Menlo Park officials keeping eye on Caltrain changes Menlo Park officials keeping eye on Caltrain changes (May 11, 2005)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Menlo Park officials will be closely watching the effects of Caltrain's new schedule and higher fares when they go into effect this summer.

"Change is hard, but it may be beneficial and it may not," said Menlo Park Mayor Mickie Winkler

Caltrain fares are set to increase July 1, but the new train schedule, which will bring Baby Bullet service to Menlo Park for the first time and eliminate service to Atherton, won't go into effect until August 1.

Caltrain engineers and dispatchers need additional time for training before starting the complex new schedule, said spokeswoman Jayme Kunz.

The new schedule more than doubles the number of Baby Bullet express trains, drops service to Atherton and two other stations, and increases the number of weekday train trips between San Francisco and San Jose from 86 to 96.

Caltrain has been running 10 of the popular and lucrative Baby Bullet routes weekdays and added two more to the schedule on May 2. An additional 10 will be added to the schedule in August, including six that will stop in Menlo Park for the first time. Menlo Park will have three southbound Baby Bullet trains during morning commute hours that will carry commuters to San Jose in 23 minutes, and three northbound in the evening.

The new schedule is posted on the Web at caltrain.org. Click on "Service changes effective 8/1/05" and then click on "96 weekday trains."

Caltrain officials are counting on a revamped schedule and higher fares to shore up the struggling rail service's finances. Caltrain was facing a projected $13.6 million deficit for the next fiscal year. Between cost-cutting and projected higher revenues, that deficit has been shrunk to an estimated $2 million.

Ticket prices are set to go up by 17.5 percent in July, with base fares rising by 25 cents with an additional 25-cent increase for zone fares. Fares are set to go up an additional 25 cents in January to help offset the high price of diesel fuel.

Ms. Winkler said she was concerned that any changes to the Caltrain schedule and ticket prices could affect local businesses, particularly SRI. She said a large percentage of SRI employees, perhaps as many as 30 percent, use Caltrain.

Menlo Park officials are also looking into how the closure of the Atherton station could affect them.

Caltrain officials said they plan to run a shuttle service from the Atherton station. Ms. Winkler said that with a shuttle service, it would be less likely that Atherton riders would create a parking crunch in and around Menlo Park's station.

Ms. Winkler said she's asked Menlo Park's public works staff to study the current parking situation in and around that city's station, to better gauge the effects of closing the Atherton station.

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