Published Wednesday, July 10, 2002, in the San Jose Mercury News

All aboard for Caltrain electrification

My View: By Margaret Okuzumi

NEW residents and visitors alike frequently comment on the poor state
of transit in the Bay Area. We may be the tech capital of the world,
but we lack the state-of-the-art trains of Paris, Tokyo or Zurich.

We can change this sad state of affairs for half of the Bay Area,
with an investment in Caltrain electrification. Imagine my disbelief,
then, when the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA),
which approves a billion-dollar transportation budget each year for
Santa Clara County, attempted to sidestep a commitment to provide the
$2.86 million required to move electrification forward this year.
Even more disturbing, VTA expressed a desire to delay Caltrain
electrification by a decade or more.

Electrification could double Caltrain's appeal and ridership by
providing a faster, smoother, quieter ride. The Caltrain board voted
in May 1999 to make electrification a top priority, and hopes to
complete it by 2006. The plans are not new. VTA's equally cash-
strapped partners in San Francisco and San Mateo counties have ponied
up their share of funds for Caltrain. San Francisco even offered to
loan VTA the necessary funds to move electrification forward this
year. So why VTA's regional non-cooperation?

VTA can't afford to neglect Caltrain, which serves most of the cities
in the county. Caltrain makes the trip from south San Jose to
downtown Mountain View in less than half the time of VTA light rail.
Its riders travel an average of 21 miles each trip, providing relief
to some of the most congested stretches of freeway. A modernized
Caltrain would put a significant dent into Santa Clara County's air
quality and traffic congestion problems.

Caltrain has a number of advantages over BART, such as faster express
trains and on-board restrooms. Savvy commuters appreciate Caltrain's
improved frequency and on-time performance.

For many people, however, Caltrain, with its noisy, clunky cars and
smelly, polluting diesel locomotives, contains little appeal.
Electrification would change that.

Voters demonstrated strong enthusiasm for transit with the passage of
Measure A in November 2000. But VTA has invested little in Caltrain.

It's past time for VTA to move Caltrain into the modern rail world.
Thankfully, MTC Commissioner John McLemore of the city of Santa Clara
has helped identify regional funds that VTA can use to augment its
recession-squeezed budget for electrification. On Thursday, VTA
representatives on the Caltrain board would do well to follow his
lead and vote to keep Caltrain electrification on track.


Margaret Okuzumi is executive director of BayRail Alliance
(http://www.bayrailalliance.org), a grass-roots transit advocacy
group.