[Pedestrian]

There is about zero evidence AMTRAK is interested in expanding its service in any way, mainly because it has zero dollars to do it. In those few places it actually is ceating new service or extending existing lines, mainly in the midwest around Chicago, the changes are being funded by the state or a combination of states. On the national level, AMTRAK has or is considering ending the Southwest Chief (Chicago to LA) and the Cardinal segment between NY and Washington. And, of course, it hasn't run the Sunset Limited segment between New Orleans and Orlando since Hurrricane Katrina gave them an excuse to drop it, in spite of substantial political pressure from Gulf Coast Congressmen.

The typical AMTRAK train picking up or discharging passengers in Emeryville now probably has fewer than 100 boarding or departing passengers headed to downtown San Francisco (one, maybe 2 busloads). The concept of spending billions--and that's what it would be--to negate a bus ride over the Bay Bridge is just not on the table.

Anybody who is terribly averse to bus rides today could, if they wished, take BART to Richmond and cross platform there to AMTRAK (although AMTRAK doesn't always stop at Richmond's platform to allow that any more though it could).