Pete HahnloserThe Caltrain Board of Directors has approved a 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a major project created using feedback from member agencies, local governments and the public in the three counties Caltrain serves.
The CIP details investments through fiscal 2035 to ensure a safe and reliable railroad, preserve essential services, improve service quality and customer satisfaction and reach the agency’s long-term service goals. It outlines more than 140 projects and programs that Caltrain plans to carry out in the next decade, each at different stages of progress, led by Caltrain as well as local governments and regional agencies.
The projects are grouped into seven categories that highlight what Caltrain is looking to achieve in the long term. Of these, more than 120 capital projects are initiated by Caltrain and fall under five of the strategic initiatives:
- Provide a Safe and Secure Railroad: Focusing on creating a safe environment for communities, passengers and employees.
- Maintain Core Services: Keeping basic service levels and ensuring the railroad remains operational.
- Enhance Service and Customer Experience: Boosting service via new equipment and upgrades, improving the customer experience, and making operational advances.
- Deliver the Long-Range Service Vision: Caltrain’s business plan includes eight trains per hour in each direction during peak periods.
- Mandate, Compliance and Emergency Projects: Meeting state, federal and regulatory mandates, which often have strict deadlines to ensure timely implementation.
The other two strategic initiatives support local and regional projects through collaboration with communities and regional partners:
- Partner with Local Communities: Focusing on capital projects developed in coordination with local governments, including all grade separation efforts.
- Support Regional Economic Growth: Creating projects of regional importance in partnership with other agencies to improve the area’s economic vitality.
Projects include various improvements, such as at-grade crossing safety, upgrading the corridor’s security camera system, completing the replacement of the Guadalupe Bridges and replacing the 123-year-old San Francisquito Creek Bridge.
Additional upgrades will be made to key systems, including the fiber-optic network, predictive arrival and departure systems and rail operations control system.
Photo courtesy Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
