In 1879, the Central Pacific shortened its route from Sacramento to the Oakland Pier by building a line from Sacramento to Benicia, crossing the Sacramento River there via large train ferry, the Solano and Contra Costa, to Port Costa, then along the south shore of Carquinez Strait and San Pablo Bay to Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland to the Oakland Pier. From 1879 on, the original 1862-69 WP route through Altamont Pass and Niles Canyon became a secondary route between the East Bay and the San Joaquin Valley.