THE CALTRAIN CORRIDOR VISION PLAN Appendix A Rail: Existing Conditions and Vision Plan Methodology Appendix A describes today’s Caltrain rail system and service. It also explains the assumptions and methodology used to develop the Caltrain Corridor Vision Plan recommendations for future rail service in the corridor. 1. Caltrain Today The following existing conditions form what this study assumes to the baseline conditions that the Vision Plan elements are built upon. This information and the assumptions were based on what was available in 2016. 1.1 Physical Infrastructure The Caltrain Corridor is an approximately 48-mile rail corridor between the San Francisco 4th and King Station and San Jose Diridon Station. Between San Francisco and CP (Control Point) Coast1, a short distance north of the Santa Clara station, the corridor is owned and controlled by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (i.e., Caltrain). Between CP Coast and Diridon Station, the corridor is a portion of Union Pacific Railroad’s (UP’s) Coast Subdivision (i.e., its rail line from Oakland to San Luis Obispo). The entire right-of-way and all main tracks in this section are owned by Caltrain, with the exception of Main Track 1, which is owned and maintained by UP2. Caltrain owns all stations in the corridor, all of which it received from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 19933. The corridor is primarily a two main track corridor. Major track infrastructure components and stations are shown in Figure 1. At eight locations, the corridor includes main tracks or sidings other than two main tracks, also shown in Figure 1. Figure 2 lists some of the other important facilities for railroad operations and Figure 3 describes the stations. 1 A Control Point is a location in a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) railroad network with signals and turnouts directly controlled by dispatchers. On the Caltrain corridor, “control point” is generally synonymous with “interlocking.” 2 Right-Of-Way Maps. Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, 2007. 3 Caltrain Design Criteria. Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, 2011. spur.org/caltraincorridor 1 Figure 1. Corridor Rail Track and Station Configuration spur.org/caltraincorridor 2 Stations along the corridor and their key operational characteristics are identified in Figure 2. Figure 2. Corridor Rail Special Facilities Begin* End* Facility Notes San Francisco CP 4th Street San Francisco station 12 tracks and one pocket track (MP 0.2) (MP 0.5) tracks Outside main tracks routinely used during CP Tunnel CP Brisbane Four main tracks peak hours by Limited trains to be (MP 5.0) (MP 7.0) overtaken by Baby Bullet trains “Millbrae Controlled CP BART CP Trousdale Infrequently used for storing disabled Siding” (within Millbrae (MP 13.7) (MP 14.3) trains station) Two controlled siding tracks CP Dumbarton CP Junction (“West Controlled (MP 26.3) (MP 27.2) Siding” and “East Controlled Siding”) Outside main tracks routinely used during CP Hendy CP Bowers Four main tracks peak hours by Limited trains to be (MP 39.4) (MP 41.6) overtaken by Baby Bullet trains CP Coast CP Stockton Four main tracks (MP 44.6) (MP 46.5) CP Stockton CP Alameda Three main tracks (MP 46.5) (MP 47.4) CP Alameda San Jose station San Jose station tracks Nine stations tracks (MP 47.4) * Railroads typically identify locations along a linear railroad corridor according to its milepost (MP) location, i.e., how many miles a given location on the corridor is from a reference location. On the Peninsula corridor, milepost zero is in San Francisco and milepost values increase south along the corridor. spur.org/caltraincorridor 3 Figure 3. Corridor Rail Stations Station Track Platform Notes Configuration Configuration San Francisco 12 6 island platforms Terminal station (4th and King) station tracks 22nd St 2 tracks 2 side platforms Bayshore 4 tracks 2 side platforms Express trains use center tracks Side platform + South San Francisco 2 tracks small island “Hold-out rule” in effect4 platform San Bruno 2 tracks 2 side platforms Millbrae 2 tracks + siding 3 side platforms Separate platform provided for siding track Side platform + “Hold-out rule” in effect; Broadway 2 tracks small island Currently only served by trains on weekends platform Burlingame 2 tracks 2 side platforms San Mateo 2 tracks 2 side platforms Hayward Park 2 tracks 2 side platforms Hillsdale 2 tracks 2 side platforms Belmont 2 tracks Center platform San Carlos 2 tracks 2 side platforms Redwood City 2 tracks 2 side platforms 2 side platforms “Hold-out rule” in effect; Atherton 2 tracks Currently only served by trains on weekends Menlo Park 2 tracks 2 side platforms Palo Alto 2 tracks 2 side platforms 2 side platforms Used for Stanford home football games only Stanford 2 tracks (typically on specific Saturdays) California Ave 2 tracks 2 side platforms San Antonio 2 tracks 2 side platforms Mountain View 2 tracks 2 side platforms Sunnyvale 2 tracks 2 side platforms Lawrence 4 tracks 2 side platforms Express trains use center tracks Side platform + Also serves Amtrak Capitol Corridor and Santa Clara 2 tracks island platform Altamont Corridor Express (ACE). Side platform + College Park 4 tracks small island “Hold-out rule” in effect platform Also serves Capitol Corridor and Altamont Side platform + San Jose Diridon 9 tracks Corridor Express (ACE), and Amtrak Coast 4 island platforms Starlight. The entire corridor is operated with Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), whereby authority for trains to occupy track in the corridor is issued by a dispatcher to trains via wayside signals. The existing signalling system generally features three-block, four-aspect controls lines, meaning that two trains must be separated by three signal blocks (each about 4,000 to 5,000 feet long) to experience green 4 At stations where passengers must cross an active track in order to board and alight from trains, a “station hold-out rule” is in effect. At these stations, the engineers of two trains approaching the station must coordinate via radio so that only one train is in the station at a time (i.e., one train will “hold out-” side of the station.) spur.org/caltraincorridor 4 (“clear”) signal aspects. Between interlockings5, the system has automatic signals along the side of the track that cannot be controlled by the dispatcher and respond automatically to track occupancy status ahead on the corridor. Most of the corridor is configured to allow a maximum operating speed of 79 miles per hour. In certain locations, however, the horizontal geometry of the tracks requires a lower maximum operating speed. (For example, immediately north of the San Bruno station, the maximum operating speed is 60 miles per hour.) 1.2 Caltrain Today: Demand and Supply Transit agencies operate vehicles on routes that have a specific transit capacity – a value that the transit agency measures as being 100% full. “Line capacity” (expressed in terms of “passengers per hour”) is a function of the capacity of each individual vehicle (bus or trains) and the frequency of vehicles operating on the route. This is shown in the equation below: ���������� ���������� ������ = × ���� ����� ���� Most transit vehicles make intermediate stops between the route’s terminus points, with passengers boarding and exiting at each intermediate stop. Along the route each vehicle/train has a location of “peak loading,” which is when the number of passengers aboard reaches a maximum value for capacity. The amount of passengers at this peak loading point and the remaining transit capacity above this existing peak loading determines whether vehicles are at, above, or below capacity. Peak loadings at or above capacity are an indication of whether vehicles at particular times have the ability of to accommodate new passengers (picking up new passengers at intermediate stops). As an example, the Figure 4 shows the average passenger loading for each AM peak period northbound train during its run from San Jose Diridon station to San Francisco station. In this case, each train has a location of peak loading generally near Mountain View or San Mateo. 5 On the Caltrain corridor, “interlocking” is generally synonymous with “control point,” i.e., a location in a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) railroad network with signals and turnouts directly controlled by dispatchers. spur.org/caltraincorridor 5 Figure 4. AM Peak Period Northbound Train Load Transit agencies commonly cite “ridership” as a key performance metric, which is often shared with the public as a measure of how well the agency or a particular transit service is performing. (Ridership is functionally identical to “boardings,” which Caltrain uses). Ridership best identifies a total number of tickets sold but does not represent how passengers consume transit capacity, specifically where passengers get on trains and how long they remain on a train. This is important because ridership alone cannot determine if the transit service is operating at or above capacity. Capacity is measured for how the full the trains are at every point along the route, and train peak loadings better shows how well the service is accommodating passenger demand and whether additional trips can be service. For example, a passenger riding a train for ten stops consumes more capacity than does a passenger riding the train for a single stop. spur.org/caltraincorridor 6 1.2.1 Caltrain Today: Service Structure Today, Caltrain operates a weekday schedule with 92 trains per day (46 northbound and 46 southbound). Service operates every day. Weekday service