Caltrain Holiday Train Schedule Buildings Integral to the Development This Year As Part of the Train Crew for of Hundreds of Communities Across Nov
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Caltrain 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 Menlo Park station. 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 Redwood City station 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 Palo Alto station 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 Clipper card 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.