SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News

[SFBruin]

I think that the poster is referring to getting off at Church and Market and just walking to Van Ness.

[craigs]

Sonoma-Marin commuter rail sees 26% ridership rise in January after new ferry link, more frequent trains


Passengers disembark the SMART train at the newly opened Larkspur SMART Train Station after taking the inaugural ride to Larkspur, Calif., on Saturday, December 14, 2019. (Photo by Darryl Bush / For The Press Democrat)

Jeff Quackenbush
North Bay Business Journal
February 6, 2020

Train ridership between Sonoma and Marin counties appears to have received a sizable January boost, which the transit agency attributed to a number of service upgrades in the past two months such as a new San Francisco ferry link and shorter times between trains.

And the initial figures may point to SMART as not just a north-south commute option.

SMART trains last month had 26% more riders than a year before, according to spokeswoman Julia Gonzalez. . . In mid-December, the Larkspur station opened, realizing . . . a link to the terminal for ferry travel to and from San Francisco. The agency also launched a $12 “sail and rail” pass that includes a midday and weekend ride on the train and the ferry.

Last month, SMART also cut the time between trains to 32 minutes, filling in gaps in services of an hour and a half during parts of the midday and evening. Another service addition was the opening of the downtown Novato station. . . .

It's not rocket science--connectivity and frequency are paramount for good public transportation.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Does anyone have any recent photos of the Caltrain electrification?

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Does anyone have any recent photos of the Caltrain electrification?

I found a couple of photos (not terribly recent):




Source: https://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=C...AE&biw=1464&bih=757#imgrc=kT3d7bzBKdXYxM

The construction site has an image gallery but the pictures there don't tell me much: https://calmod.org/construction-photos/

[urbanflight]

Thanks for the pics.

Do we know what the new train fleet will look like?

[Busy Bee]

^^^
http://calmod.org

[SFBruin]

Looks great! More cities should do this.

[urbanflight]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

^^^
http://calmod.org

Thanks for the answer. It is a nice improvement.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

Looks great! More cities should do this.

I know capitol corridor has plans for it and I see that it would be easy to convince SMART to do a study on it.

[craigs]

I've seen some aspirational 'vision statements' for electrifying the Capitol Corridor, and I'm all for it, but do they really have a credible plan?

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by craigs

I've seen some aspirational 'vision statements' for electrifying the Capitol Corridor, and I'm all for it, but do they really have a credible plan?

All it really takes is money and also the Capital Corridor route may be a bit easier to do than the CalTrain because on the Peninsula there are so many grade crossings which, if not removed (by making the crossing above or below grade) will slow even an electric train to a crawl. I don't recall so many such crossings on the Capital Corridor route. What can slow that down, though, is the Sacramento River bridges. I was in a train one time that waited 4 hours while the bridge was open for a ship to pass which turned out to be a phantom ship--didn't exist.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

All it really takes is money and also the Capital Corridor route may be a bit easier to do than the CalTrain because on the Peninsula there are so many grade crossings which, if not removed (by making the crossing above or below grade) will slow even an electric train to a crawl. I don't recall so many such crossings on the Capital Corridor route. What can slow that down, though, is the Sacramento River bridges. I was in a train one time that waited 4 hours while the bridge was open for a ship to pass which turned out to be a phantom ship--didn't exist.

While Caltrain maximum service speed will still be 79mph trips will take less time due to faster acceleration (EMUs) and reduced dwell times (bye gallery cars). Last I saw the cost of full grade separation in the Caltrain corridor is aprox $10B. Absent some significant state and federal support that money isn't likely to be forthcoming soon.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by craigs

I've seen some aspirational 'vision statements' for electrifying the Capitol Corridor, and I'm all for it, but do they really have a credible plan?

