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Saving the Old Train

Few people understand why we have $40+ billion, with a "B", for High-cost Rail, but we can't come up with $30M to keep the train we have.  Nonetheless the jockeying has begun as the Mercury Times is reporting

In Burlingame, city leaders have started a "Help Save Burlingame Train Stations" campaign and are asking their residents to flood Caltrain's e-mail in boxes demanding the agency keep the city's service, and to show up in force at public hearings that begin Monday. Again, their message is that the loss of service will clog streets.

I'm not sure what will work with the powers-that-be at Caltrain, but this is worth a shot.  Let's hope the numbers tell at least part of the story since the Times reports that

Of those, Burlingame, Santa Clara, Lawrence in Sunnyvale and San Antonio in Mountain View all see 550 to 650 riders each day. Then there are Belmont, San Bruno and South San Francisco, where fewer than 400 people board daily. Finally, Hayward Park in San Mateo, Bayshore at the Brisbane-San Francisco city limits and College Park in North San Jose all have fewer than 250 daily riders.

Here's the link to the City website with the call to action, meeting dates, email address, etc.

Caltrain2 

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13 responses to “Saving the Old Train”

  1. David desJardins

    Does anyone understand why Caltrain wants to close stations like Burlingame? How does this save them any money? The operating costs of a station seem to be virtually zero, so every extra boarding is just profit.

  2. Boogeyman

    So you will be inconvenienced and vote for a parcel tax to support the out of control expenditures.

  3. Jeff

    Caltrain is not an out of control expenditure. It is an essential component of the transportation network on the peninsula. Caltrain’s problem is that they lack a dedicated funding source that can be counted on.

  4. Joe

    I’ve asked myself the same question as David asks. It makes no sense to a business person schooled in the rules of private enterprise, but the best I can come up with is this:
    By reducing some of the local stops, the end-to-end time (SF-SJ) will be shorter therefore the train will be more competitive with driving and attract more passengers who pay the higher ticket price.
    I can only hope Caltrain management is this bright, but all evidence points to the opposite.

  5. Jeff

    That’s right, Joe! Also, with a shorter end-to-end time crews can be back on board for a second run quicker thus reducing the need for “extra” crews or overtime. At least that’s what I gathered from last night’s meeting in San Carlos.
    Kudos to Mayor Nagel and Council Member Keighran for publically speaking to Caltrain last night on why our station should remain open. The more letters and comments that Caltrain receives the more chance our station can be spared. Please write Caltrain at changes@Caltrain.com to plead our case.

  6. fred

    The main reason is fuel costs. It takes a lot less fuel (and less brake pad) to blow past a train stop than to come to a halt and get the tonnage going up to 70 miles per hour again.

  7. Joe

    The fuel and brake pad savings make sense. Not so sure about the quicker crews turns when one looks at the schedule as it exists today. Maybe in the train’s heyday, but now they are spread out pretty far for much of the day.

  8. Randy

    Caltrain lacks a dedicated funding source? The funding comes from passengers. The expenses are in excess of funding.
    Try taking the Catrain and waiting in line at a kiosk for a ticket when a frazzled passenger cant see the display because the sun is too bright to make it visible. If you get on the train without a ticket because the line is too slow (i.e. You will miss the train) the guy who checks tickets treats you like a criminal. Get off the train.
    The service is like the DMV. That’s why it is losing money.
    How long before Joe deletes this message?

  9. Russ

    According to the numbers, Caltrain does not consider 500-600 riders per day a successful station as is the case with the consideration of closing Burlingame’s station. If the average price per ticket is $10 ( which is the cost I pay 3 times per week when I go from zone 2 to zone 3) then the Burlingame station is generating $5-6K per day, 5 days per week. I’m no mathematics wiz but that comes to about $156K per year. Is Caltrain willing to walk away from $156K per year in the hopes of generating that and more at other stations? Doesn’t make sense to me.

  10. fred

    Actually, by your estimation, the revenue from the Burlingame station would be about $1,375,000.00 per year. $5,500.00 times 5 days times 50 weeks. About 4.6% of the $30 million dollar yearly deficit.
    I’ve got to figure the majority of the $30 million dollar deficit is due to the pension problems that are also plaguing local and state government.

  11. Ron Fulderon

    Yes, Fred, we can only guess what the pension costs are because this is rarely reported. I think any reporting about any of these government funding problems that doesn’t go in to detail about the costs – pensions, salaries, etc, really does a disservice to the public. I have no idea how to demand this from my news sources other than to state my opinion about this.
    I really believe that if we the public had a better idea how our taxes were being spent we’d be extremely pissed off with our government and would vote for politicians that would change this. Or maybe not… maybe there are so many people now collecting more than they contribute that we (the contributors) are really screwed.

  12. Holyroller

    I do not understand when an issue like Pensions come up,(30 Years ago) nobody cared a rats ass about it.
    There were plenty of opportunities for any citizen to “chime in.”
    But Citizen Joe had other things to worry about.
    So lets take responsibility for not caring, and make changes now, so we do not have this problem in the future

  13. Holyroller

    PS
    Prop 13 is the reason things are circling the drain.
    I bet dollars to donuts that most of the homeowners in Burlingame do not even know what Prop 13 is.
    As well as the impact it has on infrastructure..
    Schools
    After School Programs
    Road Maintenance
    Illegal Immigration
    Police/Fire/County Hospitals
    Park & Rec Programs
    Water
    Cal Train

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