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Caltrain Should Use High Platforms
Incompatible platform,by tracktwentynineThe recent news that CHSRA is considering a joint train procurement with Amtrak could settle an open question about high-speed rail in California, with important...
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Keep Out the Coast Daylight
The Coast Daylight pulling intoPalo Alto in 1942. Image frompaloaltohistory.comCaltrans recently published an administrative draft of its California State Rail Plan. This document assembles hundreds...
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The Blend, HSR Style
The California High-Speed Rail Authority recently published a memo (requested by Kathy Hamilton and CARRD) justifying the oft-questioned claim that the Phase 1 "blended system" presented in the 2012...
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The Virtues of Width
The Swiss rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler was recently awarded a contract for 112 bilevel EMU cars to be delivered by 2016 for the Moscow airport express, based on their modular KISS vehicle concept....
View ArticleLynn Schenk Is Right
Lynn Schenk, vice chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, caused a stir today when her refusal to vote for the latest Caltrain / HSR memorandum of understanding left plans for the "blended"...
View ArticleHigh Voltage Rule Making
25,000-volt alternating current overhead electrification, the worldwide standard for powering modern passenger trains as now planned for Caltrain and the statewide high-speed rail system, currently...
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The Thruth About Tejon
A quick programming note...There's an explanation for the long silence in these pages. I've been busy writing about an issue that is outside the scope of HSR and Caltrain on the peninsula. See my...
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2013 Q2 Corridor Roundup
original photo by afagenThere's been no shortage of developments in recent months on the peninsula rail corridor.The Caltrain/HSR Blended Service Plan/Operations Considerations Analysis was published...
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Beyond Level Boarding
It thankfully happened: after all these years, Caltrain has finally stated something (anything!) about level boarding. This is an improvement that has long been neglected in favor of the more flashy...
View ArticleLevel Boarding Forum
A few days ago I participated in a panel discussion hosted by Friends of Caltrain on the topic of level boarding and platform compatibility with HSR. Here are the slides I presented to stimulate the...
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Census Driven Service Planning
The diagram at right shows where people live and work along the entire length of the rail corridor from San Francisco to Gilroy, as extracted from government census population and jobs data sets. The...
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Focus On: Mission Bay Grade Separations
The San Francisco downtown extension, as environmentally cleared and approved, ends at the existing grade crossing at 7th and Mission Bay Drive (formerly Common Street). Somebody apparently forgot...
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The Canyonero of Signals
The San Bruno grade separation, a $155 million project that does nothing for the average Caltrain rider, is nearing completion. If you wondered where some of that money went, here you go.The Canyonero...
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The Dual Mode Locomotive, Elephant of the Rails
Caltrain's revised DEIR for the electrification project is about to be released for public comment. Meanwhile, California's high-speed rail project has suffered legal setbacks that may end up...
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Draft Business Plan Impressions
The high-speed rail draft 2014 Business Plan is out, with some interesting implications for the peninsula corridor.Example service plan, from the 2014draft business plan supporting documentsNew...
View ArticleCalMod Gains Momentum
CalMod is the corny abbreviation for the Caltrain Modernization program, which encompasses the CBOSS train control system and the peninsula corridor electrification project (PCEP, if you really want to...
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Saving Some Trees
One of the most controversial elements of the Caltrain electrification DEIR is the need for tree pruning or removal to establish adequate clearance between vegetation and the live parts of the overhead...
View ArticleHSR Peer Review Group on Blending
The California High-Speed Rail Peer Review Group was established by AB 3034 (the Proposition 1A bond law) to independently review the HSR Authority's plans, assumptions, analyses and estimates. The...
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Big Fat EMU
Look at what is quickly taking shape in Stadler's Altenrhein factory in Switzerland:Welded aluminum shell of a cab carFront cab shell at rightIntermediate car, after paintThis is the huge double-deck,...
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High Voltage Rulemaking Update
Caltrain mascot?(photo by wwarby)Feathers are really starting to fly in the Public Utilities Commission proceeding to establish a regulatory framework for 25 kV railroad electrification in California,...
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