Caltrain is not funding the electrification with its own money. Most of the money is coming from CHSR and the USDOT. Are there many other commuter rail operators in the USA that will be sharing tracks with a HSR train - where the money to electrify the tracks is coming from? Caltrain is basically fully funding its brand new trains - not the catenary above them nor the electrical power along the corridor.
Is California planning to run CHSR over the Capitol Corridor? It is fairly easy to fund electrification using someone else's money.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

All it really takes is money and also the Capital Corridor route may be a bit easier to do than the CalTrain because on the Peninsula there are so many grade crossings which, if not removed (by making the crossing above or below grade) will slow even an electric train to a crawl. I don't recall so many such crossings on the Capital Corridor route. What can slow that down, though, is the Sacramento River bridges. I was in a train one time that waited 4 hours while the bridge was open for a ship to pass which turned out to be a phantom ship--didn't exist.

If I remember right, part of the state rail plan is to remove all at grade crossings. I'm not sure if that counts super rural areas or just urban..

Originally Posted by electricron

Is California planning to run CHSR over the Capitol Corridor? It is fairly easy to fund electrification using someone else's money.

No, it's just electrification. They are considering making capitol corridor passenger only, and to move freight to the old SNR tracks.
Oh and projects all over the country are a combination of federal, state, and other funds so it's not a big deal. We voted for a bond so at least let us have that...please?

[electricron]

Originally Posted by TWAK

Oh and projects all over the country are a combination of federal, state, and other funds so it's not a big deal. We voted for a bond so at least let us have that...please?

Did I suggest Caltrain or Capitol Corridor should not get any funds from others?
What I tried to show was how Caltrain found the money - getting lots of funding from CHSR - and why the Capitol Corridor may not since CHSR will not be using that route.

[redblock]

The first Stadler electric train set for the San Jose to San Francisco Caltrain corridor will begin a two month test period.in April on a test track at the Stadler plant in Salt Lake City.

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/m...rst-electrified-trainset-in-April--60083

[M II A II R II K]

New tax for Caltrain? Measure this fall could fund trains every 10 minutes

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/03/n...fall-could-fund-trains-every-10-minutes/

.....

- The measure would raise $108 million per year for the agency with a new sales tax of one-eighth of a cent in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties if voters approve it this fall. Caltrain would put that money toward its ambitious plans to provide more frequent service with a new fleet of electrified trains. That would allow the agency to shift over the next several years from a commuter railroad whose schedule riders must plan their days around to one more comparable to BART, with service so frequent passengers just show up at a station and ride. The campaign took a first step toward the November ballot on Wednesday, when the SamTrans board of directors gave its support to a potential measure. --- Funding from the tax measure would help Caltrain run 168 trains each weekday between San Jose and San Francisco by 2022, officials say, with trains arriving every 10 minutes during peak commute hours. Gilroy and southern Santa Clara County would see more frequent service as well. Looking further into the future, Caltrain has plans to eventually run over 200 trips per day and extend its tracks to downtown San Francisco’s Salesforce Transit Center.

.....

[38 Geary]

With the shelter in place for the foreseeable future, now would be a great time to get all these transportation construction projects completed with minimal disturbance to commuters.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by homebucket

With the shelter in place for the foreseeable future, now would be a great time to get all these transportation construction projects completed with minimal disturbance to commuters.

They been using it to do maintenance, and this is a good time to speed up projects if we can.

[Pedestrian]

BART trains are mostly empty, but that doesn’t stop gate jumpers — some cars downright scary
Phil Matier April 8, 2020 Updated: April 8, 2020 6:28 a.m.

BART ridership has plummeted by more than 93 percent since the stay-at-home order was issued, and that has led to shorter service hours, longer waits between trains and near-empty stations. What hasn’t changed? The fare evaders riding the system for free.

Three weeks into the Bay Area shutdown, and BART’s two morning sweeps at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Station were pulling an average of 238 fare evaders a day off the morning-commute trains. Many of those ejected for not having a ticket were homeless or apparently mentally ill, BART officials said.

“And some are riding the system all day as a shelter,” BART Police Chief Ed Alvarez said.

BART had 24,909 riders on Monday, far below the 405,000 average daily ridership before the nine-county order went out for all nonessential Bay Area workers to stay at home.

“You might have thought that a 93% reduction in riders would have meant a reduction in fare evaders as well, but that hasn’t been the case,” BART Director Debora Allen said. She added that the people who jump the gates aren’t just cheats, they are potential health hazards to the other riders and to themselves . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/phil...stly-empty-but-that-doesn-t-15185631.php