA, and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency have entered into interagency transfer agreements to oversee state‑supported intercity passenger rail service in specified corridors that are defined in statute. The Capitol Corridor service in Northern California covers 170 miles, connecting Auburn to San Jose. The San Joaquins’, recently renamed the Gold Runner, serves the Central Valley. In Southern California, the Pacific Surfliner service is a 351-mile coastal corridor that runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, traveling through Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. Collectively, these lines serve roughly 4 million passengers annually, with the Pacific Surfliner serving roughly 2 million passengers annually alone, making it the second busiest intercity passenger rail route in the nation. Currently, all three intercity rail service lines are managed by local JPAs and operated by Amtrak, while Caltrans remains responsible for providing state funding for each intercity rail line. The combined state subsidy for all three intercity rail corridors was over $192 million in 2024-25, and the JPAs are requesting a total of almost $255 million in state subsidies in 2026-27.

All intercity rail providers in the state are required to submit an annual business plan by April 1 of each year to CalSTA. The primary purpose of these business plans is to report on the performance of the corridor and to discuss potential ways to improve service in the upcoming year. As part of this requirement, the business plan must include both short and long term capital improvements that can be considered. The plan must also discuss the agency’s funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, including a discussion of fares, operating strategies, and marketing strategies. Finally, the plan must describe an action plan that lays out specific performance goals and objectives and how the agency aims to meet those goals.

Existing law, as enacted by SB 1 (Beall), Chap. 5/2017, establishes the State Rail Asssistance (SRA) Program by directing a 0.5% portion of new diesel tax revenue to intercity rail and commuter rail for capital and operations expenses. Half of the revenue is directed to the three intercity rail corridors noted above, and half is directed to the five commuter rail providers, as specified. The SRA Program directs approximately $50 million annually to interctiy and commuter rail operators as of 2024-25.

The five major agencies that provide commuter rail service, as specified, are as follows: the Altamont Corridor Express Authority (ACE) provides service in the Central Valley and Tri-Valley areas, connecting Stockton with San Jose via Tracy, Livermore, and Fremont; the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) operates service in the north Bay Area, connecting Sonoma County with Marin County; the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain) operates in the South Bay area, with service between San Francisco and Gilroy; the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) provides service throughout the counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside; and lastly, the North County Transit Development Board (Coaster) provides service between San Diego and Oceanside. Together, the five commuter rail services had annual ridership of nearly 18 million passengers in FY 2025, with Metrolink and Caltrain making up the vast majority of that number.

Passenger rail in California currently faces many challenges and obstacles. Primary among these is increasing financial instability in the face of both reduced ridership and increasing costs. Ridership across the state drastically declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in many cases has not fully recovered. The three intercity rail operators reported total annual ridership of roughly 4 million passengers in the last fiscal year, compared to a total pre-pandemic number of nearly 6 million. On the commuter rail side, Caltrain is still at roughly only 60% of its pre-pandemic ridership numbers. Similarly, Metrolink has only recently reached 58% of its pre-pandemic ridership. Decreases in farebox recovery from this reduced ridership, combined with increasing maintenance and operation costs admist post-pandemic inflation have placed rail operators in difficult financial positions.

Proposed Law:

SB 1136 would require intercity rail operators to develop special event service plans and require any intercity and commuter rail operator providing service within an intercity rail corridor to establish fare system integration. Specifically, this bill would:

• Define a “regional rail operator” as a public agency, including a JPA, responsible for commuter rail service that receives funds from the State Rail Assistance (SRA) Fund.
• Define a “special event” as a ticketed event located within ½ mile of an intercity rail station and has a venue capacity of at least 15,000 people or a ticketed event located within one mile of an intercity rail station and has a venue capacity of at least 50,000 people.
• Require that an interagency transfer agreement for the provision of intercity rail service include service planning for special events.
• Require intercity rail operators (Capitol Corridor JPA, San Joaquin JPA, and LOSSAN Agency), commencing with the 2027-28 fiscal year, to include a special events service plan in their annual business plans that establishes all of the following:
  • An intercity operating schedule for special events with the greatest frequency of services using available funding and equipment. The operating schedule must leverage fare reciprocity programs between all intercity rail and regional rail operators in the intercity corridor without restrictions, to the greatest extent feasible, account for time needed to access events, and facilitate return trips.
  • A single published schedule made available online that includes connections to regional rail operators that operate in the intercity corridor, as specified.
  • Fare system integration between the intercity operator and regional rail operators that operate a service line that begins and terminates with the intercity rail corridor.
  • Strategies that improve wayfinding and messaging between the intercity rail operator and regional rail operators, access to stations, navigating stations, and trip planning processes when either operator is operating at or near the ticketed capacity.
• Authorize Caltrans to request that the special events service plan be submitted as an amendment to a previously adopted business plan.
• Require a regional rail operator operating within an intercity rail corridor to ensure, by July 1, 2027, that its fare systems are fully integrated with the intercity rail operator and any other regional rail operator that is operating in the intercity corridor.

