{{short description|Railway line in Northern California}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Niles Subdivision}} [[File:California-06193 - Union Pacific 7648 (20644467731).jpg|thumb|[[Street running]] near [[Jack London Square]] ]] The '''Niles Subdivision''' is a [[Union Pacific]] railway line in Northern California that runs from [[Oakland, California]] to [[Newark, California]] in the [[East Bay]].<ref name=schematics>{{CA rail schematics}}</ref>
==Route== The line largely consists of the original [[Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870)|Western Pacific]] East Bay main line between Oakland and Niles. The line between Newark and Fremont was originally laid out by the [[South Pacific Coast Railroad]]. The line features a [[street running]] section along Embarcadero in Oakland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elrond |title=Oakland to Sacramento, Calif. |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/hotspots/oakland-to-sacramento-calif/ |access-date=19 October 2023 |agency=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |date=July 7, 2006}}</ref>
==Traffic== Freight movements are consolidated with the parallel [[Oakland Subdivision]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2009 |orig-date= |title=The Union Pacific Railroad Oakland Subdivision Corridor Improvement Study |url=https://www.railstotrails.org/resourcehandler.ashx?id=4570 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906125653/https://www.railstotrails.org/resourcehandler.ashx?id=4570 |archive-date=2015-09-06 |website=Alta Planning + Design |via=Rails to Trails Conservancy}}</ref> {{as of|2003}} the line saw 17 freight trains daily.<ref>{{cite map |title=Union Pacific Tons per Train |url=https://www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/union-pacific-tonnage-map.pdf |access-date=11 September 2023 |publisher=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |date=2003}}</ref>
[[File:Charter train crossing Alameda Creek, October 2005.jpg|thumb|Charter train crossing [[Alameda Creek]], October 2005]] The Niles Subdivision also hosts several passenger trains. [[Amtrak]] operates the ''[[Coast Starlight]]'' and ''[[Capitol Corridor]]'' along the route, and the ''[[Gold Runner]]'' terminates at the northern segment of the line. The [[Altamont Corridor Express]] runs over the southern segment between Newark and Fremont. Fourteen daily passenger trains run over the line.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hegarty |first1=Peter |title=South Bay Connect: Project could dramatically change East Bay rail service |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/12/22/project-could-dramatically-change-east-bay-rail-service/ |access-date=19 October 2023 |agency=[[East Bay Times]] |date=December 22, 2020}}</ref>
==History== After the [[Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870)|Western Pacific Railroad]] acquired the [[San Francisco and Oakland Railroad]] and selected it as the western end of [[first transcontinental railroad|the transcontinental route]], they organized a new company to connect the line to its bay approach at Niles. Surveyors were placed in the field early in 1869. A trial line was run over the hill from Dublin to Hayward, but a few days surveying showed there was no advantage in such a cut-off in preference to the [[Niles Canyon Railway|Niles Canyon route]]. Construction was begun near Niles in June and by August a temporary connection had been made at San Leandro with the [[San Francisco and Alameda Railroad]]. It was over this connection, via Melrose, that the first transcontinental train ran on September 6, 1869.<ref name=April1928Bulletin>{{source attribution| {{cite magazine |title=From Trail to Rail— The Story of the Beginning of Southern Pacific, chapter XXIX |access-date=15 December 2025 |magazine=Southern Pacific Bulletin |publisher=[[Southern Pacific]] |date=April 1928 |page=19 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Pacific_Bulletin/ow4TAAAAIAAJ?hl=en}} |inline=y}}</ref>
Construction commenced on the connection between Melrose and the Oakland "local line" at East Oakland. The last rail was laid on this section October 28, 1869, and that morning the locomotive ''Reindeer'' took a construction train through Oakland along 7th Street to the wharf at Oakland Point. There was much rejoicing on November 8; the first through overland train started running that day and Oakland became the terminus of the transcontinental line.<ref name=April1928Bulletin /> Arrival of the railroad immediately began to show its effect on Oakland's businesses and industries. Broadway suddenly became a busy thoroughfare.<ref name=May1928Bulletin>{{source attribution| {{cite magazine |title=From Trail to Rail— The Story of the Beginning of Southern Pacific, chapter XXIX |access-date=15 December 2025 |magazine=Southern Pacific Bulletin |publisher=[[Southern Pacific]] |date=May 1928 |pages=13, 15 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Pacific_Bulletin/ow4TAAAAIAAJ?hl=en}} |inline=y}}</ref>
On May 15, 1870, the section of the road between San Leandro and Melrose was opened for traffic. This completed the main line to Oakland. Properties of the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad and the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad had been operated under the management of the Central Pacific since 1869, and the following year these companies, together with the Western Pacific, San Joaquin Valley Railroad, and California and Oregon Railroad, consolidated to form the new Central Pacific. The last section of line in Oakland was built in 1870 when a bypass was opened between East Oakland and the wharf via 1st Street.<ref name=May1928Bulletin />
The segment between Newark and Centerville (in Fremont) was opened as a [[narrow gauge]] [[branch line]] of the [[South Pacific Coast Railroad]]. It was established as a [[horsecar]] line in February 1882 and converted to steam operation and [[standard gauge]] with the rest of the South Pacific Coast in 1909.<ref>{{cite news |title=Newark Items |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-newark-items/187025956/ |access-date=18 December 2025 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=February 23, 1882 |location=Oakland, California |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=May1928Bulletin /><ref>{{cite book| title=South Pacific Coast: A Centennial |last1=MacGregor |first1=Bruce A. |last2=Truesdale |first2=Richard |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Pruett Publishing Co|year=1982 |isbn=0-87108-545-3 |ol=6337602W |pages=64–69}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} {{Attached KML |display=title,inline}}
[[Category:Rail lines in California]] [[Category:Southern Pacific Railroad lines]] [[Category:Union Pacific Railroad lines]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1869]]