SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News

[homebucket]

^ Again, nothing there says that the speeds will be definitively limited to 79 mph. You’re looking at the current or short term situation and making false claims. You might else well start spouting Caltrain will never be electrified because it currently isn’t and won’t be “anytime soon”. Typically projects are completed gradually in stages. Not all at once.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by homebucket

^ Again, nothing there says that the speeds will be definitively limited to 79 mph. You’re looking at the current or short term situation and making false claims. You might else well start spouting Caltrain will never be electrified because it currently isn’t and won’t be “anytime soon”. Typically projects are completed gradually in stages. Not all at once.

I did not write that 79 mph was the "maximum authorized" speed, Caltrain DID! Read it and weep! I was challenged for an official link, I found it!

[jmecklenborg]

What is the line's current top speed? Even if it reaches 79mph currently, the electric units will have superior acceleration and slowing characteristics, meaning transit times will improve, since a larger percentage of the line's distance will be traversed at the top speed.

[homebucket]

Nice to see SF continuing its strong partnership with our neighbors up north! Other notable examples include our Muni bus fleet being comprised mainly of New Flyer Xcelsior buses, and of course the recent addition of high flyer Andrew Wiggins (aka Maple Jordan) to our basketball team, proving instrumental in winning the 2022 NBA Finals.

‘Best airport lounge I’ve ever been to’: Inside the Maple Leaf Lounge at SFO
By Silas Valentino
Aug 3, 2023

The latest luxury for frequent flyers at San Francisco International Airport is a secluded rooftop terrace four stories above the southern tarmac.

Air Canada’s first San Francisco outpost opened its doors earlier this summer as the Maple Leaf Lounge. The 165-seat space includes a kitchen, a bar, and indoor and outdoor common areas.

...

The SFO control center is barely a football field to the west of the Maple Leaf Lounge balcony. The far-corner outlook might be the closest any traveler can get to mimicking the overview of the watchtower nearby. Guests gaze past the patio’s corner to note the cadence of the airport’s rhythm — swooning over the daily flight schedules where aircraft either become more vivid as they approach the gates below or fade into faint specs while soaring into the low-hanging clouds.

“That’s a 380!” a guest named Peter tells his traveling companion Carna, observing a departing Emirates flight using one of the industry’s largest passenger aircraft. A couple of empty bloody mary glasses are perched on a nearby marshmallow-shaped side table.

The opening of the lounge confirms Air Canada’s firm investment in SFO. This summer, Air Canada (through a partnership with United Airlines) began running 21 daily flights from SFO to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal.

The airline previously did not have a dedicated space at the airport, and the area it now occupies, on the fourth floor, is new construction.

The Maple Leaf Lounge covers 8,168 square feet and was designed with San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler, which is also working on SFO’s Net Zero Program in Terminal 1. It’s Air Canada's third addition to its Maple Leaf Lounge repertoire across the United States.

The lounge is available to paid members of the airline and open to purchasers of signature class and business class tickets; elite-level members of the airline’s Aeroplan loyalty program; and Star Alliance Gold members.

An Air Canada representative said the airline does not offer day passes, but for select flights and select times, customers can purchase the Flex, Comfort or Latitude fare for access to the Maple Leaf Lounge — if the pass is purchased 24 hours before departure. The prices for upgrades vary and are based on each individual flight segment when the purchase is made.

The entrance to Maple Leaf Lounge is past security in SFO’s Terminal 2, on the left. There’s a large photograph displaying an aerial view of SFO from November 1964 on the wall leading to the elevator. When you arrive at the fourth floor, the lounge’s black entrance pulls you in from the other end of the hallway. There, you’re met with a sophisticated security terminal that uses facial recognition and scans your pass.

The first thing to grab your attention inside the lounge is a custom mural from San Francisco artist Amos Goldbaum. The artist's signature sharp lines, depicting the downtown cityscape and Marin coastline, adorn an entire wall. There’s more art outside on the terrace, where there’s an abstract interpretation of the Golden Gate Bridge fused with maple leaves from Canadian painter Shawn Evans.

