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Prep WorkBegins on Bridges Project

Board Approves New Rail Car Purchase

Caltrain is working out the logistics of moving the recently purchased 16 rail cars from Metrolink to northern Californiafor rehabilitation after the Caltrain board of directors au-thorized the purchase for $5.6 million. It will take an additional $9 million to rehabilitate the cars and perform work at some platforms along the corridor to accommodate the planned longer trains.

The total project will be paid for through a combination of surplus farebox revenuescollected as a result of Cal-train's record-breaking rider-ship and a 2015 farebox rev-enue bond issuance.

As Caltrain rolls into the new year, the San Mateo Bridges Replacement Project is in full motion. Since December, the con-struction team has been clear-ing and removing existing vegetation along the right of way, clearing abandoned over-head lines, installing storm water pollution prevention controls and monitoring vector control between Bellevue and Monte Diablo avenues as part of the initial site preparation work and set-up for the project. In January, the contractor,ProVen Management, Inc., began constructing a tempo-rary road using prefabricated concrete blocks to access work areas where retaining walls will be installed. The contractor will be accessing the work site from Bellevue Avenue at the grade crossing. Residents can expect an increase in the number of vehicles during construction hours due to delivery of equip-ment and materials. Parking restrictions will be in place adjacent to the grade crossing. Residents have been advised to use adjacent streets when possible.

The additional cars will be used to extend Bombardier train sets to six cars, providingmore capacity for current standing-room only peak-hour trains. While some cars may take up to a year to place into service, other cars may be able to go into service sooner to pro-vide some capacity relief on the system's busiest trains. The first five cars put into service will still have Metrolink colors. The other refurbished cars will look like our current Bombardiercars.

The addition of these vehicles provides a short-term capacity improvement while Caltrain continues to work towards electrifying the system.

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Caltrain Moves Closer to Electrification Caltrain took a historic step forward when its board of directors at its January meeting approved the Final Environmental Impact Report for its electrification project. The Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project will allow the rail system to carry an estimated 110,000 daily passengers by 2040, nearly doubling current ridership levels making it possible for more commuters to travel by train instead of car. Electrification of the cor-ridor between San Francisco and San Jose is projected to reduce 619,000 vehicle miles travelled each day in the Bay Area, and every city along the 50-mile rail cor-ridor will see a reduction in traffic levels. Under the electrification project, new high-perfor-mance electric rail vehicles, known as electric multiple units, will be purchased, the railroad's signal system will be upgraded and a Positive Train Control safety systemwill be implemented. Week-

day service also will be restored at the Atherton and Broadway stations. The report also reflects public feedback taken through the Draft EIR review period by including ad-ditional options requested by cities for the locations of required wayside facilities. These include additional option locations for traction power facilities in South San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City and Palo Alto, as well as several additional options for miti-gation that can be made to reduce the impact of TPFs in other locations along the rail line. The cost for electrification now is projected to be between $1.47 billion and $1.53 billion, and Caltrain expects to be operating electrified service as early as winter 2020. The FEIR can be viewed at www.caltrain.com/elec-trification and at libraries in each of the 17 cities along the Caltrain corridor between San Jose and San Francisco.

It might seem like a dirty job, but Caltrain's renewed emphasis on streamlining its waste man-agement practices will go a long way toward establishing a cleaner,more environmentally sustain-able agency.

Last fall, all of the trash bins used for everything from discarded food to old newspapersat the San Francisco station were replaced with shiny new triple-stream recycle stations, labeled for recycling, compost and landfill. The new system encouragescustomers to recycle and com-post, with the upgrades being more user-friendly and with clear color coding – blue for recycling, green for compost, and black for landfill. They're placed strategi-cally to improve customer flow. For all other stations, stickershave been affixed to every trash receptacle notifying passengers that any waste placed in the bins will be sorted off-site into composting, recycling and landfill categories. The agency has made improved waste management a top priority, even including an objective to implement and expand environmentally sustainable business practices in its Strategic Plan.

Greener Waste Management at Stations

San Mateo Bridges Project Beginscontinued from page 1

All construction activity occurs weekdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Caltrain, in cooperation with the City of San Mateo, is prepar-ing to replace the four 100-year-old rail bridges located at Tilton, Monte Diablo, Santa Inez and Poplar avenues, which no longer meet current seismic safety standards. The height of the tracks throughout the project area also will be raised to increase vehicle clearance on the city streets. New retaining walls will be constructed on the right of way. The $38 million two-year project will ensure that the aging bridges are safe and equipped to meet the region's future transportation needs, includ-ing new electrified rail service, and improved traffic flow on city streets. For more information, call the dedicated outreach line at 650.508.7726 or visit www.caltrain.com/smbridges.

Presidents Day ScheduleCaltrain will operate a modified schedule on Feb. 16.

The schedule is available atwww.caltrain.com/PresidentsDay or on the train.

Using Cash atTicket Machines?Please use flat, dry dollar bills in the ticket machines to avoid jams. Better yet, ride with Clipper e-cash and save.

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Hi-rail excavator is clearing and grubbing debris on the right of way. This is the preparation work that is currently being done on the bridges project.

