Staying on Track Fall-Winter 2005 ... Caltrain Metro East vision for South Bay rail, South Bay BART history

Staying on Track Summer 2005 ... Caltrain adding trains, Twists and turns in BART-SJ funding, Dumbarton rail progress

Staying on Track December 2004 ... Caltrain riders up 17%, Voters approve more transit funds, VTA's 2030 plan, Capitols and Baby Bullet faster than BART

Staying on Track September-November 2004 ... Transbay Terminal battle, Baby Bullet doesn't benefit all riders, Monterey-Salinas rail plans

Staying on Track June-July 2004 ... Transbay Terminal EIR approved, BayRail marks 20th anniversary

Staying on Track October 2003 ... VTA plans vs. financial reality, Bridge toll increase for transit, Making Peninsula-SFO connection

Staying on Track May 2003 ... Caltrain Baby Bullet unveiling, VTA financial mess, Safe Routes to Transit, Capitol Corridor progress

Staying on Track February-March 2003 ... VTA service cuts, Proposal to shift HSR Authority to Caltrans, HSR systems overseas

Staying on Track October-November 2002 ... High Speed Rail forum highlights, Caltrain DTX / Transbay Terminal EIR, HSR bond, Caltrain projects update

Staying on Track July/August 2002 ... Caltrain CTX Groundbreaking, VTA stalls electrification, High Speed Rail Forum

Staying on Track May/June 2002

Staying on Track February/March 2002

Staying on Track December 2001

Staying on Track April 2001

Staying on Track August 2000

Staying on Track February 2000

• Fremont Shortchanges Dumbarton Commuter Rail Proposal ...plans for new Union City/Fremont-Peninsula commuter rail, routing in Fremont, efforts to obtain Fremont's support for the proposal.

Staying on Track November 1999

Staying on Track October 1999

Staying on Track September 1999

Staying on Track August 1999

• SAMCEDA proposal for BART via 101 to Menlo Park

• Losing Our Way to the Airport [article at igs.berkeley.edu] [map to accompany article] a critique of the planning and decisions behind BART's Millbrae/SFO extension now under construction, by Peter Lydon (appeared in Public Affairs Report, published by the Institute of Governmental Studies).

• Transcript of TV interview with San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin on the future of BART and Caltrain on the Peninsula, August 8, 1999.

Maps of rail routes relevant to current regional rail issues

• Existing and Proposed Rail Routes at SFO Airport, 37k GIF

• Caltrain and BART routes between SF and SFO airport, 24k GIF

• Proposed downtown San Francisco Caltrain extension, showing aerial photographic view, 83k GIF

• Regional rail lines of the greater SF Bay Area, 82k GIF

• Three Potential East Bay-South Bay Rail Routes, 19k GIF

• Rail lines between Union City and San Jose, 27k GIF

Staying on Track, Fall 1997

• What has happened to the Caltrain SF extension? Dropped in favor of "Rapid Rail"? How the Caltrain extension suffered its most serious setback to date in June 1997, SF Mayor Willie Brown's role, and current plans for Caltrain system upgrades in the aftermath of this setback.

• Transbay Terminal move: More highrises, less transit? Underlying the decision to drop the Caltrain SF extension are plans to redevelop the Transbay Terminal and its immediate neighborhood. Contrary to official statements, transit and the prospect of future rail are not well served by the redevelopment proposal.

• Muni Metro-Caltrain link to open in January.

• PR2000 and COST critique Caltrain 20-year plan.

• How Alameda County could get more out of its rail dollars. Alameda County has been preparing a list of projects to be funded through its half-cent sales tax renewal. PR2000 presented a plan for using available funds to maximize the number of miles of new rail service. BART director Roy Nakadegawa questioned the merits of the BART Warm Springs extension.

• San Bruno votes to move train station to I-380. This decision by the San Bruno City Council in September is closely linked to plans for BART and connections to SFO airport.

• New Caltrain equipment: more of the same? New Caltrain equipment fails to address key issues, according to PR2000 president Adrian Brandt.

• PR2000 Editorial: PR2000 asks for a fair CalTrain/BART comparison Our analysis shows that transit agency staff and consultants have skewed ridership projections and cost estimates to favor BART in San Mateo County over upgrading CalTrain and extending it to downtown SF.

Guest editorials reprinted from other publications as indicated

• SFO's missing link: Intercity rail by James W. Kelly, also appeared in 10/10/97 San Francisco Chronicle

• CalTrain--Right Track for the Region Put Money on San Jose route, not BART to SFO. By Peter Lydon, also appeared in 4/28/97 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle

• Transit Deserves First Priority in Bay Bridge, Transbay Plans By Matt Williams and Miriam Hawley, reprint from 5/28/97 edition of the TIMES: West Contra Costa County. (PR2000 supports keeping bus facilities in the present Transbay Terminal site, integrated within the same facility as the proposed CalTrain extension.)

CalTrain downtown SF extension: letters and JPB resolution

• Comments on the CalTrain Downtown Extension DEIR/DEIS by Peninsula Rail 2000 submitted 5/97 to the JPB (the agency responsible for CalTrain) on specifics about the downtown extension and electrification of CalTrain.

