Fall 2013 Fall ConnectionInformation for Customers

Rail Agency Celebrates 150th Birthday Festivities With A Trip To 1863

More than 1,500 well- A 150th anniversary celebration will be held wishers took a trip back Jan. 18, 2014 at the Santa Clara depot, and details to 1863 as Caltrain will be available at www.caltrain.com/150. kicked off the celebra- tion of 150 years of railroad service on the Peninsula with a birthday party in Menlo Park in October. In January 1864, the San Francisco & San Jose Rail- road completed construction of the railroad between those two cities. Three months earlier, railroad manage- ment hosted 400 guests for a ride and a picnic, and on Oct. 19 Caltrain re-enacted that event with a festive celebration at the . Glittering Holiday Train Returns, San Jose Author Tracks EVENTS CALENDAR Depot Design in New Book Ride Caltrain to these special events. The station name and any additional Lots of Festive Family Fun for All More than 30 years ago, Henry transit service required are listed E. Bender Jr. began researching the below each event. Santa and his elves will be mak- history of Southern Pacific depots, ing whistle stops along the Peninsula Caltrain Holiday Train Schedule buildings integral to the development this year as part of the train crew for of hundreds of communities across Nov. 15 – 17 Harvest Festival the 2013 Caltrain Holiday Train pre- Saturday, Dec. 7 California, including along the San San Mateo Event Center sented by Silicon Valley Community Francisco Peninsula. www.harvestfestival.com Foundation. The glittering show train Start Arrive Depart Recently released by Signature Hillsdale station returns Saturday, Dec. 7, and Sunday, San Francisco 4:00 p.m. 4:45 p.m. Press, Bender’s book Southern Dec. 8. Burlingame 5:15 p.m. 5:35 p.m. Pacific Lines Standard-Design Glowing with thousands of lights Redwood City 6:15 p.m. 6:35 p.m. Depots is packed with photographs, Nov. 23 and holiday decorations, the train will architectural drawings and text tell- Stanford hosts UC Berkeley Mountain View 6:50 p.m. 7:10 p.m. th make stops at nine stations over the ing the story of depots that were 116 Big Game Santa Clara 8:10 p.m. 8:30 p.m. Stanford Stadium two nights, collecting toys for under- often the centers of town. Using a www.gostanford.com privileged children in the area. Rep- set of 26 different standard designs, Sunday, Dec. 8 Stanford station resentatives from the Salvation Army Southern Pacific planted depots and members of the U.S. Marine Caltrain will run extra service Start Arrive Depart throughout the state and the West, Corps Reserves will be on hand to from one-story, no-frills structures collect donations of new, unwrapped San Francisco 4:00 p.m. 4:50 p.m. Nov. 24 Millbrae 5:15 p.m. 5:35 p.m. to two-story depots with a home Well-known depot historian Henry toys. upstairs for the station agent and his Bender Jr. stands in front of the Tree Lighting Celebration San Mateo 6:20 p.m. 6:40 p.m. Entertainment will be provided family. two-story Colonnade-style Millbrae Pier 39 at each of the stops prior to the train’s Menlo Park 7:45 p.m. 8:05 p.m. “What I wanted to accomplish station depot which is mentioned www.pier39.com 2 arrival. During each 20-minute stop, Sunnyvale 8:40 p.m. 9:00 p.m. was to document the subject fairly in his book “Southern Pacific Lines San Francisco station 3 people can enjoy holiday music led thoroughly,” the San Jose resident Standard-Design Depots”. by a traditional Salvation Army brass explained. “There had been some Nov. 30 band and onboard carolers. Santa, books published that were basically Bender has maintained an inter- The Fab Four - Mrs. Claus, Frosty, Rudolph and the Real-time Information is Here picture books with some limited est in railroads through a career Tribute to the Beatles rest of the North Pole gang will get description but these books didn’t spent as a mechanical engineer, a Fox Theatre Redwood City off the train to greet children and Caltrain’s go into details like what the depot corporate librarian and a technical www.broadwaybythebay.com their families and take pictures. long antici- dimensions were, when they were writer. Looking in 1981 for a railroad The train starts both nights at pated real-time abandoned and so on.” continued on page 6 4 p.m. at the San Francisco departure sys- Dec. 2 Caltrain Station. On Saturday, the tem is up and Beyonce festivities will kick-off with a brief running on SAP Center at San Jose ceremony to welcome the crowd the website. Work Begins on Rail’s www.sapcenter.com that will include speakers, musical The real- San Jose station entertainment and a chance to time feature Advanced Signal System meet Santa before he heads down officially went Dec. 7 the Peninsula. live in October. Caltrain has begun work on an During this phase of the project, Hometown Holidays Santa’s helpers can get A box on advanced signal system that will fiber optic cable will be installed Downtown Redwood City into the holiday spirit by the right-hand enhance the safety and lead to the along the Caltrain right of way so www.hometownholidays.org donating to the Holiday Train side of the home page A mobile-friendly web interface electrification of the rail system. that signals, trains, dispatchers and Redwood City station at www.holiday-train.org. allows users to select a station and option for smartphones or tablets also The Communications Based other components of railroad opera- see departure times for the next three is available at www.caltrain.com/ Overlay Signal System/Positive Train tions can communicate seamlessly. north- and southbound trains. The thru Jan. 5, 2014 realtime. Control Project is the first step in the Once complete, the system will Carrie Mae Weems: Three information is in a “count-down” To help riders become acquainted Caltrain Modernization program. monitor and, if necessary, control Please share your Holiday Train Decades of Photography format. with the system, a list of “Frequently The CBOSS PTC system equips train movement in the event of photos with us. Post on our Cantor Arts Center at Stanford Departure times for individual Asked Questions” is available on the the corridor with federally mandated human error. The technology is de- facebook page or tweet www.museum.stanford.edu stations are displayed on the “sta- website. safety technology and increases sys- signed to prevent accidents like the using the hashtag tion” page, which can be found continued on page 6 tem capacity, which will help accom- one in Southern California in 2008. #HolidayTrain. under the “station” menu. modate future increases in ridership. That incident prompted legislation continued on page 6 Fast Facts Last Mile Connection Between Transit & Final Destination Just Got Better Riders Write Questions for Caltrain We would like to revisit some questions that keep coming up from our customers. If you have a question you Update on San Mateo Bridges would like to share with our readers, please e-mail them to [email protected]. The next community