An iridescent wall of wine bottles separates a sunlit common area from the kitchen, which features a modest buffet. Next to the dessert plate with brownies is a stainless steel spigot, along with a sign reminding travelers to drink water before their flight. A watermelon is cut up into a cornucopia of fruit with cantaloupe and pineapple.

Besides the sliders, which were cobbled together on a black skillet and tasted a tad dry for the afternoon, the lounge offers a seafood cioppino and adobo chicken. A crew of well-dressed employees assists in clearing plates or attending to any request.

Carna and Peter, the two guests by the window, gathered their luggage to catch the 3:05 p.m. flight back home to Edmonton. They left the lounge utterly impressed. “This is spectacular,” Peter said. “It’s the best airport lounge I’ve ever been to.”

In a news release, Air Canada celebrated that its new SFO space is the first of its lounges to offer an outdoor terrace. The patio is an attractive feature, but any traveler familiar with SFO would know that a free and openly accessible option is available in another part of Terminal 2.

On the fourth floor, the SkyTerrace offers views of the airport’s arrivals and departures on the northern tarmac. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday. And it’s completely free.

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/articl...P-CP-Spotlight

[homebucket]

And the images:













https://www.sfgate.com/travel/articl...P-CP-Spotlight

[Busy Bee]

Looks great. Side note, anyone who hasn't seen or doesn't own that SF book by Taschen in the photo, you should.

[TWAK]

I haven't been to SFO in a long time, since I generally used Oakland while living in the yay.
I'll be trying Santa Rosa soon as it's now the closest airport! I was gonna fly out of there for my yearly trip to KC (CHIEFS BABY!) but it was pretty expensive.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by TWAK

I haven't been to SFO in a long time, since I generally used Oakland while living in the yay.
I'll be trying Santa Rosa soon as it's now the closest airport! I was gonna fly out of there for my yearly trip to KC (CHIEFS BABY!) but it was pretty expensive.

Maybe on your next trip to Iraq! There's Turkish Airlines flights from SFO to BGW with short layover in IST for a very reasonable sub-$1000 round trip.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Maybe on your next trip to Iraq! There's Turkish Airlines flights from SFO to BGW with short layover in IST for a very reasonable sub-$1000 round trip.

Not a bad price and I have been to it before, but not the civilian terminal. Did you guys know it resembles SMF in layout? It's a clutch design for an airport.

The gubberment liked to use no-name carriers (contracted) with cheesy names I had never heard of, or a C-17/C-130. The C-130 being the worst ride .

[homebucket]

After 20 Years, a Faster Geary Bus Will Really, Finally Come to Western SF
The ‘red carpet’ lanes along the curb are a compromise, but advocates still praise the boost for transit and pedestrian safety.
Kristi Coale
The Frisc

The future of Geary Boulevard’s western span was decided Tuesday afternoon when San Francisco transit directors unanimously approved special lanes for the Richmond District’s main thoroughfare, a change that should speed up bus trips for 37,000 riders daily riders.

Before the pandemic, the 38 Geary line carried more than 50,000 riders a day, the highest for a bus route this side of the Mississippi River. While SF’s population has declined since 2020, laws mandating more housing in the Richmond and other neighborhoods could swell demand for the line in coming years.

Advocates remained disappointed that the original idea — dedicated lanes down the center median, just as the city has built on Van Ness Avenue — had been changed to painted red lanes along the curb, but they maintained the change will benefit the city’s transit-first, climate, and street safety goals.

“This project will immediately improve lives and create a safer corridor now,” said transit advocate Cyrus Hall.

According to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency, it will also shave more than five minutes from roundtrip travel along the project’s corridor, which is more than 30 blocks long.

The project will come in two phases: The first starts this fall when “quick build” elements that don’t require street excavation are put in place on Geary from Stanyan Street to 34th Avenue. This first part, necessary to take advantage of a state grant that pays to make traffic signal changes, should finish before the end of the year.

...


In her letter to SFMTA Tuesday, Breed called the project “essential” to downtown recovery and said it would “fulfill broader commitments to improve the city’s transportation network, reduce pedestrian fatalities, fight climate change, and make the city more accessible for all.”

