From: adrian@ntmtv.UUCP (Adrian Brandt)
Subject: Re: "The only sensible way to proceed"
Organization: Northern Telecom Inc, Mountain View, CA
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 22:02:09 GMT

In article <14hcuaINN9i8@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>, fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu (Aaron Priven) writes:
|> For one thing, although I am the first to agree that the connection in 
|> San Francisco is quite poor, it is not entirely impossible to manage. 
|> Many people make that connection each day, either through jitneys or 
|> through MUNI or what have you.

Yes.

For peak hour & direction commuters headed to anywhere near the financial
districe there are dedicated MUNI feeder bus routes that meet trains in
the morning and evening (there is a map & info about them on the CalTrain
schedule).  This is in addition to good taxi and very frequent regularly
scheduled bus service.  People (understandably) just don't like to transfer
all that much...


|>     4) Another reason people don't take CalTrain is because they are 
|> confused about the system.  CalTrain's fares are simple enough, and of 
|> course there's only one line, but many riders get confused about skip 
|> stopping. 

YES.  CalTrain could use some good promotion and a large sign at every
station explaining "CalTrain basics": fares, ticketing, skip-stops, etc.


|>     Personally I'd be just as happy if trains didn't skip-stop, no 
|> matter how much Vaughn says that it's a virtue.  For one thing, it's 
|> very confusing to riders, who don't expect trains to simply skip by 
|> their stop.  This *could* be improved.

Improved, perhaps.  But I'd never get rid of it!


|> Rider education on this point, the last time I looked, was abysmal.

CalTrain could stand to have better rider education on nearly all points.


|> but skip-stopping isn't terribly effective if you're sandwiched 
|> between twenty-minute frequency trains (because the most time you
|> can save is 19 minutes, right?).  

A savings of 10, 15 or 19 minutes are nothing to sneeze at.  These can
make a big difference, especially when it's 15 to 25% of your trip time.


|> Much of the CalTrain right of way has a third track along it.  I 
|> wonder what it would take to put it into use for true express service?  
|> I imagine most of the existing rail is too rusty to be of use (that's 
|> what it looks like to me), but I know little about rail wear. 

The "third" tracks you refer to are for freight use.  Many of them are
unused and almost none can be used for an express CalTrain to swoosh
by a "local" without upgrades.  Most of the right of way is wide enough
for four tracks (or more).  To run what some here have called "true"
express trains (that pass other trains) we need to have the Automatic
Block Signal (ABS) system upgraded to Centralized Traffic Control (CTC).
With CTC and some new strategically-placed crossovers, trains could
quickly cross over onto the other track to pass slower or disabled
trains.  Having a third track would help with this enormously, but from
what I hear, it isn't necessary.



|> And I have one other question to ask: is there a total worldwide 
|> shortage of passenger rail cars, or else why does the JPB have to 
|> order brand new cars every time?

Actually, the answer is yes, more or less.  Passenger rail is growing
worldwide, and so I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't much spare
equipment available.  Besides, any spare European equipment is likely
to be old or heavily worn and would need modification before it could
be coupled to a CalTrain...

In the U.S. there is definitely a passenger rail equipment shortage.
Amtrak can desperately use anything they can get their hands on.  In
many corridors/markets, Amtrak must turn riders away because they can't
provide more seats (or trains) for lack of equipment.  The equipment
shortage won't get much better for the foreseeable future as long as
demand for passenger rail keeps growing.

-- 

Adrian Brandt (415) 940-2379
UUCP: ...!ames!ntmtv!adrian
ARPA: ntmtv!adrian@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Xref: sparky ba.transportation:1708 ca.environment:735 alt.activism:13215