Pile of debris from crews clearing and grubbing along the right of way at Bellevue Avenue and north of the San Mateo station.

EVENTS CALENDARTake Caltrain to these special events. The station name and any additional transit service are listed below each event.

Feb. 18 - 22Disney on IceSAP Center at San Josewww.sapcenteratsanjose.comSan Jose Diridon station

Feb. 27 - March 22Show PeopleDragon Theatrewww.dragonproductions.netRedwood City station

March 7Chinese New Year ParadeSan Franciscowww.chineseparade.comSan Francisco stationMuni T-Third or N-Judah to Powell Station

until March 16Art by Robert Rauschenberg Stoned MoonCantor Arts Centerwww.museum.stanford.eduPalo Alto stationMarguerite shuttleTo Lomita Dr. & Museum Way

March 29WrestleManiaLevi's® Stadiumwww.levisstadium.comMountain View stationVTA light rail

April 17 - 19Menlo Park Sidewalk Fine Arts FestivalSanta Cruz Ave.www.pacificfinearts.comMenlo Park station

The holiday season was a little brighter for thousands of children thanks to the generosity of people who donated toys to the Caltrain Holiday Train, presented by Silicon Valley Community Foundation in early December. Some 25,000 people came out to see the glittering spectacle and donate toys to children. More than 3,000 toys collected at the event were donated to The Salvation Army and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. Since the first Holiday Train in 2001, more than 50,000 toys have been distrib-uted to needy Bay Area children.

Community Support The Holiday Train would not be possible without generous support for everything from decorations and wiring to cos-tumes. The Handel Sunrise Founda-tion and Parsons are "Conductor" Sponsors. Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation and Linear

Holiday Train Gathers 3,000 Toys for Local Children

Technology Corporation are "Trainmaster" Sponsors. Robert Half International is a "Railway" Sponsor. "Community" Sponsors are Mid Peninsula Orthodontics, Moss Adams, LLP and Woodruff-Sawyer & Company. Peninsula Storage is a "Neighborhood" Sponsor. Media Sponsors include Comcast, the Daily Journal, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Magazine 94.5 KBAY, 95.7 THE GAME, 96.5 KOIT, 98.5 KFOX, Q102.1, 102.9 KBLX, HOT 105.7, and Univision. Bayside Equipment Company of Redwood City donated the use of a generator to light up the decorations. Other in-kind spon-sors include Five Little Monkeys, Jim's Handyman Services, Locando Positano Restaurant in San Carlos, Nothing Bundt Cakes in San Carlos and Millbrae, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Peterson Technical Services, Safeway Inc., and the Subway restaurant located in the San Francisco Caltrain Station.

See Tracks. Expect Trains.

Vehicles and trains don’t mix.

Drivers: Before driving over the tracks, make sure that the area is clear before advancing across the tracks. If you need to stop, make sure it’s behind the stop line.

In 2014, Caltrain served huge numbers of cus-tomers headed to special events in San Francisco and the South Bay. Ridership for New Year's Eve fireworks in San Francisco increased by 3 percent compared to a year ago, with 10,450 riders choosing to celebrate responsibly. Post-fireworks service carried 5,787 riders, a 24 percent increase compared to 2013. The 49ers wrapped up their season at Levi's® Stadium with a win as did Caltrain. Ridership for the season was 42,573. Sharks fans stayed true to their team. In 2014, ridership increased by 1.4 percent with 6,457 fans taking the train to the Shark Tank. It was a record-breaking October for Caltrain when Giants fans headed to the playoffs and World Series games. Boardings and alightings at San Francisco station was 93,572, a 27 percent increase compared to 2012. Close to 12,000 Cardinal football fans also took advantage of the convenience of Caltrain's Stanford Stadium. Boardings and alightings at the station increased by 15 percent compared to the previous year. 2015 looks to be just as busy with concerts, hockey and wrestling coming to Levi's® Stadium.

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Caltrain recently conducted its annual emergency prepared-ness drill on the train tracks at the Gilroy station. This annual drill supports Caltrain's emer-gency preparedness efforts by providing an opportunity to train with local public safety agencies on how to respond to a rail emergency. Caltrain also uses the drill to work through police procedures in the event of criminal activity. First responders on hand this year included the Gilroy Fire and Police departments, Cal Fire, the Morgan Hill Fire and Police departments, Santa Clara Sheriff's Office, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Transit Police Bureau, and the Moun-tain View Fire Department. The Federal Railroad Administration and California Public Utilities

Commission sent representa-tives to observe. Volunteer victims were moulaged with realistic looking injuries and "treated" by emergency personnel.

Rail Agency Holds Annual Emergency Preparedness Drill

Caltrain Connection is produced by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Comments, questions, contributions and suggestions should be directed to:

Mary Knuckles, editormarketing@caltrain.com

Caltrain ConnectionP.O. Box 3006

San Carlos, CA 94070-1306

Caltrain Board of DirectorsAdrienne Tissier, chair

Perry Woodward, vice chairJosé CisnerosMalia Cohen

Jeff GeeRose Guilbault

Ash KalraTom NolanKen Yeager

Michael J. ScanlonExecutive Director

www.caltrain.com 1.800.660.4287