Tentative Caltrain Proposal Avoids Radical Cuts

 In coming months, Caltrain riders could be paying more to ride
fewer trains operating out of fewer stations if the agency's board on
Thursday approves a tentative agreement reached Monday night that outlined
the changes. 

The agreement, reached by executive staff from Caltrain's three
member agencies and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, would, if
approved, eliminate 10 trains from the current weekday schedule, close three
stations and increase fares and parking fees, according to a statement
released by Caltrain on Tuesday.

Weekend and special event service, including baseball service, in
the agreement would provide "continued, but modified" service, according to
the statement.

Caltrain currently operates 86 weekday trains and 64 weekend
trains.

Last month, Caltrain's board of directors voted to declare a
fiscal emergency to allow the board to consider "radical" solutions in light
of a $30 million budget deficit the agency will face in the coming fiscal
year.

An earlier proposal released in February recommended slashing
weekday service in half -- to just 48 trains. Some of the other radical
changes the board was also then considering included eliminating all weekend
train service and stopping service south of San Jose.

That proposal would have suspended service at up to 16 stations.

The current 76-train weekday schedule proposal would terminate
service at three stations -- San Francisco's Bayshore Station, San Mateo's
Hayward Park Station and San Jose's Capitol Station, which would effectively
be closed because it currently has only weekday service.

Weekend service would be suspended at 11 stations, including the
Bayshore and Hayward Park stations.

Last month, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said that board
directors had been evaluating which stations to close based on several
factors, including how frequently a station was used.

Caltrain's executive director, Michael Scanlon, said in the
statement that the current proposal "is a significant improvement over the
worst-case scenario, and there is a lot to like in the new schedule." 

Unlike the earlier proposal, the 76-train weekday schedule would
preserve the current span of early morning, midday and late-evening weekday
service hours, continues service between Gilroy and San Francisco and allows
for weekend and special event service.

"It actually provides more service to some stations than they have
now and it preserves the competitive travel times our customers have come to
expect from Caltrain," Scanlon said. 

Scanlon emphasized that the proposal, the details of which were to
be presented at the agency's Citizen's Advisory Committee meeting tonight, is
temporary and only covers the coming fiscal year, which starts in July.

The short-term fix "does not address the core financial issues
that continue to threaten Caltrain service," Scanlon said, referring to the
agency's lack of a permanent, dedicated source of revenue. 

"Without that, the fiscal crisis we faced this year will only get
worse and the future of the rail system will continue to be in doubt."

The new schedules would reduce net operating costs by
approximately $3.3 million and include a staff recommendation to generate
more than $2 million through fare and parking rate increases.

Monday's tentative agreement was reached among the San Francisco
Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Mateo County Transportation
District, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the MTC.

According to Caltrain, the agency partners and the MTC would
continue to negotiate through the summer in hopes of reaching an agreement by
the fall on how to address shortfalls expected for the following fiscal year.

Click Here for a proposed new fare chart.

- Bay City News