| The Coast Line is Amtraks main passenger corridor between the San Francisco-Bay Area and the Los Angeles Metro Area. The tracks leave San Jose Diridon Station from the south, passing the Caltrain stations of Capitol, Blossom Hill, Morgan Hill, and San Martin, before reaching Gilroy. At Gilroy, Caltrains trackage rights (beginning at Capitol) end at the station. Just of south of Gilroy is Control Point Corporal. At this point, the tracks pass an old beet loader before swinging west. The tracks run west to Watsonville, where they again turn south into the Salinas Valley. Two branch lines use the Coast Line for connection to other cities, the Hollister Branch and the Santa Cruz Branch, the latter being owned by the Santa Cruz, Big Trees & Pacific Railroad. A third, the Monterey Branch, branched off the main at Castroville, and was the original route of the Southern Pacifics Del Monte. It was abandoned in 1999, and most of it was turned into a bike trail. This map was created by OpenRailwayMap.org. |