June 2, 2004

All aboard Caltrain’s faster trains

By City Councilmember Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

Caltrain is moving faster down the tracks. With the eagerly anticipated arrival of Baby Bullet service, passengers can now get from San Jose to San Francisco in under an hour. Caltrain’s new schedule, which goes into effect June 5, will offer the highest level of service in the railroad’s 141-year history and the first reduction in travel time in close to a century.

It took two years of construction to do the necessary track improvements to allow for the faster train rides. To thank passengers for their patience and to attract new riders, Caltrain service will be free the first two weekends: June 5 and 6, and June 12 and 13.

If you haven’t taken Caltrain for awhile, you should know that passengers must purchase tickets at the automated ticket machines at the station prior to boarding. Second, there are 17 new passenger cars for increased comfort. Last, for Giants fans, special train service runs on game days with extra service and an expanded schedule.

For the past three and a half years, I have served on the Joint Powers Board that oversees Caltrain. This board is made up of nine members, three from each of the counties where Caltrain operates service: Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco. As a director, I have had a unique opportunity to participate in improving Caltrain service to an unprecedented level.

With the debut of the new, faster train service on Monday, June 7, Caltrain will have truly arrived in the 21st century. Five morning and five evening commute trains will serve six Baby Bullet stations: San Jose Diridon, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Hillsdale, Millbrae and San Francisco. Baby Bullet trains do not travel faster than the regular trains. Rather, time is saved by making fewer stops.

A train from San Jose to San Francisco, which now takes an hour and 36 minutes on a local train, will be cut to just 57 minutes on a Baby Bullet train. To support this additional service, Caltrain revamped its entire schedule to provide a more efficient and timely mix of local, limited-stop and express train services during the week.

Weekend service also returns after two years of track construction work. Weekend passengers will benefit from hourly service to nearly all Caltrain stations between San Francisco’s Fourth and King streets station and the San Jose Diridon station. A weekend shuttle bus will make the link between the Tamien station in San Jose and Caltrain’s Diridon station.

The new schedule and the debut of Baby Bullet service are only some of the improvements for Caltrain. Over the coming decades, the long-term goal of electrification will be realized. The Caltrain Electrification Program would convert Caltrain from diesel-hauled to electric-hauled trains.

Along with reducing noise and improving regional air quality, electrification would further increase speeds and performance. Electric trains can accelerate and decelerate at better rates, particularly important when stations are relatively close together, as they exist now along the Caltrain system.

Further, electrification of Caltrain will accommodate future high speed rail, an idea that is gaining momentum to provide a transportation alternative between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

For additional information on ticketing, station locations, the revamped schedule and other Caltrain news, visit www.caltrain.com or call 1-800-660-4287.

As always, please feel free to contact my office at (408) 277-5166 or at Ken.Yeager@sanjoseca.gov if you would like to discuss this or any other issue. To find out more about what is happening in Willow Glen, visit the District 6 Web site at www.sanjoseca.gov/ council/dist6/.