Published Friday, August 26, 2005, in the Peninsula Examiner

Commuter train over Dumbarton will connect Peninsula, East Bay
Project centers on replacement of freight bridge

By Edward Carpenter
Staff Writer

A plan to connect the Peninsula and East Bay using a commuter train
service at the Dumbarton Bridge is moving forward after it secured
100 percent of the required funds.

With all $300 million accounted for and the first phase of the
environmental review nearly complete, officials say the project is
on its way to becoming reality, barring any unforeseen surprises.

"I think the Dumbarton is going to be an exciting project," SamTrans
spokeswoman Christine Dunn said. SamTrans is one of the agencies
funding the project, along with transit agencies in Alameda and
Santa Clara counties.

The project will connect Union City to the Peninsula with six
morning trains, half of which will go toward San Jose and half of
which will head north. The trains will return to the East Bay during
the evening commute.

The 20.5-mile project will include new or upgraded train stations
at Union City, Fremont/Centerville, Newark and Menlo Park. The
centerpiece will be a new "swing" bridge across the Bay just south
of the vehicle bridge. It will replace the existing Dumbarton
freight rail bridge, which hasn't been used in 20 years, officials
said.

"I'm really anticipating it," said Peter Andrus, a Livermore
resident who works for a software design company in Redwood City
and spends nearly two-and-a-half hours a day commuting across the
Dumbarton. Parking at Fremont Station and taking a train would give
him time to relax, catch up on some reading or nap, said the father
of two, including a 3-month-old.

It is meant to connect people in the East Bay who want to go to
places on the Peninsula, said Brian Stanke, a Bay Rail Alliance
board member and proponent of the project. "For someone who doesn't
want to get stuck in traffic and deal with the hassle, this provides
a connection."

The Dumbarton project will connect the Altamont Commuter Express,
Capitol Corridor and Caltrain, as well as local buses, officials
said. About 15 minutes could be trimmed off a one-way trip from
Union City to South San Francisco compared to driving, officials
said. Riders will pay an average of about $2.07 for a one-way trip,
when the service opens in 2010, records show.

About 4,800 weekday commuters are forecast to use the train in its
first year of operation, increasing to 6,900 in 2025. If extended
to the Livermore Valley, those numbers are estimated to increase by
about 40 percent.

E-mail: ecarpenter@...


[BATN: See also:

Dumbarton Rail Corridor Policy Committee
http://www.smcta.com/Dumbarton_Rail/information.asp

Fremont NIMBYs oppose Capitols, Dumbarton rail connector
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24453

Next phase starts for new transbay Dumbarton rail service
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/23965 ]