...

Funding for Geary bus rapid transit was approved by SF voters in 2003. More delays would also mean more death and injury, advocates said at the board meeting. Some of the changes approved include bulb-outs and other pedestrian safety features. Last year, SF had the most traffic deaths in a decade, since it pledged to get to zero by 2024 — a goal that almost certainly won’t be met. (There have been 11 deaths so far this year.)

This contested two-mile stretch of Geary has been particularly dangerous, with about one pedestrian injury or death per month. It is on the high-injury network, the 12 percent of city streets where 68 percent of traffic fatalities happen.

...

When cities deemphasize cars and improve streets for non-drivers, businesses benefit, according to study after study after study. Geary already has a lot of non-drivers. SFMTA’s Brisson cited a 2013 study that 78 percent of people on this stretch of Geary arrive by bus, bike, or on foot.

With quick builds — that is, using paint and easy-to-install barriers and bollards instead of carving up asphalt — the agency can relocate bus stops for better flow and make other improvements. SFMTA will also eliminate unprotected left turns at 11 intersections to reduce collisions and pedestrian injuries.

“Street safety is the number one No. 1 reason to move ahead with the quick build,” Susannah Raub, who chairs SFMTA’s Geary community advisory committee, told The Frisc.

https://thefrisc.com/after-20-years-...f-caf6331d6109

[redblock]

Captain has ordered a Stadler BEMU KISS trainset for use beyond the catenary to Gilroy and maybe Salinas.


https://www.facebook.com/10006358062...40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

[homebucket]

^ Nice find! Here's more info here:

August 18, 2023 Commuter/Regional
Caltrain to Pilot Stadler BEMU
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor

Caltrain will exercise a contract option with Stadler to purchase a battery-equipped electric multiple unit (BEMU) train comprising three passenger cars and one battery-head housing the battery and power equipment.

The California Transportation Commission on Aug. 17 approved the allocation of funds from an $80 million California State Transportation Agency grant for one BEMU; testing at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo.; and upgrades to the San Jose Central Maintenance Facility and Gilroy layover and station area to facilitate charging and maintenance, Caltrain reported.

According to the California commuter railroad, the current demonstration plan will have the bi-level BEMU charge while in operation between San Francisco and San Jose, and then use battery power to run on non-electrified tracks between San Jose and Gilroy, with intermittent demonstration trips to Salinas. The goal, it said, is to “show successful service operations and learn from the implementation to provide a roadmap for future BEMU operations and procurements,” and ultimately “lead the way for Caltrain to operate a fully zero-emission service in the future.”

The train will go into operation after additional testing and certifications from regulatory agencies, the commuter railroad said.

If successful, BEMUs could replace aging diesel locomotives on non-electrified tracks at Caltrain. “The benefits of this would not only be a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality, but also significant service upgrades,” Caltrain said. “This includes potential improved service times to Gilroy resulting from better performance of the BEMU compared to diesel locomotives, improved travel times on the entire corridor, and decreased service costs resulting from removing diesel locomotives from service, and increased reliability should overhead power systems fail or utilities experience outages.”

Caltrain is due to launch electrified service in fall 2024, which is two years later than planned. The railroad’s $2.4 billion electrification project will upgrade and electrify its double-track system from the 4th and King Station in San Francisco to the Tamien Station in San Jose. Stadler-built KISS bilevel EMUs will replace Caltrain’s existing diesel fleet. Caltrain awarded Stadler a $551 million contract in August 2016 for 16 six-car EMUs, with an option for a further 96 cars worth an additional $385 million. In December 2018, Caltrain exercised an option to extend the trains from six to seven cars, and ordered another three seven-car trains. Caltrain has received four EMUs with further deliveries expected this fall.

Caltrain on Aug. 17 reported that its Board earlier this month approved exercising options on its contract with Stadler for four more EMUs.

In the spring, the commuter railroad ran for the first time EMUs under power from the overhead contact system (OCS) between Santa Clara and College Park on the Santa Clara Drill Track; testing was to extend to the main line between San Antonio and San Jose Diridon later this summer.

