Published Tuesday, January 13, 2004, in the Redwood City Independent

Transbay train could restore glory
Caltrain expansion projects look north and across the bay

By Sara Zaske
Staff Writer

SAN CARLOS -- With the Baby Bullet express train project nearly
delivered, the next two major projects for Caltrain are heading
down the track and gaining speed.

The 77-mile Caltrain line is preparing to expand north into the
heart of downtown San Francisco and east across the bay.

Plans to revamp the downtown San Francisco Transbay Terminal
<http://www.mtc.ca.gov/projects/transbay/transbay_terminal.htm>
and run passenger trains over the old Dumbarton rail bridge could
happen in the next seven years or sooner -- depending on how
train-friendly voters feel in March and November.

"The good news about both of these projects is that there's been
significant progress made for getting them realized," said Margaret
Okuzumi, executive director of Bay Rail Alliance, a train riders
advocacy group <http://www.bayrailalliance.org>.

Billed as the most important transit project west of the
Mississippi, the Transbay Terminal revamp will not only bring
Caltrain downtown, but link up nearly all of the region's transit
systems.

Greyhound, Golden Gate, AC Transit, Muni and SamTrans buses will
all meet the train at the new hub. BART already pulls in to the
Embarcadero station one block from the Transbay Terminal and
planners have proposed an underground pedestrian tunnel between
the two stations.

The city of San Francisco also plans a huge redevelopment around
the area, putting in 3,300 residential units as well as retail and
office space.

The Transbay Terminal was once the busiest rail hub in the country.
In 1945, when trains still ran across the Bay Bridge, the station
drew 26 million people. Today, despite all the bus service to the
station, the number of riders tops out at 8 million a year.

The inclusion of Caltrain and all the other improvements could
return the terminal to its former glory, bringing in 29 million
riders in 2010 with the capacity to handle 49 million into the
future.

"It is going to be fabulous," said San Mateo County Supervisor Mike
Nevin, who is both a Caltrain board member and chair of the Transbay
Joint Powers Authority <http://sfgov.org/site/tjpa_index.asp>. "When
you talk about the Millbrae intermodal station being the most state-
of-the-art, most-connected transportation center west of the Rockies
-- well, this is going to be even more spectacular."

Like its intermodal cousin in Millbrae, however, the new Transbay
Terminal will also carry a spectacular cost. Current estimates place
capital costs at $2 billion.

If not quite as flashy, Caltrain's Dumbarton rail project is much
less expensive, coming in at $273 million.

Freight trains used to cross the Dumbarton rail bridge regularly. It
was abandoned after a fire damaged the bridge in the 1990s. Caltrain
and Caltrans bought it in 1996 with the intention of running
passenger trains. Since the tracks are already laid, creating a
cross-bay route requires some repair and connection work to the
current Caltrain line.

As envisioned, trains would run over the bridge only during commute
hours and just into the edge of southern Alameda County -- although
a further extension over the hills to Tracy is also a possibility.
Caltrain anticipates 4,800 daily passengers on the route by 2010,
expanding to 6,900 in 2025.

With the multi-billion-dollar BART extension to San Jose stalled by
lack of funds, the inexpensive Dumbarton project could be the first
South Bay rail connection.

"That's why it's so high on everybody's list because it is doable
and it's doable now," Nevin said.

Both the Transbay Terminal and Dumbarton projects depend heavily on
the generosity of voters.

Most of the Dumbarton rail funds -- $135 million -- are expected to
come from raising the bridge tolls by $1, which would happen only if
voters approve Regional Measure 2 on the March ballot. The Transbay
Terminal project would get $150 million from the same measure.

The rest of the capital funds from the Dumbarton rail could come
from the counties it passes through, and proponents are also eyeing
San Mateo County's Measure A transportation half-cent sales tax
renewal -- which is set to go before voters in November.

The large Transbay Terminal project will need to tap many sources of
funds, including San Mateo County's Measure A. San Francisco voters
have already kicked in $270 million toward the terminal through the
city's transportation sales tax renewal measure, Proposition K,
approved last November. The rest of the funds have not been
specifically identified.

Regardless, both projects could see a high-speed boost, if voters
approve the $10 billion high-speed rail bond in November 2004.
Roughly $3 billion of that measure is slated for Caltrain
improvements.


E-mail: szaske@...