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Letter: Save Caltrain, and high-speed rail

Steve Schmidt makes a very good case (in last week's guest opinion) that Caltrain provides a vital service, with or without high-speed rail.

He says that he can't believe that "opponents have all along wanted Caltrain to curtail service or even stop running." Unfortunately that is exactly what many anti-high-speed rail folks want. People who would be most impacted by high-speed rail, those who live near Caltrain, would just as soon Caltrain disappear as well. Contrariwise, high-speed rail supporters tend to be pro-Caltrain and favor all public transit improvements.

Implementing high-speed rail would lead to vast improvements in Caltrain service, including electrification. Caltrain would be vital to high-speed rail as well, as it would provide connections to stations not directly served by high-speed rail.

The best way to save Caltrain is to build high-speed rail. Let's not allow the shrill voices of fanatics who simply do not understand the huge benefits of high-speed rail end up destroying both high-speed rail and Caltrain.

Roderick Llewellyn, San Francisco