Caltrain's voyage toward electrification of its Peninsula corridor will make a stop at Palo Alto tonight, where officials will solicit comments about what issues they should study as part of their environmental review for the long-awaited project.
The meeting will give residents and officials the chance to offer input about the scope of the agency's environmental-impact report, a state-mandated document that will evaluate the effects of the electrification project.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade but has stalled in recent years because of lack of funding. Last year, it flickered back to life when the state Legislature passed a bill funding the first segment of the controversial $68 billion high-speed rail system. While the first segment of high-speed rail will be constructed in Central Valley, the funding bill also includes $1.1 billion for train improvements between San Francisco and San Jose.
Caltrain officials have long coveted electrification of the corridor as the ideal way to improve service and boost revenues for the popular but perpetually cash-strapped service, which does not have a dedicated funding source. According to Caltrain, switching from diesel trains to electric ones could increase service by up to six trains in each direction during peak travel hours by 2019.
Last week, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, proposed a bill that would further ensure that the electrification of Caltrain will take place. If passed, Senate Bill 557 would allocate $600 million from high-speed rail funding for electrification and another $105 million for an advanced signal system.
The bill, Hill said at the Feb. 22 press conference at the downtown Palo Alto Caltrain station, will "provide certainty and a peace of mind as we move forward toward electrification and, ultimately, high-speed rail."
The public scoping meeting will take place tonight, Feb. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. Comments can also be submitted by email to electrification@caltrain.com, with the subject line "Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project."
Comments
Downtown North
on Feb 28, 2013 at 12:26 pm
on Feb 28, 2013 at 12:26 pm
So if the HSR uses a combination of raised railway and slightly trenched roads crossing under the railway, won't the newly electrified (in 2019) Caltrain tracks be ripped up a few years later when the HSR actually builds in Palo Alto? or is it really expected that electrification might happen in late 2020's?
Web Link
(see grade separation Dec 29, 2012)
Evergreen Park
on Feb 28, 2013 at 2:09 pm
on Feb 28, 2013 at 2:09 pm
Jeff,
I agree with your puzzlement over how electrification and HSR construction would be sequenced, and the obvious duplication of effort (and disruption).
Of course I have also wondered how any train operation on the Peninsula would be able to continue during the 2-4 year HSR construction. I suppose it would not.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 28, 2013 at 2:25 pm
on Feb 28, 2013 at 2:25 pm
I don't see how anything can be done by either Caltrain or HSR without the full cooperation of the other.
These two should be working hand in glove.
This just goes to show how we need a transportation guru for the Bay Area. No man is an island, or more correctly, no transit authority is an island. Without full interaction between all transit authorities in the Bay Area, no major work should be done.
I will repeat, WITHOUT FULL INTERACTION BETWEEN ALL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES IN THE BAY AREA NO MAJOR WORK SHOULD EVEN BE HINTED AT.
another community
on Mar 1, 2013 at 12:29 pm
on Mar 1, 2013 at 12:29 pm
If the district is really serious about electrifying the corridor, they should start now (i.e. HSR or no) by using some former New Jersey Transit electric locomotives in push-pull operation of the existing gallery cars. NJ Transit has recently retired their ALP-44 electric locomotives, which were in good shape, the newest examples being 14 years old. These can be rehabilitated for far less cost than buying new electric multiple units; not only would the benefits of zero emissions at the tracks be evident, but also better acceleration of trains (the electrics have higher horsepower and better tractive effort than any diesel) and more efficient use of regenerative braking energy (diesels can only dissipate dynamic braking as heat, if they do not have on-board batteries to store the energy). Beats having the units in question languishing, and would save the taxpayer a goodly amount of money in terms of capital investment.
Crescent Park
on Mar 4, 2013 at 12:14 pm
on Mar 4, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Just to connect the dots here - this all goes back to when Quentin Kopp was on the CalTrain board. He wanted electrification. Saw that no local was going to tax himself for it. Saw the opportunity by getting the whole state to pay for it by foisting the great rip-off HSR project on the unsuspecting public. Here we are....
another community
on Mar 5, 2013 at 11:19 am
on Mar 5, 2013 at 11:19 am
Now, Quentin Kopp believes the funding measure adopted last year by the Legislature and signed by the Governor is illegal:
“They have distorted high-speed rail and twisted it into (providing) money for commuter rail services,” he said.
“I can’t say it was unnecessary to get the votes, but it’s not high-speed rail,” Kopp, who also is a retired judge, said of the compromise plan. “It violates (the initiative) in at least four respects and maybe five.”
Web Link