Passenger Trains > Caltrain weekend closures between Bayshore and San Francisco

I didn't see anything posted about it here in the past, but this past weekend was the first of 6 consecutive weekends that Caltrain will not operate between Bayshore and San Francisco - with a bus bridge in place to serve 22nd Street and SF:

http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/_Planning/pdf/SF+Weekend+Closure+Schedule+2020.PDF

For the tunnel construction, do they mean adding catenary to the tunnels in this section of the line?  The phrasing they chose make it sound like all-new tunnels will be constructed.

Rich

No new tunnels.  It would take an act of Congress to do that in this state.  The environmentalists would hold up the project in the courts for decades. 

All of CA will go down the toilet, but we must have environmental studies................

There has always been a sizable contingent of California haters here on Train Orders.
And some of them even live here. 

Can someone please just answer the posters question authoritatively? One can go to another board for politics.

According to news reports, Caltrain will be stringing wire in the tunnels during these shutdowns.  It does not appear from the news articles that the wire will extend outside the tunnels at this time.  Catenary support structures are in place from about South San Francisco to around San Carlos, but the last time I checked no catenary had been strung.

I found this from a story on KCBS, the local news radio station.

"Caltrain workers plan to install overhead catenary systems in the rail corridor’s tunnels to power trains once electrified service launches in two years. The tunnel work is scheduled to be completed prior to Monday morning rush hour traffic each week."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/20 13:44 by Railpax71.

Weekend CalTrain service has been affected by tunnel work (prep for electrification) for many months. My sister often takes CalTrain to volunteer at the San Francisco Ballet. Weekend service runs infrequently. My sister reports that the bus bridge between SF and Bayshore is slow, partly because the busses wait for the slowest-moving passengers. Not good when you're in a hurry.

- Doug Debs

Railpax71 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Can someone please just answer the posters
> question authoritatively? One can go to another
> board for politics.

It was answered on the very website he posted a link to.

John Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> According to news reports, Caltrain will be
> stringing wire in the tunnels during these
> shutdowns.  It does not appear from the news
> articles that the wire will extend outside the
> tunnels at this time.  Catenary support
> structures are in place from about South San
> Francisco to around San Carlos, but the last time
> I checked no catenary had been strung.

And as of 24 FEB 2020, there is no catenary strung in either Belmont or San Mateo.

MEKoch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All of CA will go down the toilet, but we must
> have environmental studies................

????

Environmental studies are done all over the US, including Ohio.
 

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MEKoch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > All of CA will go down the toilet, but we must
> > have environmental studies................
>
> ????
>
> Environmental studies are done all over the US,
> including Ohio.
>  

They even do them in China.

@phall The question is not answered in the PDF. Please read the question and the responses.

Railpax71 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @phall The question is not answered in the PDF.
> Please read the question and the responses.

Go to the Caltrain website (www.caltrain.com), click on the "Caltrain Modernization Program button, you will then be presented with the info about the closures and progress and just about anything else you need to know about the modernization program.

It says "Beginning in Febuary 2020, crews will...install
the overhead contact system (conductor rail and wires)
inside the tunnels."

Is that true -- they're actually putting up catenary wire
inside the tunnels? Has any wire been hung elsewhere?
 

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It says "Beginning in Febuary 2020, crews
> will...install
> the overhead contact system (conductor rail and
> wires)
> inside the tunnels."
>
> Is that true -- they're actually putting up
> catenary wire
> inside the tunnels? Has any wire been hung
> elsewhere?
>  

I saw in an earlier plan that conductor rail will be used inside tunnels instead of wire due to clearance issue.

will74205 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> timz Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It says "Beginning in Febuary 2020, crews
> > will...install
> > the overhead contact system (conductor rail and
> > wires)
> > inside the tunnels."
> >
> > Is that true -- they're actually putting up
> > catenary wire
> > inside the tunnels? Has any wire been hung
> > elsewhere?
> >  
>
> I saw in an earlier plan that conductor rail will
> be used inside tunnels instead of wire due to
> clearance issue.

I've seen that done in a number of other places where electrified railways are in tunnels. It makes sense.