• Air Quality Management District's letter in support of the CalTrain extension (May 1997)

• Bay Area League of Women Voters write in support of the CalTrain extension (June 1997)

• SF Mayor Willie Brown stated his opposition to the Caltrain extension in June 1997.

• JPB Resolution for Caltrain improvements passed 8/7/97

• Sample letter to SF Board of Supervisors in support of the CalTrain extension (prepared by San Francisco Tomorrow)

Staying on Track, Spring 1997

• End of the line for the CalTrain SF extension? A look at plans to extend CalTrain to a new downtown station as of May 1997 ... an uphill battle for proponents.

• Will either CalTrain or BART extension survive? Why both the CalTrain downtown SF extension and the BART extension to SFO airport and Millbrae were in trouble as of 5/97. A zero sum game?

• Rail-SFO Connections in Political Tangle A look at the agreement between the airlines and BART over funding BART's extension ... What has become of plans connect CalTrain directly to the SFO airport people mover?

• CalTrain's Market Demand Study Almost five years in the making, this study describes how CalTrain can attract more passengers, but overlooks and downplays some key ways of realizing CalTrain's potential.

  News about PR2000 and its members

• Update on BART-Millbrae lawsuit CEQA case against BART and SamTrans on behalf of plaintiffs PR2000, COST and TRAC.

• In memoriam: Robert Hackley Remembering a rail advocate who helped save the Peninsula Commute Service and made many other contributions.
   

   

Other news, 5/97

• Coming July 6: six more weekday CalTrains, 5% fare increase

• Trains to Santa Cruz and Monterey? Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties are pursuing new rail extensions.

Staying on Track, Winter 1997

• CalTrain to downtown, airport access: momentum lost. Progress stalled on two of the most important improvements to CalTrain.

• San Jose-East Bay Rail Moves Ahead

• Altamont Train To Roll in '98

• High Speed Rail and CalTrain: Good for Each Other. High speed rail, proposed to link California's major metropolitan areas, would share tracks with CalTrain to reach SFO airport and downtown San Francisco. The two systems would be mutually beneficial.

• County Official Makes Noises About High Speed Rail San Mateo County Clerk Richard L. Silver attempted to stir up concerns about high speed rail using CalTrain tracks.

• CalTrain trail proposal challenged San Mateo County Supervisor Tom Huening's proposal for a multipurpose trail along the CalTrain tracks aroused concerns among bicycle and rail activists about safety and other issues.

• Grand Jury: voters should decide on BART south of SFO

• BART-Millbrae ballot initiative proposed The proposed San Mateo County ballot initiative would call for an independent analysis of the cost of extending BART beyond SFO airport to Millbrae.

• BART past the airport lawsuit: donations still needed. PR2000, along with COST and TRAC, involved in a lawsuit against BART and SamTrans for CEQA violations in plans to extend BART beyond SFO to Millbrae.

• Jim West moves on Jim West served as president of PR2000 for nearly six years and made numerous contributions to saving CalTrain and advancing the cause of upgrading it and extending it to downtown SF.

Staying on Track, Summer 1996

• Electrify CalTrain--to make it faster, quieter, more reliable, more efficient

• PR2000 Joins Suit Against BART Past SFO

• High Speed Rail May Drive CalTrain Extension Downtown. Even though SF Mayor Willie Brown has spoken against the CalTrain SF extension, City officials strongly support making SF the northern terminus for the proposed high speed rail line to Southern California. High speed rail would use CalTrain tracks and need a downtown station.

• Advanced self-propelled IC3 train visits the Peninsula.

• Convenient SFO-train connection being derailed? Two alternatives are being considered to extend SFO airport's light rail shuttle system across Bayshore Freeway to CalTrain. The one that provides a truly convenient connection for CalTrain riders has failed to win official support. Support for the rival alternative would also result in delaying any CalTrain-SFO rail shuttle connection for a number of years.

• PR2000 endorses Yes on A & B. Approval of both measures A and B on the November '96 Santa Clara County ballot would fund CalTrain improvements and many other transportation projects.

• Remembering Stanley Edison

Staying on Track, Spring 1996

• Extending CalTrain into downtown San Francisco ...summary of progress to date

• JPB drops Beale alternative. For the downtown SF extension, the JPB had favored terminating CalTrain in an underground station along Beale Street near Mission. Due to technical obstacles, this alternative was dropped in favor of a bored tunnel to the Transbay Terminal.

• Grand Jury says upgrade CalTrain! Drop BART to SFO! In its 1995 report, the San Mateo County Grand Jury recommended that the county shift its rail project priorities.

• About the San Mateo County Grand Jury

• BART-SFO: wounded but not dead. Despite its projected adverse financial consequences on SamTrans bus and CalTrain service, key officials fervently support the BART to SFO/Millbrae project. They have sought to discredit the 1995 San Mateo County Grand Jury recommendation against continuation of the project.

• A faster train to the airport. Due to its more direct routing between San Francisco and SFO airport, CalTrain has a clear advantage over BART. Yet planners of the BART-SFO/Millbrae extension have made the absurd assumption that almost all CalTrain riders between SF and the Peninsula will transfer to BART at Millbrae to reach SF.

• What CalTrain could be. Why has the plan to electrify CalTrain been put off?

• New BART stations open, SamTrans and AC Transit cut service.