Caltrain 'reality' isn't pretty for Atherton Caltrain 'reality' isn't pretty for Atherton (February 04, 2004)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Atherton Caltrain users have a hard time taking no for an answer. More than 60 people crammed into the Atherton City Council chambers for a January 27 meeting of the town's Caltrain Corridor Committee to complain about the proposed reductions in service for the town's station.

This month, the Caltrain Board of Directors will mull over comprehensive schedule changes that will take effect in the spring, coinciding with the introduction of express "Baby Bullet" trains and the restoration of weekend service. Under the proposal, weekday trains stopping in Atherton would decrease by more than one-third, and out of four possible weekend schedules, two have no stops in Atherton.

The "dose of reality" offered in defense of the schedules by Chuck Harvey, chief operating officer of Caltrain, was straight to the point -- the railroad is structurally bankrupt with no reserve funds, subsidies from the three counties it serves haven't increased in four years and labor costs are up. The proposed schedule is "the best we're able to do," he said.

He did say that he preferred the weekend train schedule known as "option C" that provides hourly service to Atherton, but warned that Caltrain board members from Santa Clara County were opposed to it.

"As much as I understand and respect and will listen to what you have to say, we are under severe economic constraints and severe political constraints," Mr. Harvey said.

As a result, many of the 19 people who spoke at the meeting tailored their comments to include suggestions to help Caltrain improve its bottom line.

Several suggested doing away with the Baby Bullet service, complaining about the millions of dollars in track improvements and station upgrades that had already been spent. Former Atherton Councilman Bob Huber recommended that Caltrain conduct extensive marketing and outreach campaigns to increase ridership. Other suggestions included raising fares on the Gilroy extension, selling advertising space in trains and at stations, and offering WiFi Internet service to laptop computer users.

Mr. Harvey countered by saying that fares to Gilroy had been raised, proposals for WiFi service were being solicited, and that the railroad's offer of advertising space hadn't gotten a single taker. Baby Bullet upgrades came from funds that could only be spent on the project, and not on operating costs, he said.

Others speakers at the meeting talked about how the new schedule would affect them. Carla Campbell, a Menlo Park resident who lives a short distance from the Atherton station and uses a guide dog to get around, said she relies on the train to get to clients of her canine and equine massage business.

"For me, it's not a commute-thing or a fast-thing, but a getting there-thing," she said.

Without trains running every half-hour, she would probably lose her business, Ms. Campbell said.

Phil Lively, a member of the town's Caltrain committee, examined the shrinking number of express and local trains stopping at the Atherton station over the past 12 years, noting "as train service decreased, we've seen boardings decrease as well."

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