That compares to ridership in the larger Valley cities along the Amtrak line -- those that would have high-speed rail stations on the new system: Bakersfield with 476,767, Fresno with 371,875, Hanford with 199,291 and Merced with 114,401.

But the small towns have fewer options for people to get around, advocates say.

The loss of Amtrak service in Corcoran "is going to affect real people," Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle testified at an April 19 rail authority meeting in Sacramento.

"Every morning as I drive by that station, I see the same group of folks out there waiting to take that train, that Amtrak to get them to their places of business. They're not there to take that Amtrak to go on vacation. They're there to go to work."

Meik, the Corcoran city manager, said the loss of Amtrak would leave his city's residents isolated from the county seat in Hanford. "It would also decimate our city-owned transit, our bus system that relies on Amtrak and is intricately connected to it."

Thomas said he has ridden the buses that run between Hanford and Corcoran, "but it's only two times a day. If you come to Hanford in the morning, the next one going back doesn't leave until 3:10 p.m., and I don't want to wait around out here all day."

Because Amtrak has six southbound trains daily to get him back to Corcoran, "taking the train is just more convenient," Thomas said.

It's cheap, too. At the city-run train station in Corcoran, residents can buy a one-way ticket for the 16-minute ride to Hanford for $3.25, or $6.50 for a round trip. Buying a last-minute, one-way ticket to Corcoran at Hanford's Amtrak station, on the other hand, costs $11.

The difference in price is because the city of Corcoran buys tickets at a discount from Amtrak to re-sell to residents.

"I always buy two round-trip tickets, regardless," Thomas said. "I always keep a ticket for emergencies."

At the Corcoran station last week, two young women in medical scrub uniforms sat on a bench, texting intently on their cellphones as they waited for the 11:07 a.m. train to Hanford. They said they ride the train four days a week to their classes at San Joaquin Valley College in Hanford.

A few feet down the platform, Richard Sellers of Corcoran was waiting to see off his daughter, Marie Sellers, as she returned home to Fresno. Richard Sellers said he takes the train to Hanford or Fresno about once a week. Marie Sellers said she rides less frequently. "But with gas prices the way they are," she said, "I'm thinking about taking it more often."

The pair differed on what high-speed rail would mean for Corcoran.

"It's not going to do anything for us because it's not even going to stop here," Richard Sellers said.

But his daughter said she believes the high-speed train will be good to help people in the high-unemployment region find work in other areas.

"If you don't have a job and you need a job, you'll be on that train to go find work somewhere else," she said.

Protecting service

Passengers in both Corcoran and Hanford agreed that it will be crucial for them to preserve local train service for the small communities now served by Amtrak, if and when a high-speed line is built.

That's not lost on Dan Richard, chairman of the High-Speed Rail Authority.

"For many people here in this part of the Valley, my understanding is -- both talking to people and looking at it -- that it almost operates like a bus between some of the communities," Richard said when he met with Kings County supervisors this month. "People jump on it, go down the line, jump off in the middle of Hanford, go over and have some ice cream. It's things that people do."

Richard acknowledged the worries about lost service. "It's very much on our mind and we know that moving to a high-speed service threatens to leave some communities that need that kind of feeder service behind," he told the supervisors. "I think we can all work together to make sure that doesn't happen."

Richard said he expects to work with Kings County and other counties now served by Amtrak, and with Caltrans, "to have a rational plan for protection of that service."

Caltrans' Division of Rail supervises the Amtrak San Joaquin service. Caltrans rail division chief Bill Bronte also said Caltrans expects to continue providing service to the existing San Joaquin corridor -- including the towns that will be bypassed by high-speed trains.

Bronte said a marketing study will help Caltrans determine the future passenger demand on the current Amtrak line and how many trains will be required to meet those needs.

Then he added his commitment to the small cities: "We don't want to lose service in Corcoran. We don't want to lose service in Wasco. We want to continue to provide service in Hanford."