Published Friday, July 19, 2002, in the San Jose Business Journal

Beyond engineering work and electric trains is money issue

By Andrew F. Hamm

Regional transit commissioners are fooling themselves if they think
Caltrain electrification will happen soon, say Valley Transportation
Authority officials.

The regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission is scheduled to
vote on a compromise plan July 24 to fund preliminary engineering
work on electrifying the 77-mile Caltrain line. The Peninsula
Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees Caltrain, needs the $12
million study to apply for matching federal funds.

Electrification allows trains to run faster, smoother, quieter and
with less pollution than diesel-run operations, says Caltrain
spokeswoman Jayme Maltbie.

MTC would take the money slated to pay for track improvements in
Gilroy to fund the preliminary project, says MTC commissioner John
McLemore.

"This is just a baby step, we've still got a long way to go," he
says. "But I believe we can still get this done on time."

The Joint Powers Board, made up of transit officials from Santa
Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, plans to begin
electrification construction in 2006. San Francisco and San Mateo
counties have already allocated $2.86 million each for the first
phase of the engineering study, but VTA, claiming poverty, has balked
on paying its $2.86 million share.

VTA officials say the Gilroy track improvement is necessary because
service can't be increased between Gilroy and San Jose until
improvements are made. That area is one of Caltrain's fastest-growing
segments in terms of ridership.

And then there is the matter of where the Joint Powers Board will get
the $601 million needed to do the electrification project itself.

"If we can do this study now, but if we don't have the money lined up
for it, what's the point?" asks Manuel Valerio, a VTA board member.

While VTA endorses the electrification project, General Manager Peter
Cipolla says it doesn't expect to have the money for the project
until at least 2020. VTA's money for Caltrain electrification will
come from Measure A passed by voters in 2000. That money won't begin
flowing until 2006, however.

San Francisco and San Mateo counties must ask voters for approval by
2004.

"Caltrain electrification, along with 13 other VTA transit projects,
must be funded with Measure A funds between 2006 and 2036," Mr.
Cipolla says. "We are simply not able to fund all projects at the
beginning of a 30-year program."

Loss of income, including decreased ridership, plus a full slate of
transit commitments, has put VTA in a bind. The transit authority has
increased mass transit rates, decreased services and laid off 300
workers in recent months.

The BART extension from Fremont through San Jose and into Santa Clara
has first priority, VTA officials say.

The proposed switch from diesel to electricity is considered
necessary to increase service from the current 40 trains that travel
each day to the estimated 50 trains expected daily by 2004 and 100
trains by 2012 (including the proposed bullet train between San
Francisco and Los Angeles or San Diego).

Also, San Francisco's Trans-Bay Terminal, scheduled to be built by
2008, requires Caltrain to be electrified so it can enter that indoor
facility.

A $376 million alternative -- electrifying the line between south San
Jose and San Francisco -- is also up for consideration.

Andy Chow, vice president of BayRail Alliance, a commuter advocates
group, says VTA has the responsibility to find the money needed to
make Caltrain electrification happen.

"Caltrain needs to improve its performance if it is going to be a
viable option (for commuters)," he says. "Caltrain does not have a
very good reputation in the community. Electrification will go a long
way toward correcting that."

Mr. Chow says his biggest fear is that putting off funding could make
it politically easier to put it off in future years. "Electrification
is necessary to make the system work effectively," he says. "For me,
the sooner it is done, the better."


Andrew F. Hamm covers sports management, energy issues and
transportation for the Business Journal.