Related Legislation:

SB 917 (Becker), which was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File in 2022, would have required the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, to develop and adopt a Connected Network Plan, adopt an integrated transit fare structure, develop a regional transit mapping and wayfinding system, and establish open data standards, as specified, for the 27 transit operators in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Staff Comments:

Staff notes that the timelines specified in the bill are likely infeasible. There would be insufficient time for the intercity rail JPAs to develop and incorporate special event service plans into their business plans for the 2027-28 fiscal year. As noted above, business plans are due to CalSTA by April 1, and those plans are largely completed several months in advance and circulated for public comment. Since this bill would be operative on January 1, 2027, it would not be possible for the JPAs to complete the specified workload. Furthermore, the bill requires regional rail operators to ensure that its fare systems are fully integrated with those of the intercity rail corridor, and any other regional rail operators with operations in the intercity corridor, by July 1, 2027, which would likely be unachievable.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Senator Dave Cortese, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: 4/14/2026

SUBJECT:

DIGEST: This bill requires intercity rail operators to develop special event service plans and requires any intercity and commuter rail operator operating within the same rail corridor to establish fare system integration.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Authorizes the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to contract with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for intercity rail passenger services. (GOV 14070.6)
   
2. Provides funding for intercity and commuter passenger rail service from a portion of the sales tax on diesel fuel through the Public Transportation Account. (PUC 99312.3)
   
3. Authorizes Caltrans, subject to approval of the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) assumes responsibility for administering the state-supported intercity passenger rail service, and associated feeder bus service, in a particular corridor. (GOV 14070.2)
   
4. Authorizes the Capitol Corridor JPA, San Joaquin JPA, and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency to oversee state‑supported intercity passenger rail service and defines each corridor. (GOV 2.3.5.1 Articles 5.2, 5.4, 5.6)
   
5. Requires the preparation of an annual Business Plan, due to the Secretary by April 1 every year, for the corridor by each participating JPA board of directors. The Business Plan must include (GOV 14070.4):
   
   1. A report on the recent as well as historical performance of the corridor service;
   2. An overall operating plan including proposed service enhancements to increase ridership and provide for increased traveler demands in the corridor for the upcoming year;
   3. Short-term and long-term capital improvement programs;
   4. Funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year; and,
   5. An action plan with specific performance goals and objectives.

This bill:

1. Defines a “regional rail operator” as a public agency, including a JPA, responsible for commuter rail service that receives funds from the State Rail Assistance (SRA) fund.
   
2. Defines a “special event”, as a ticketed event at a venue with a capacity of:
   
   1. At least 15,000 people, for venues within one-half mile of an intercity rail station, or,
      
   2. At least 50,000 people, for venues within one mile of an intercity rail station.
      
3. Requires that an interagency transfer agreement for the provision of intercity rail service includes service planning for special events.
   
4. Requires the annual business plan submitted by an intercity rail operator, commencing in fiscal year (FY) 2028, to include a special events service plan that establishes:
   
   1. An operating schedule for special events with the greatest service frequency possible given available funding and equipment;
      
   2. A single published schedule, available online, that includes connections to regional rail operators that operate in the intercity corridor;
      
   3. Fare system integration between the intercity rail operator and any regional rail operators that operate a service line beginning or ending within the intercity rail corridor; and,
      
   4. Strategies that improve, among other things, wayfinding and messaging and trip planning processes between intercity rail operators and regional rail operators when either is operating at or near their ticketed capacity.
      
5. Allows the special events service plan to be submitted as an amendment to a previously adopted business plan.
   
6. Requires that by July 1, 2027, a regional rail operator operating within an intercity rail corridor fully integrates its fare system with the intercity rail operator and any other regional rail operator operating in the corridor.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “Passenger rail services are a vital part of the state’s transportation ecosystem and growing them is important for meeting the state’s climate goals. Even though rail is ideal for moving large numbers of people, it is often not easy for passengers to purchase tickets between transit networks, plan departures and arrivals with ease, or even find schedules to plan their trip around. This is especially true for commuters to large events, such as concerts or sporting events, that can attract tens of thousands of spectators. SB 1136 provides a clear framework and tools for intercity rail corridors to better identify and plan for special events when integrating with regional rail operators for a seamless, coordinated customer experience to make taking rail more convenient and appealing.”
   
