The city of Sacramento responded to the recently released California High Speed Rail Authority business plan with a letter of support – and a couple of suggestions for the authority to consider as the project develops. City Councilman Steve Cohn said Tuesday that the city is in support of the project overall, but Cohn and the council want to emphasize two points: recognition that the high-speed rail project must be phased in, and funding should also upgrade existing connecting infrastructure. “It can’t all be built at once,” Cohn said at the Law and Legislation Committee meeting at City Hall Tuesday. “The revised business plan does a more realistic job of explaining this phasing process

Travelers on Amtrak riding through the Capitol Corridor will now have Wi-Fi access on board the trains – and it’s free. Amtrak launched the new service Monday to coincide with “Cyber Monday,” the busiest Internet holiday shopping day of the year, according to a press release from Amtrak. The Capitol Corridor is an intercity passenger train system that provides rail service along a 170-mile rail corridor to 16 stations in eight counties, including Placer, Sacramento and Yolo. The route extends from Auburn to San Jose, and includes stops in Rocklin, Roseville, Davis, Richmond and Berkeley and other cities. Passengers can connect to the Wi-Fi service onboard the trains through any laptop

California's air may start to look a little cleaner, thanks to the California Department of Transportation and its project partners. Caltrans's revolutionary "green locomotive" debuted Wednesday morning at the Amtrak Sacramento Valley station. Members of Caltrans and its project partners assembled within the train station at a press release to make statements regarding the new locomotive, considered a major step toward reducing California's carbon footprint. It is one of the 15 F59PHI model locomotives owned by Caltrans and operated by Amtrak that is now installed with a 710ECO Repower upgrade package. The package is said to consist of the latest microprocessor-controlled locomotive eng