Passenger Trains > Caltrain Finalizes Service Cuts

Caltrain has cut a deal with the transit agencies in the three counties it serves to close its $30 million operating deficit and avoid the worst case scenario of drastic cuts that would have reduced it to a rush hour only operation. VTA, Samtrans, S.F. Muni and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will make increased contributions to cover about half the deficit with the balance coming from service reductions and another fare increase. From today's San Jose Mercury-News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17778260?nclick-check=1

Highlights of the service cuts(to take effect in July):

--Elimination of 12 trains reducing the weekday train count from 88 to 76.

--Closure of the following stations: Bayshore, Hayward Park and Capitol(in San Jose served by Gilroy trains).

--Nine stations will see all weekend service end including Broadway and Atherton which willl permanently close those two stations(they currently see weekend only service).

--Baby Bullets will see schedules extended by ten minutes because of additional stops.

Attached photo shows what we now might consider Caltrain's white elephant: the soon to be closed Bayshore station. Four tracks, elevator-equipped pedestrian bridge, and multiple train meets with well choreographed overtakes of local trains by express runs. Note that the parking lot has only one car visible which says a lot about ridership at this stop.

---

At least weekend trips to San Francisco (Giants games...) will be quicker...

More details, including a copy of the proposed schedule, is here: http://www.caltrain.com/riderinfo/Proposed_Service_Changes.html

How will the cost savings materialize from station closures?

-Less maintenance?

or

-Faster trips = less crews?

or

-Savings on fuel?

Perhaps Bayshore will rise like the phoenix once the economy gets going again and the area develops.

--j

jofegan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How will the cost savings materialize from station
> closures?
>
> -Less maintenance?
>
> or
>
> -Faster trips = less crews?
>
> or
>
> -Savings on fuel?
>
> Perhaps Bayshore will rise like the phoenix once
> the economy gets going again and the area
> develops.
>
> --j


Of course the hope with all cuts is that you will lose minimal revenue, riders will take a different train or use another station. I was interested in the two weekend only stations,
what was their special purpose?

Where I live in Chicago, Metra on the UP-Harvard line has dropped plans for another station which had garnered a lot of opposition. It did not help that the property they chose was held in a trust owned 50% by the county board chairman.

Bob

By closing Bayshore does that mean they will shut off the elevators?

If so, get ready for a bunch of debris strikes as folks headed with shopping carts and everything else will get through the fence on their way to the recyclers just east of the station.

As I recall, Caltrain's Bayshore station was supposed to connect with the then-proposed T-Line light-rail extension. That never happened, so the station never lived up to its planned expectations.

A slow death, by somewhat less than a thousand cuts. Maybe the affected riders can switch to Rep Paul Ryan's Express to get to work, school, etc? Has anybody thought of closing a few off ramps on Bayshore as an economy measure? Or maybe a few lanes here or there? Jerry Brown might have to give this a try in a few months!

bwb6df Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> More details, including a copy of the proposed
> schedule, is here:
> http://www.caltrain.com/riderinfo/Proposed_Service
> _Changes.html

Thanks for the link. The new schedule completely eliminates scheduled overtakes at the Lawrence and Bayshore four track sections although they could be useful during service disruptions. Looks like we'll see some rust on the rails on mains 3 and 4 at Bayshore.

It seems unlikely the pedestrian bridge would remain open at Bayshore. Our fellow citizens pushing heavily loaded shopping carts who are headed to the metal recycler who use it(yes, they make up a high percentage of the users) will have to resort to using Blanken Ave. over the south portal of tunnel four to get there.

korotaj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Has anybody thought of closing a few off ramps on
> Bayshore as an economy measure? Or maybe a few
> lanes here or there? Jerry Brown might have to
> give this a try in a few months!

Hear, hear!! Right on the $!!

korotaj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A slow death, by somewhat less than a thousand
> cuts. Maybe the affected riders can switch to Rep
> Paul Ryan's Express to get to work, school, etc?
> Has anybody thought of closing a few off ramps on
> Bayshore as an economy measure? Or maybe a few
> lanes here or there? Jerry Brown might have to
> give this a try in a few months!

If they alternately closed 25% of the lanes, the entire roadway would need 25% less maintenance. LOL

jofegan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Perhaps Bayshore will rise like the phoenix once
> the economy gets going again and the area
> develops.
>
> --j


IIRC, there are plans for a huge mixed-use development on the old yard site with a lot of businesses and homes, of course when the economy picks up. So, it is a good bet Bayshore will reopen and be utilized.

Z

zephyrus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> IIRC, there are plans for a huge mixed-use
> development on the old yard site with a lot of
> businesses and homes, of course when the economy
> picks up. So, it is a good bet Bayshore will
> reopen and be utilized.
>
> Z

Go right across the Bay and look at all the empty shops and restaurants at Jack London Square and then tell me "when the economy picks up."

MarinCommuter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As I recall, Caltrain's Bayshore station was
> supposed to connect with the then-proposed T-Line
> light-rail extension. That never happened, so the
> station never lived up to its planned
> expectations.

Both Cow Palace and Candlestick Park are not far away. I recall that the original Slick Willie (ex-SF mayor Willie Brown) was working with the 49ers for some kind of a super shopping center + ballpark in the area. They wanted the area to be a destination, and the Third St. Light Rail extension along with the Bayshore station made sense in the planning. With the Giants having their own downtown ballpark with superb public transit access and the 49ers thinking of moving to Santa Clara or elsewhere, I guess this will be a pipe dream for sure, and Bayshore Station will grow weeds.

shed47 Wrote:
>
> It seems unlikely the pedestrian bridge would
> remain open at Bayshore. Our fellow citizens
> pushing heavily loaded shopping carts who are
> headed to the metal recycler who use it(yes, they
> make up a high percentage of the users) will have
> to resort to using Blanken Ave. over the south
> portal of tunnel four to get there.
Or they will cut the fences and try to cross the tracks like they used to do.

The proposed schedule is interesting, with both pluses and minuses. During rush hours there is a train leaving San Jose and SF every 15 minutes, instead of the variable spacing like there is now. Every train makes a Milbrae stop now too, allowing for better BART connections, so that's a plus. Palo Alto (Stanford) also gets every train. But the loss of the baby bullets is going to be a pain as those have been responsible for significant increases in ridership since their inception. While various trains hit or miss various stations, it seems all but the locals will take longer from end to end.

The stations being temporarily closed have light ridership and are pretty close to another station, so riders can still get service fairly easily. Atherton was to have been closed permanently last time they went through this exercise, but a lot of noise was made by the city and Caltrain agreed to keep weekend service there. Atherton is one of the wealthiest towns in the country, housing many of the Internet Billionaires. Broadway is also lightly used and is close to two other stations. Oddly, College Park, which only sees two trains a day stop there (for students of Bellarmine Academy, adjacent to the stop) continues to have its two trains each way. Seems like a shuttle bus to Diridon Station would be a more efficient way to handle those passengers.