2. Passenger rail in California. There is a wide variety of passenger rail services available throughout California. These services range from local streetcar and light rail providing intracity transportation, to the multibillion-dollar high speed rail project that aims to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, the two most prominent types of passenger rail service in the state are intercity rail and commuter rail.
   
   For intercity rail, California hosts three intercity routes, which are among the busiest in the nation. The Capitol Corridor service in Northern California covers 170 miles, connecting Auburn to San Jose. San Joaquins’, recently renamed the Gold Runner, serves the Central Valley. In Southern California, the Pacific Surfliner service is a 351-mile coastal corridor that runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, traveling through Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. Collectively, these lines serve roughly 4 million passengers annually, with the Pacific Surfliner serving roughly 2 million passengers annually alone, making it the second busiest intercity passenger rail route in the nation. Currently, all three intercity rail service lines are managed by local JPAs and operated by Amtrak, while Caltrans remains responsible for providing state funding for each intercity rail line.
   
   The statutes governing the JPAs define the specific corridors in which they are authorized to operate and provide service. Specifically, the Capitol Corridor is defined to extend from Colfax to San Jose. The San Joaquin Corridor is defined as Los Angeles through Bakersfield to Oakland and Sacramento. The Pacific Surfliner operates in the so-called LOSSAN corridor, defined as San Diego through Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo.
   
   For commuter rail, California has five major agencies that provide service across the state. The Altamont Corridor Express Authority (ACE) provides service in the Central Valley and Tri-Valley areas, connecting Stockton with San Jose via Tracy, Livermore, and Fremont. The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) operates service in the north Bay Area, connecting Sonoma County with Marin County. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain) operates in the South Bay area, with service between San Francisco and Gilroy. In the southern part of the state, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) provides service throughout the counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside. Finally, the North County Transit Development Board (Coaster) provides service between San Diego and Oceanside. Together, the five commuter rail services had annual ridership of nearly 18 million passengers in FY 2025, with Metrolink and Caltrain making up the vast majority of that number.
   
3. Intercity rail business plans. All intercity rail providers in the state are required to submit an annual business plan by April 1 of each year to CalSTA. The primary purpose of these business plans is to report on the performance of the corridor and to discuss potential ways to improve service in the upcoming year. As part of this requirement, the business plan must include both short and long term capital improvements that can be considered. The plan must also discuss the agency’s funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, including a discussion of fares, operating strategies, and marketing strategies. Finally, the plan must describe an action plan that lays out specific performance goals and objectives and how the agency aims to meet those goals. Some agencies, such as the LOSSAN Rail Agency, have additional requirements, including discussions of the effects of climate change on the rail corridor and strategies for increasing climate resiliency.
   Although the agencies are not currently required to discuss special events service, they often make note of such events in their business plan as part of disucssions about overall service operations. For instance, LOSSAN highlights a number of events for which they aim to restore pre-pandemic special events service to, including the Del Mar Races, the Oxnard Strawberry Festival, San Diego Comic-Con, and various sporting events. Similarly, the Capitol Corridor discusses their work to engage in “strategic partnerships” to service what they call “event-driven travel to regional cultural, entertainment, and sports activities.” The San Joaquins have also enumerated several holidays and local events for which they aim to provide additional service, mostly focused around Allensworth State Park.
   
4. Problems for passenger rail. Despite these and other efforts to increase service, passenger rail in California currently faces major obstacles. Primary among these is increasing financial instability in the face of both reduced ridership and increasing costs. Ridership across the state drastically declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in many cases has not fully recovered. The three intercity rail operators reported total annual ridership of roughly 4 million passengers in the last fiscal year, compared to a total pre-pandemic number of nearly 6 million. The Pacific Surfliner alone is still reporting roughly a million fewer passengers annually. On the commuter rail side, Caltrain is still at roughly only 60% of its pre-pandemic ridership numbers. Similarly, Metrolink has only recently reached 58% of its pre-pandemic ridership.
   
   Decreases in farebox recovery from this reduced ridership, combined with increasing maintenance and operation costs admist post-pandemic inflation have placed rail operators in difficult financial positions. For instance, an inability to adequetaly address mechanical issues has caused Metrolink to recently announce temporary service reductions affecting nearly all of their lines. Similarly, Caltrain is facing major budget deficits, leading them to adopt contigency plans in the case additional funding is not secured. In this event, Caltrain will have to close up to a third of their stations, eliminate all weekened service, and greatly reduce train frequency.
   