“California continues to lead the transition to a clean, electrified transportation system, this time with the nation’s first battery-electric multiple unit passenger rail train,” California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said. “This efficient, state-of-the-art train—made possible by an award through our Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program—will lead to improved service for riders and cleaner air between San Francisco and Gilroy, as well as serve as a demonstration train for expanded battery-electric intercity rail service in the future.”

“We’re excited to be the first in the nation to pilot this bilevel hybrid electric and battery service to extend our zero-emission service beyond our electrified service areas,” said Jeff Gee, Caltrain Board Chair. “With the BEMU, we will not only create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly service, but also faster and more reliable travel times for riders.”

“Silicon Valley has a reputation for first-of-its-kind innovations, and our transportation sector is no different,” said Matt Mahan, Mayor of San Jose. “This project will pave the way for Caltrain to retire their diesel fleet and operate a fully zero-emission service for future generations.”

“Stadler is proud to continue our partnership with Caltrain and our shared mission of helping California provide zero emission travel,” said Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler U.S. “With additional double-deck EMUs and this first-of-its-kind BEMU for Caltrain, Stadler is able to expand our overall portfolio for the U.S. market, especially in the zero-emission product line.”

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger...pffLGKSkTVPNfI

[Busy Bee]

Why exactly is it that electrification is so expensive in this country that you have instances like this? How can some impoverished nation hang some catenary and make an electric train but we literally are over here reinventing the wheel? Is it because half the budget goes towards industry "consultants" because we have no idea how to build railways anymore or ridiculous multi-million dollar "environmental studies" just to make sure clean electric power isn't somehow "harmful" to a creek salamander or some tree aphids?

It's only 36 miles.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Why exactly is it that electrification is so expensive in this country that you have instances like this? How can some impoverished nation hang some catenary and make an electric train but we literally are over here reinventing the wheel? Is it because half the budget goes towards industry "consultants" because we have no idea how to build railways anymore or ridiculous multi-million dollar "environmental studies" just to make sure clean electric power isn't somehow "harmful" to a creek salamander or some tree aphids?

It's only 36 miles.

Good question. I'm not sure why they didn't just electrify the entire line.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Good question. I'm not sure why they didn't just electrify the entire line.

You do not have to be a genius to know the reason. Caltrain does not own the entire line. They only own the sections of tracks north of San Jose. Tracks south of San Jose are owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, that does not want, to date, overhead catenary lines over their tracks. If Caltrain spent the money to install them over UPRR tracks, UPRR would tear them down and will win in court the costs to do so.

Alas, soon, but who knows when, CHSR will build new tracks south of San Jose with electrification, which I assume Caltrain will be able to use.

Downtown San Jose to Gilroy is around 30 miles, not sure battery power will stay charge double that to 60 miles, because once a train leaves electrified tracks to a destination, it has to get back to power that same amount of distance. It will probably take a lot of batteries to do so, which will add signicantly to the weight of the trains, making them less efficient.

[homebucket]

Farewell, old friend.

Do You Love BART's Nixon-Era Train Cars? Ride Now, Because They're About to Go Away
Dan Brekke
Aug 23



BART’s classic old train cars — maybe “classic” should be in quotes — have a storied history.

When they began service in the previous century, a soon-to-be-disgraced president of the United States was one of the first to ride them. After his ride in September 1972, Richard Nixon was impressed and said BART made a good case for shifting federal transportation money from highways to mass transit.



Later, the cars did heroic duty as BART ran 24 hours a day for a month after the Bay Bridge was knocked out of service by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Still later, when BART was no longer a novelty and crowded trains had become the norm, enterprising journalists swabbed the cars’ wool-upholstered seats and determined they were crawling with germs.

OK, so maybe that’s not such a glorious past. And maybe that’s not giving the cars their full due for the part they played in BART’s creation story. The vehicles were designed with the idea that if trains were fast enough, sleek enough and plush enough, they’d help attract riders who wanted an alternative to driving.

