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Caltrain Winter 2010 Connection Information for Customers Peninsula Rail Program Moves Forward Caltrain and the house gas emissions and California High Speed Rail railroad safety. Authority are on track with a The Peninsula Rail plan to modernize and elec- Program project team is trify the Caltrain corridor and developing a draft of high- to introduce high speed rail in speed train project alterna- California. tives for the Caltrain corridor, A number of community taking into account the public forums were held to outline comment and input received the issues and identify over the last year. opportunities that a The alternatives will combined Caltrain/high-speed consider whether the addition rail project can address, of two additional tracks for including train noise and high-speed can be accom- The future vision of Caltrain running electric multiple units vibrations, air quality, green- out of Millbrae station. continued on page 5 Caltrain Addresses Recent Delays Wheelchair lift won’t retract. too will be delayed. Also, if the train evaluation of both the locomotive and Signal is displaying red. Engine can’t get to its destination on time and passenger car fleet to identify areas “flip” to head in the opposite direc- of maintenance that should be en- won’t start. Trespasser steps in tion, those customers also will be late. hanced to not only provide increased path of train. The 90 weekday trains are operated reliability, but to provide the ride with only 20 train sets. That means quality and comfort level the No matter what the reason it has that one train set plays an integral role continued on page 3 the same result: delayed trains, in moving Caltrain’s resulting, more importantly, in delayed customers. customers. And Caltrain has had more While Caltrain has than its fair share lately and it apolo- implemented a number gizes for any inconvenience its custom- of contingencies, such ers have experienced. as a stand-by set of You might say, “But I was three equipment and cross- trains behind the one that wouldn’t overs to bypass break- start” or “I was traveling in the op- downs, customers still posite direction; what gives?” That feel the impact when illustrates how orchestrated and tightly the problems are connected the Caltrain service is. One bigger than the train incident can cause a domino contingencies. effect. If the delayed train can’t get Caltrain staff has out of the way of other trains, they been conducting an Guardians of the Rail 2 Keeping the Tracks Safe For track inspectors Jacob Ghazali and Tim Alves no day is the same. It is demanding work performed per hour on the track. Alves four to five hours regardless of weather conditions and “If you go over 16 miles per hour, to inspect the rails in one where you always have a train not far you cannot see things that need to direction, unless repairs behind you. be repaired,” Alves said. To monitor are needed, then it can It’s also a job Jacob Ghazali and switches and components along the become a seven-hour run. Tim Alves love. As track inspectors, track or near a road crossing, he slows Another inspection crew - they repair, restrict or remove track to five miles per hour. George Duarte and Lupe in a standard pick-up truck equipped “Our goal is to keep trains moving Monerez – inspect the with rail wheels while Caltrain’s regular at maximum speed and the tracks safe rails on the days Ghazali and Alves service continues to run. for our customers,” said Ghazali. are off. Twice a week, this team inspects As the truck rolls down the tracks, Ghazali also rides in a Caltrain more than 50 miles of track between Ghazali listens to the radio, stays in engine once a month with a San Jose and San Francisco. Every contact with dispatchers who direct locomotive engineer’s perspective month they inspect more than 100 and monitor train traffic from the Cen- looking for trees or vegetation blocking switches, 23 of which are located tral Control Facility in San Jose. Alves signals, “listening” for problem spots at the Centralized Equipment keeps a keen eye out for track defects and “feeling” the ride for rough spots. Maintenance and Operations Facility. or damaged switches. When they According to Ghazali, CEMOF and This two-man team also are the spot a problem, Alves puts the truck South San Francisco are the busiest ones who call for heat restrictions – into park and both get out and quickly yards that need maintenance. When reduced train speed on hot days. make any minor repairs or one pro- they reach San Francisco, they walk by According to Ghazali, the rails can heat vides protection as watchman lookout foot to inspect hand-thrown switches. up to 140 degrees when the outside from the adjacent track while the other Their job isn’t just about repairs of ambient temperature is 100 degrees makes repairs. For repairs they cannot switches and rails. “I’ve been doing causing thermal stretching in the rail make, they schedule crews to repair this for 22 years,” Alves said. “I’ve known as “sun kinks”. the problem during the night. seen a little bit of everything out here.” Their truck travels up to 15 miles On average, it takes Ghazali and Ghazali agreed, adding, “You never Caltrain Rider Takes Second Place in APTA Dump the Pump Contest An upbeat musical depiction of the joys of avoiding traffic submitted by a regular Caltrain rider took second place in the American Public Transpor- tation Association’s “Dump the Pump” transit rider- generated online video contest. Last fall, participants were asked to submit a short video that demonstrated why they were “dumping the pump” in favor of using public transportation. Second-place winner San Francisco resident Judith Keenan logged online to Caltrain’s Web site to check train departure times to Menlo Park when she saw the APTA contest announcement and thought, why not put something together. She strapped a camera around her neck, turned it on to document her ride to the gas station and then to the Caltrain station. The rest is history. “Now that I’m getting this great prize of free tran- sit on Caltrain for six months, I’ll be taking the train continued on page 6 Caltrain Addresses Delays 3 continued from page 1 passenger expects. Caltrain staff also is working diligently with its contract operator, Amtrak, to reduce delays and refocus on preventative maintenance. When there is a major service disruption, Caltrain’s goal is to get service restored as quickly as possible. That may entail having one train pass or “overtake” another train so that it can get to its destination and cover service in the other direction. It takes at least four to five hours to inspect Caltrain tracks and It never feels good to be at a station waiting for a switches between San Jose and San Francisco. train, you feel relieved when you see the approaching headlight, then super frustrated as the train speeds through the station. While it’s the best way to get know what you may run across.” service back on track, it’s a disservice to Caltrain’s One time Ghazali and Alves caught a crew loading loose customers to not let them know what’s going on. rails on a truck. Turns out the men were taking the rails To rectify that, Caltrain is committed to improving its and selling it at a local recycling yard. At other times, they communication with customers. have encountered homeless people sleeping on the rails, During delays, announcements will be made shopping carts and metal bands that come off freight trains. every 10 minutes onboard trains and at stations. “Something as simple as that can ruin a commute,” Alves The station announcements will include both public said. “You always have to remain vigilant out here. It’s all address messages as well as visual messages, about keeping the trains running and getting people to their if the infrastructure is in place. By mid-next year, destinations.” Caltrain will be offering real-time information on train Despite the workload, the team enjoys their work. “I status. love this job,” said Ghazali. “I get to do something that Caltrain will continue to work diligently on everybody is fascinated with, and I get paid to do it.” meeting your expectations for on-time service. Fast Facts Real-time Train Tracking Coming Commuters on Caltrain will have access to real-time information by spring 2011. In December, the Caltrain Board of Directors ap- proved a contract to purchase an integrated predictive arrival/depar- ture system that provides real-time train information from an on-board global positioning system. Automatic updates on Caltrain arrivals and delays will be displayed on existing station visual message boards and be available on 511.org. This information will It’s Not too Early for Fans allow riders to decide whether to drive or take other transit options if Caltrain is experiencing delays. to Catch Baseball Fever Presidents Day Schedule Are you ready for some baseball? Oakland Athletics. Opening day is The crack of the bat and the umpire’s April 9 against the Atlanta Braves. Caltrain will run regular service shout of “Play Ball” are only a couple Last season, Caltrain was the ticket on Monday, Feb. 15. Visit of months away. to AT&T Park for almost 400,000 4 www.caltrain.com for the schedule. Get out of your winter slump and Giants fans, driving ridership up 9 per- • • • start planning your Caltrain connection cent compared to the prior season.

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