   Meanwhile, other operators are facing additional challenges as well. For instance, the Pacific Surfliner, which runs directly on the coast in many areas, is suffering the impacts of sea-level rise, erosion, and weather-related events that have jeopardized the long-term resiliency of the corridor and, in some instances, ceased operations for up to months at a time. Over the past decade, numerous incidents, including landslides, heavy rain, and storm surge have shifted tracks along the right-of-way, forcing extended track closures. Overall, such issues have cost tens of millions of dollars to address and have substantially interrupted service along the corridor.
   
   In response to these challenges, many passenger rail operators across the state have been seeking to make adjustments to their schedules and service in order to increase ridership and reduce costs. In general, these adjustments have been made to move away from commuter-oriented travel and towards other forms of travel. This has been in response to shifting work patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, within the past few years Coaster has undergone schedule changes aimed at providing more consistent commuter service throughout the day, and expanding service on weekends and holidays. Although this has not been a magic bullet for returning to pre-pandemic ridership levels, it has been a bright spot in ridership numbers for many operators. Caltrain, for example, while still seeing decreased ridership overall, has seen weekend ridership reach 130% of pre-pandemic levels.
   
5. Special event service. SB 1136 seeks to take advantage of this bright spot in passenger ridership by encouraging rail operators to focus service around non‑commuter travel generally and special events in particular. Specifically, Seamless Bay Area, writing in support of the bill say “California has long been a popular destination for travellers with many popular special events. We see this bill as a positive step forward toward a system that is well-coordinated to serve a variety of rider needs and that helps achieve goals supporting economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and quality of life for people in California.”
   
   Indeed, based on these changing ridership patterns, passenger rail operators have already been looking at service around special events as a means of increasing ridership. For example in 2023, Captiol Corridor offered adjusted schedules to specifically provide increased service for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts. Today, operators across the state are developing plans for increased and shifted service offerings around the upcoming FIFA World Cup in June 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028. However, the costs of providing these services is often substantial. For instance, Caltrain has indicated that costs associated with increased service around the FIFA World Cup will exceed $5 million.
   
   These increased costs have proven problematic for increased service around more regular sporting events as well. Many operators, including Caltrain, Coaster, and Metrolink operate additional trains or extend train schedules around baseball games. Coaster, for instance, operates special Padres Trains that depart after certain San Diego Padres games end. However, these types of services have produced financial challenges, as with Metrolink’s Angels Express. This service, which had been provded pre-pandemic, provided dedicated pre- and post-game rail service for Los Angeles Angels home games. Metrolink restarted this service in 2024, accompanied by a robust marketing campaign and with much community support. However, despite selling over 7,000 tickets, the service still ended up costing over five times more to operate than it brought in in revenue, and was again discontinued.
   
   Beyond costs, passenger rail operators must also account for shared corridor traffic when attempting to provide additional service. Both intercity and commuter rail operators often provide service in corridors shared with, or outright owned by, major freight railroads such as Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF). As a result, these operators are often contractually limited in terms of the number of trains they can run per day, as freight rail often has priority to utilize the track. Many agencies, such as Caltrain, already operate at their maximum capacity, and would have great difficulty increasing service rates throughout most of the corridor, as this would require new negotiated terms with freight rail operators.
   
6. Fare integration and ticket interoperability. Beyond special events service, SB 1136 also aims to increase passenger rail ridership by mandating better communication between various rail operators. This takes the form of both increased schedule alignment and schedule visibility to the public, as well as fare integration. On this point, the Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada, writing in support argue “SB 1136 accelerates the transition to Regional Rail by incentivizing the managing agencies to coordinate and develop strategies to fulfill the legislation’s goal. Recommended strategies include through service offering a one-seat ride, a single integrated timetable listing all service, ticket cross-honoring, schedule coordination where transfers are required and in-place contingency plans when connections are missed due to service disruptions.”
   
   Although not necessarily a wide spread practice, many types of ticket interoperability do currently exist across California passenger rail operators. The Pacific Surfliner, for instance, has what they call a “codeshare” agreement with both Metrolink and Coaster. This allows passengers to use Metrolink or Coaster tickets on particular Pacific Surfliner trains. Similarly, Metrolink and Coaster were working on an agreement between themselves immediately prior to the pandemic. However, despite signing a memorandum of understanding at the time, that effort has since stalled. Caltrain meanwhile has successfully implemented similar practices in its service area, primarily in conjuncton with other ticketing reforms like tap-to-pay services.
   
