Deal with UP allows additional service when there is enough
demand
More commute
trains Deal with UP allows additional service when there is enough demand
n By Matt King Staff Writer
A deal that was consummated last week between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Union Pacific Railroad holds the promise of five additional round-trip commuter trains to the South Valley – as soon as there is a demand for them.
“This is a a great deal for Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, who is also chairman of the VTA Board of Directors. “Now we can deliver more Caltrain service to the South County when needed, and we’ve preserved essential railroad right of way for future VTA and Caltrain projects.”
The $47-million deal grants the VTA right of way on the Union Pacific tracks for 20 years, with options to renew in perpetuity. Union Pacific can not opt out of the contract at any time and will pick up the tab for relocating shippers and removing old railroad ties and rails.
The transaction is an up-front cash deal. Gage said that the budget-crunched VTA has had the money in reserve since negotiations began four years ago.
When the county completes construction on a second track, it will be able to run 10 daily commuter round-trip trains to the end of the line in Gilroy. Currently, there are four trains running daily, with the capacity for a fifth when necessary.
Gilroy attorney Joseph Thompson, who specializes in transportation law, questioned the deal.
“This is another example of public sector transportation, which is much less efficient than private sector transportation,” Thompson said. “That inefficiency is paid for with increased taxes and fees. I think this is a mistake.”
Ridership between Gilroy and San Jose has been dropping precipitously for several years according to Caltrain officials. Daily ridership fell from 988 in February 2003 to 667 in February 2004. The drop in ridership closely tracked the drop in jobs in Silicon Valley.
Caltrain is funded by San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Santa Clara County pays extra to underwrite the South Valley trips. It’s the VTA’s call as to when to add more trains.
“When there are more jobs in the Valley, ridership will start to improve and we’ll have more sales tax revenue and more money for double tracking,” Gage said. “What we’ve done is lock in our ability to add trains as we have the money and the ridership to do so.”
For now, the VTA is focused on adding weekday commuter trains. Weekend trips are even further off in the distance but could be added when the need is there, Gage said. A trial run to San Francisco on weekends failed two years ago, he said, but that doesn’t mean riders won’t be lining up in the future.
The deal has bearing beyond Caltrain service to South Valley. The VTA also purchased the Newhall Yard in the San Jose/Santa Clara area. It plans to use the site as a maintenance yard for the proposed BART extension through downtown San Jose to Santa Clara.
The future of the BART project, however, is in great doubt. The VTA has come under increasing pressure to scale back or scrap the extension.
“If we don’t do BART the Newhall Yard will be needed for light rail anyway. That’s a good buy,” Gage said. “We can always sell it for more than we paid for it.”
Matt King covers Santa Clara County for The Dispatch. He can be reached at 847-7240 or mk***@gi************.com.