meeting Q: I would like to see if there is any way that there Q: Why don’t the trains wait for customers that arrive for the San Mateo Bridges could be more enforcement for those who don’t have at the station just as the train is closing its doors? Replacement Project will be a bike to NOT sit in the bike car, take up the space held in mid-November. Check and cause a nuisance. A: In the transit industry, they’re known as “runners”. www.caltrain.com/smbridges If Caltrain waited 30 seconds or so for runners at every for meeting details. A: As a public transit agency, Caltrain isn’t able to station, by the time the train reached the last station, it • • • reserve the portion of the car that accommodates bikes could be 15 or more minutes late. We’re working dili- to only those who have a bike onboard. However, we gently to provide customers with a reliable service and Service for Holidays, request that our customers without bikes allow those adding more dwell time at stations will keep us from New Year’s with bikes to sit near their bikes. We’ve posted decals meeting your expectations. Also, if customers expected us The holidays are almost upon us, in the bike cars and will remind conductors to make to wait for them, they wouldn’t arrive in a timely manner. which means an adjustment in Commuters will find more trans- periodic announcements. We recommend that customers arrive at the platform with service. On Thanksgiving Day, portation options at several Caltrain ticket/validated in hand at least five minutes Nov. 28, trains will operate a stations that will get them to their Q: Why doesn’t Caltrain ban alcohol on trains, espe- before the train’s scheduled departure time. Sunday schedule and will run a final destination. cially during baseball games and other big events? Saturday schedule the day after In September, the San Mateo Q: On two separate occasions I’ve been on Caltrain and Thanksgiving, Nov. 29. County Transit District along with Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Antonio, A: Caltrain periodically assesses whether the rule for have witnessed two conductors not issuing citations to its project partners launched a pilot Mountain View and San Jose are permitting food and beverages, alcohol or otherwise, riders that did not have proof of payment. Why do some On Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and program - Connect! Redwood City - proving popular with commuters. should be changed. The rail agency doesn’t allow open people get warnings while others get citations? on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, trains that offers bike share, vanpools and More than a year ago, car-sharing alcohol containers beginning at 9 p.m. on game nights will operate Sunday service. car share, connecting with Caltrain, became available at the Redwood City or following special events. We expect our custom- A: Conductors have the authority to issue a citation to buses and shuttles. Caltrain station. ers to behave in a courteous manner whether they any customer without a valid fare. However, they also are 4 Caltrain is offering free service New 5 have been drinking or not. If a customer’s behavior allowed to use discretion when issuing citations depend- Year’s Eve beginning at 8 p.m. on The newly launched Bike For more information, visit is affecting the operation of the train, the conductor ing on the circumstances. As a barrier-free transit sys- Dec. 31. The agency also will add Share docking stations at Caltrain www.caltrain.com/ConnectRWC. may ask the passenger to disembark or request police four post-midnight southbound stations located at San Francisco, tem, it’s important to check fares and issue citations as trains at 12:45 a.m., 1:15 a.m., assistance. One of Caltrain’s goals is to provide a safe, needed. 1:45 a.m. and 2:15 a.m., or when efficient and enjoyable means of traveling along the full, to its regular schedule. Peninsula. We ask everyone to act responsibly so its Student Rail Safety Videos an enjoyable train experience. • • • Does your next video Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Cap Off Rail Safety Month Q: Is there a place to subscribe to get e-mail updates for service delays and outages? require a transportation shot? Caltrain will provide one post- Rail Safety Month came to a deputy CEO, operations, construction game local train 25 minutes (or cinematic close with a film festival and engineering. A: Caltrain provides real-time information on its until full) after the Kraft Fight Consider the San Mateo County Transit featuring the work of young student “These videos are a powerful tool website. The rail agency plans to add a subscription Hunger Bowl at AT&T Park on District’s numerous transit centers, SamTrans filmmakers from Fresh Takes, a for reminding our youth that nothing service for specific trains and stations that will include Dec. 27. youth digital arts program. is worth more than their lives,” buses, Caltrain trains and stations. We are an • • • high-priority alerts. We hope to have that feature live Before filming, student filmmak- Harvey added. by early next year. Caltrain also maintains a “Notices” award-winning, film friendly organization with Status of Wi-Fi ers received rail safety awareness The messages in the videos were page (www.caltrain.com/notices) on its website to alert locations that range from historic to modern. training and toured the property consistent – when near an active rail- customers about upcoming changes. You can sub- Caltrain operates trains from San Francisco Caltrain is continuing to explore with Caltrain staff to learn about the road, be aware, be cautious and scribe to it at www.caltrain.com/subscribe. to San Jose, with commute hour service to Gilroy. possible ways to provide Wi-Fi challenges faced by commuter rail be safe. service to onboard customers. Visit www.caltrain.com/filming for more systems operating through a densely The clips premiered at a film fes- Q: Why doesn’t the Clipper website show me what’s Elements being considered include information. populated service area. tival held in Cinemark 20 in Redwood reliability of the Wi-Fi service for pending (transit passes) for my Clipper card? “Working with these students City. The videos were funded by a rail a train traveling 79 mph and the to produce rail safety messages is safety grant obtained by Caltrain from financial commitment required A: Unfortunately, the website doesn’t have the tech- from the rail agency. There is no a way to help us connect with the Operation Lifesaver and the Federal nical ability to do this. However, Clipper has imple- timeline for a decision. next generation of Peninsula resi- Transit Administration. mented an automated phone service – interactive voice dents who share their communities You can view the videos at response – that can provide customers with informa- with our tracks,” said Chuck Harvey, peninsulamoves.wordpress.com. tion about pending transit products, those not picked up yet. CBOSS Project continued from page 3

