San Francisco Bay Area news

From BayRail Alliance, newsletter for Fall 2005:

BayRail Alliance is proposing a new commuter rail line called CalTrain Metro East. This line would begin as the current one does in San Francisco, and run down to Redwood City, where it would then veer off to the left and cross the bay on the Dumbarton Bridge. It would then turn south in Fremont, make a major stop at the Centerville station in Fremont, and finally proceed down to San Jose on new tracks (not the ones used by ACE and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor). It would connect with the existing CalTrain at common stations on the San Mateo Peninsula as well as downtown San Jose, with Amtrak Capitols and ACE trains in Centerville, with BART in Fremont, and with VTA light rail in Milpitas. Baby Bullet service could be offered on this line, similar to the existing service west of the bay. This express service would be superior to the proposed BART extension, since BART trains are not capable of providing express service with their fixed track and consists. This train would also directly serve the Mineta Internatioal Airport, and also a new "downtown" area for San Jose north of the existing downtown.

BayRail Alliance remains against the proposed BART extension, and has introduced the concept of CalTrain Metro East as a viable and cheaper alternative.

CalTrain has tweaked its 96-train schedule that went into effect over the summer. The changes that took place on October 10th are minor changes that fine-tune operations, and add a few minutes to restore on-time performance. One significant change is that three early evening Baby Bullet trains out of San Francisco now depart half and hour later than before. BayRail Alliance reports that the increased number of express and Baby Bullet trains has helped increase ridership.

New CalTrain timetable is here. (Adobe Reader required.)