Published Tuesday, June 11, 2002, in the San Mateo Independent

Caltrain out of joint over track electrification
Santa Clara may not come up with money for its share

By Sara Zaske
Independent Newspapers

SAN CARLOS -- Agreeing to electrify Caltrain was not the problem when
the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board met to approve the capital
budget on June 6. Representatives from San Francisco, San Mateo and
Santa Clara counties all stated firm commitments to tire project.

Now, however, money is the problem, for at least one JPB member - a
big enough problem to delay a decision on the capital budget until
the board's next meeting on July 11.

"We are really in a place where we just don't have the $2.8 million
to put in for electrification," said Ken Yeager of the Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority.

Already, the VTA has had to defer $70 million in local projects, cut
service, raise fares and eliminate 300 positions for the coming
fiscal year. Citing this extreme hardship. Yeager then asked the
board to table the capital budget vote while they all went back
to "sharpen their pencils" and find more money.

Some members of the public were skeptical of the VTA's poverty plea.
Speaking at the meeting, they accused the VTA of focusing too much on
the BART extension to San Jose to the detriment of Caltrain.

"Caltrain's existence depends on modernization, and electrification
is a big part of that," said Vaughn Wolffe of the Rail Passengers
Association of California. "An attack on electrification is a direct
attack on the Caltrain system." Wolffe warned that if the board did
not vote for electrification, his organization would mount a
grassroots campaign opposing the San Jose BART extension.

Andy Chow of the Bay Area Rail Alliance pointed out that in 2000,
Santa Clara County voters passed Measure A, which approved $6 billion
sales tax not just for the BART extension but also for Caltrain
improvements, including electrification. "Apparently Measure A did
not specify priorities," said Chow. The VTA's 30-year Measure A sales
tax extension does not begin until April 2006.

Electrification is part of Caltrain's overall rapid rail plan. Three
years ago, the Joint Powers Board adopted an accelerated program for
electrification, aiming to complete the project by 2008.
Electrification would modernize the current diesel-powered system,
making the trains quieter and more environmentally friendly.

Ongoing plans to take the system further into San Francisco also rely
on electrification, as the tracks would go underground. Currently,
the electrification project is in the environmental impact report
process.

Under the joint powers arrangement, each of the three counties is
obligated to kick in a third of the local money needed for Caltrain's
rapid rail plan.

San Mateo and San Francisco counties are prepared to commit their
portions toward the entire 2003 capital budget, but Santa Clara
contends that they are unable to pay their portion for the
electrification environmental study.

The proposed capital budget includes a variety of rapid rail
projects, including electrification. In preparation for Thursday's
meeting, JPB staff came up with two potential budgets -- one that
included electrification totaling $82.7 million and a second that
excluded it totaling $74.1 million.

Under the less expensive version, each county would kick in a little
more than $4 million toward the entire plan. The rest of the money
would come from matching state and federal funds. Adding
electrification to the budget would bump up the cost to $6.9 million
for each county.

While the Santa Clara County members pleaded for more time, other
board members, including Stephen Schmidt representing central
Peninsula cities and Maria Ayerdi of San Francisco, questioned their
ability to come up with money in the interim.

Yeager replied that the VTA had a budget meeting that very night and
planned further discussions with the county over transportation funds.

The board agreed to delay the capital budget decision only after the
less expensive version, excluding the electrification project, was
removed from consideration. They will pick up the issue again on July
11 in San Carlos.


Sara Zaske can be reached at 650-652-6736 or via e-mail at
<szaske@...>.