If you have been, or once were, a regular BART rider, and especially if you were a patron before the pandemic, you probably got used to spending an hour or two a day in those cars: sitting, standing, sleeping, wondering why the air conditioning didn’t work better (or at all), trying to catch what the train operator was saying over the public address system.

But now those old vehicles seem to have grown extra dingy. That’s especially apparent when you look at them side-by-side with BART’s still fresh-looking new cars, which began service in January 2018.



After a slow start to the ambitious car replacement program, including a long pause caused by problems with some of the new fleet’s software and hardware, the agency is now running more than 560 of the new cars. With BART about to start running shorter trains on all of its routes, the supply of new cars will be more than enough to operate the agency’s daily service without using the tired-looking legacy fleet. (The reason for shorter trains: BART says (PDF) that will make trains easier to police, simpler to keep clean and cheaper to run.)

So next month, on Sept. 11, exactly 51 years after they carried their first paying passengers, the old cars will be retired from regular service. If for some reason you want one last reminder of the sights, the sounds, the smells of the legacy fleet, this is your chance.

One might think a ceremony is in order, and BART General Manager Robert Powers told KQED during a media ride-along Tuesday that the agency will sponsor a farewell ride for the old train cars. No date for that event has been set.

Powers did not sound overly nostalgic about the end of the legacy fleet era. From a durability and reliability standpoint, he said, the old cars “have really performed. But change is inevitable, and change is good, and these new cars are just so superior.”

And if you really, really miss the old cars, don’t lose heart. The Western Railway Museum, in Solano County near Rio Vista, has purchased one of the legacy vehicles — in fact, the one that Nixon rode on in 1972 — for a future exhibit.

https://www.kqed.org/news/11958899/d...out-to-go-away

[twinpeaks]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Farewell, old friend.

Will definitely miss the old BART trains. I love the big windows and wide seats.

[Busy Bee]

https://rapidotrains.com/ho-scale/co...ml?___store=us

[homebucket]

Caltrain, Balfour Beatty and PG&E Celebrate Major Milestone of Electrification Project with Energization of Second Traction Power Substation
08/30/2023
Energization of transformative undertaking completed this past weekend

For the first time, the Caltrain Traction Power Substation in South San Francisco, constructed by Balfour Beatty and its industry partners, was energized with power from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). This milestone achievement in the Caltrain Electrification Project signifies major progress in expanding Caltrain’s ability to test and run electric trains along the corridor.

“Energization of the second traction power substation is a momentous milestone for the Caltrain Electrification Project and continues to keep us on track for launch of Electrified service in fall of 2024,” said Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain Executive Director. “We want to thank the hundreds of people that have been involved in the work and coordination to get us to this moment. Soon we be able to test electric trains along our entire corridor and we are excited to deliver a world-class system for the public.”

...

Caltrain’s substation in South San Francisco is also one of two main traction power substations along the Caltrain corridor, in addition to the San Jose location which was energized last August. Together, with eight other smaller facilities along the corridor, power substations provide, distribute, and regulate electricity to the overhead wires which will power Caltrain’s new high-performance electric trains.

Caltrain, PG&E and Balfour Beatty’s work to complete the energization was substantial and needed to be safely conducted while maintaining reliable service to more than 20,000 customers also served by the existing infrastructure.

The infrastructure upgrades include:
- Construction of two, double-circuit 115 kV transmission connections from the East Grand Substation in South San Francisco and the FMC Substation in San Jose to Caltrain traction power stations in those communities.
- Rebuilt the East Grand and FMC substations that enabled PG&E to support Caltrain’s request for redundant transmission feeds.
- Additional upgrades to three PG&E and two third-party remote end substations.

As crews continue to install more poles and wire for the electrification system, Caltrain is embarking on a public outreach campaign to educate passengers, residents and businesses about best safety practices along the corridor. The agency has sent out mailers, hosted community meetings and embarked on social media campaigns to remind everyone that all overhead wires on Caltrain property should be assumed to be energized now. More safety information about Caltrain Electrification is available here.

https://www.caltrain.com/news/caltra...t-energization

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

https://rapidotrains.com/ho-scale/co...ml?___store=us

Wow that is sick. I'll have to get a set one of these days.