requiring positive train control technology on all railroads. Another benefit will be more dependable passenger service and operating performance. The rail system is lim- ited in its ability to add more trains and more capacity due in part to the current wayside signal system.

Real-time continued from page 2

The real-time system for the web uses Global Positioning System and track circuit data to provide the predictions. In the event of a major service delay, the real-time system will be put into manual mode.

6 Caltrain Connection is produced by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Comments, questions, contributions and suggestions should be directed to: Mary Knuckles, editor [email protected] Caltrain Connection P.O. Box 3006 San Jose Author San Carlos, CA 94070-1306 continued from page 3

book niche that hadn’t been tapped Although 80 to 90 percent of the Caltrain Board of Directors Ken Yeager, chair out, he focused on depots. Bender’s original SP depots are gone, some Tom Nolan, vice chair relentless quest for accurate docu- replaced by newer ones, the book José Cisneros mentation sent him searching librar- documents what they were like and Malia Cohen ies, old newspapers and magazines what happened to them. The first Jerry Deal and interviewing former SP employ- Colonnade-style depot was Palo Ash Kalra Arthur L. Lloyd ees, all the while fact-checking Alto’s (1896) but it was replaced in Adrienne Tissier with a network of fellow railroad 1941. Millbrae boasts the only Perry Woodward enthusiasts. existing two-story depot with that A Mother Lode of information architectural style. Michael J. Scanlon came from the research Bender was After so many years of research, Executive Director allowed to do in the SP department Bender says it is a great feeling to that kept track of the value of virtu- receive feedback. 1.800.660.4287 www.caltrain.com ally everything the railroad owned. And, his next book? What else? That’s how he was able to accurately “Some people have suggested the document changes, such as the in- non-standard-design depots, of stallation of a toilet structure, a depot which there are a lot,” Bender said. fire or the date when a freight house “I think that would be a good had been “retired.” addition.” @gocaltrain facebook.com/caltrain