Coast Line (California)

Coast Line
The Coast Starlight navigating a horseshoe curve on the lower Cuesta Grade near San Luis Obispo.
Overview
Owner	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (San Francisco–Tamien) Union Pacific Railroad (Tamien–Moorpark) Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Moorpark–Los Angeles)
Locale	San Francisco Bay Area Central Coast Greater Los Angeles
Termini	San Francisco Burbank
Connecting lines	Peninsula Subdivision Coast Subdivision Santa Barbara Subdivision Ventura Subdivision
Stations	68
Service
Type	Commuter rail Freight rail Inter-city rail
Operators	Amtrak Caltrain Metrolink Altamont Corridor Express
History
Work began	1860 (1860)
Opened	January 16, 1864 (1864-01-16)
Completed	December 31, 1900 (1900-12-31)
Technical
Line length	470 mi (760 km)
Number of tracks	1–4
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 25 kV 60 Hz AC (San Francisco–Tamien)
Train protection system	Positive train control (PTC)

The Coast Line is a railway line between Burbank, California and the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly along the Pacific Coast. It is the shortest rail route between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Though not as busy as the Surf Line, the continuation of the Coast Line southbound to San Diego, it still sees freight movements and many passenger trains. The Pacific Surfliner, which runs from the San Diego Santa Fe Depot to San Luis Obispo via Union Station in Los Angeles, is the third busiest Amtrak route, and the busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston.