On November 5, the managing agency for the Amtrak San Joaquins service formally changed the service’s name to the Gold Runner. The primary reason for this change is that Amtrak owns the servicemark rights to the San Joaquins name. With the new name, the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA), which manages the service, will own the brand. This opens new possibilities, including allowing an entity other than Amtrak to operate the service.

SJJPA’s managing agency, the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, also operates the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE). The agency is involved in various regional and intercity rail expansion efforts to extend ACE north from Stockton to Sacramento and south from Lathrop to Modesto, eventually reaching Merced. South of Merced, the High Speed Rail Authority is constructing the initial phase between Merced and Bakersfield.

With the first segment of high-speed rail expected to open early in the next decade, along with the completion of ACE extensions, there is interest in realigning the existing Gold Runner service to serve as a feeder for high-speed rail and provide seamless connections. Conventional regional and intercity trains would connect Oakland and San Jose on separate corridors with high-speed rail. SJJPA may also manage service on high-speed rail tracks, as they do for the conventional Gold Runner service, to ensure integration.