Loss of trees could be issue for Caltrain Loss of trees could be issue for Caltrain (May 19, 2004)

The evolution of Caltrain, from its start as Leland Stanford's Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1860s, to a service that can actually lure Peninsula and South Bay commuters out of their cars, is rapidly picking up steam, from 76 trains weekdays now to 98 by 2008 and 132 by 2020.

And on June 7, 10 more will be added when the first Baby Bullet trains speed up and down the Peninsula, to make the trip between San Jose and San Francisco in 57 minutes, five times a day each way, shaving 35 or more minutes from most runs between the cities now. On June 5, weekend service will be restored, after being shut down for two years to make the necessary upgrades for the bullet trains.

But the Baby Bullets are far from the railroad's final destination. The next proposed overhaul is to replace today's traditional diesel-powered units with electric trains that can more rapidly accelerate and slow down between the Peninsula's short hops. Electrification also would reduce pollution and noise and provide more modern rolling stock. Much of the project's funding is within reach and if approved by Caltrain's governing board, could be completed as soon as 2008.

Caltrain's electrification plans should not be confused with the dream of some train buffs to build a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. This notion, to run 130 trains a trains a day at speeds of up to 300 mph, is comparable to France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen.

But the plan's high cost--$9.95 billion for the first phase that is scheduled to go before voters this November--does not have the support of Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger, who has held up completion of the project's environmental impact report. Without the report, high-speed rail would be withdrawn from the ballot, and face an uncertain future.

Of much more immediate concern, especially in Atherton, is Caltrain's electrification plan, which would require the construction of towers to carry the electrical lines throughout the corridor. Atherton, with its lush residential neighborhoods facing a half-mile of the Caltrain route between Menlo Park and Redwood City, would lose about 80 large trees, almost all located on private property.

Caltrain officials may have underestimated the challenge of their plan to take down these trees in Atherton, which has ordinances protecting trees of heritage size. A recent Atherton staff report suggests the unlikely and prohibitively expensive option of moving the current set of tracks closer together to avoid removing the trees or that Caltrain find some other option.

It appears that Atherton's position on the draft environmental impact reports for electrification, to be discussed at the May 19 council meeting, raises some serious questions for Caltrain.

As the only mass transit option between San Jose and San Francisco, it would be a serious blow if Atherton's tree problems were allowed to block electrification. For there is a tremendous need for Caltrain to provide commuters with competitive service to the work sites up and down the Peninsula and in San Jose and San Francisco. As demand increases, more and longer trains will be needed to serve this market, and electrification is the best way to provide modern equipment to do so. We sympathize with those who deplore the loss of trees and views that would accompany electrification, but it is impossible to ignore the plan's benefits for the entire Bay Area.

At a cost of between $600 million and $845 million, and with a majority of the funding in sight, Caltrain electrification is one of the best investments Bay Area transportation planners can make. High-speed rail strikes us as a pipe dream, but Caltrain's electrification is well within our grasp and can happen in just a few years. We should seize the opportunity, but only if it can be done while protecting the environment of the cities, including the trees, up and down the rail corridor.

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