   Statewide, there are existing programs such as the California Integrated Travel Project (CalITP), run by CalSTA and Caltrans. While the program primarily focuses on practices such as consolidating schedules in one location for easier use by passengers and increasing contactless payment options, part of the program does include the Rail Payments Alliance. This is an ongoing effort between many of the state’s passenger rail operators, including all three intercity railroads, Metrolink, ACE, and Coaster, to establish a higher degree of interoperability between all the different providers in the state’s rail network.
   
   SB 1136 seeks to further these efforts by mandating fare integration in particular circumstances, such as when intercity and commuter rail providers operate in the same corridor. However, many of the efforts described above are focused more on ticket interoperability than on fare integration. While similar, these are two distinct types of cordination among rail providers. Ticket interoperability refers more generally to the ability of a passenger to use a ticket or pass purchased from one operator on trains provided by a different operator. However, fare integration implies a more robust relationship where all services associated with ticket sales and fare collection are inherently linked. While this provides a similar experience to the user as ticket interoperability, it implies a much higher degree of cordination on the back end.
   
7. Who is included? SB 1136 creates a new definition of a “regional rail operator”, based on the SRA’s definition of a commuter rail operator. This bill then creates a requirement for which regional rail operators must establish fare system integration based on their relationship with intercity rail operators. As written, the bill would require any regional rail operator to establish fare integration with any intercity operator with whom they share a corridor. Furthermore, they would be required to establish interoperability with any other regional rail operator in that same corridor.
   
   Based on these definitions, these requirements would currently apply to four of the state’s five commuter rail operators. In the north, both Caltrain and ACE overlap with the Capitol Corridor, providing service to San Jose and to Santa Clara. In the south both Metrolink and Coaster overlap with the Pacific Surfliner, providing service to Oceanside. Thus, mutual fare integration would have to be established between Caltrain, ACE, and the Capitol Corridor in the north, and between Metrolink, Coaster, and the Pacific Surfliner in the south. It is unclear if this was the intent of the author.
   
8. A plan or a mandate? In addition to fare integration requirements for regional rail operators, SB 1136 also mandates additional items that must be included in the annual business plans of the intercity rail operators. However, many of these elements are highly prescriptive, describing the exact types of services, schedules, and fare integration systems required of the rail operators. Thus, there is some ambiguity as to what these elements would look like in the context of a business plan, or if the business plan requirement would require the operators to fully implement these provisions.
   
9. What will it cost? As discussed above, most passenger rail operators in California are currently facing financial challenges. SB 1136 seeks to help alleviate these issues by pushing rail operators towards service and operations adjustments aimed at increasing ridership and thus increasing revenues. However, as aforementioned, these types of service increases generally come with substantial costs of their own. Furthermore, previous services, like the Metrolink Angels Express, have shown how such costs may even exceed the benefits of the additional service. Thus, it is worth considering whether or not mandating service and operations expansions may unintentionally backfire and put the rail operators under even more financial strain.
   
   It should be noted that SB 1136 does specifically state that additional services should only be provided “using available funding and equipment.” However, given the significant financial challenges discussed above, this may not be sufficient to alleviate cost concerns associated with increased service.
   

Related/Previous Legislation:

AB 1237 (McKinnor, 2026) – Would require a ticket seller for an event located at a venue with a capacity of more than 1,000 persons to provide the consumer, at the time of purchase, the option to buy an all-day transit pass from a provider that services the venue at the time of the event. This bill is pending in the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee.

SB 677 (Blakespear, Chapter 407, Statutes of 2023) – Required the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency as a part of the annual business plan to describe the effects of climate change on the corridor, identify projects to increase climate resiliency, and discuss funding options for these projects.

SB 477 (Cannella, 2017) – Would have authorized a local JPA operating intercity rail service to expand service beyond its statutorily defined corridor if specific conditions are met. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1 (Beall, Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017) – Provided approximately $5.2 billion per year in new funding for highways, transit and active transportation programs, including creating the State Rail Assistance Program.

SB 1225 (Padilla, Chapter 802, Statutes of 2012) – Authorized an interagency transfer agreement to be entered into with a local JPA to provide intercity rail service in the LOSSAN Corridor if specific conditions are met.

AB 1779 (Galgiani, Chapter 801, Statutes of 2012) – Authorized an interagency transfer agreement to be entered into with a local JPA to provide intercity rail service in the San Joaquin Corridor if specific conditions are met.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

April 8, 2026.)

SUPPORT:

Rail Passenger Association of California
Sandiego350
Seamless Bay Area
Streets for All
Transbay Coalition

OPPOSITION:

None received

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