Packed Sacramento train to 49ers game delayed, upsetting rail-riding football fans

A Capitol Corridor train from Sacramento packed with nearly 500 San Francisco 49ers football fans ran into technical problems Saturday, delaying it two hours and causing some riders to miss the game’s first two touchdowns.

Capitol Corridor officials said they figured out what went wrong and will change up their game plan for the NFC championship Sunday, when hundreds are expected to make the trek to Santa Clara via rail.

The 49ers will host the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium at 3:40 p.m., with the winner heading to Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

Last Saturday’s football ridership was the second largest on the Capitol Corridor, lower than ridership when the Super Bowl 50 was held at the stadium.

Rob Padgette, Capitol Corridor managing director, said officials put together an extra-long 11-car train last week to carry the bulk of game-goers from the Sacramento region. Trains more typically run with three to six cars.

Padgette said the two locomotives used for the longer train had trouble communicating with each other.

“We believe the compatibility of these two locomotives may have been the issue,” he said. “We do not intend to run any train sets this weekend with a similar setup so we do not anticipate any issues.”

An earlier train, carrying an estimated 300 fans, arrived without trouble. The longer train had been scheduled to arrive well in advance of game time, as well, but did not arrive in Santa Clara until opening kickoff of the 49ers’ 27-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The walk from station to the stadium takes up to 10 minutes, Padgette said.

Capitol Corridor officials hope to get approval for a supplemental train Sunday and will spread train cars out more evenly.

“We are committed to providing high quality service to our customers and want to ensure that Capitol Corridor service is an easy option for those headed to the game,” Padgette said.