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Now that key elements of the Bay Area's 1988 "New Rail Transit Starts and Extensions Program" (MTC Resolution 1876) are either completed or under way, a new generation of rail projects to expand and improve the existing network is being proposed.

Suggested projects include extending BART in the East Bay, Caltrain to downtown San Francisco and San Francisco's Muni Metro to Chinatown; bridging the rail gap between Fremont and San Jose; and adding new commuter rail service along existing tracks in the North Bay.

On the Peninsula, Caltrain could electrify its entire 77-mile line, upgrade track and equipment to permit faster speeds, and add more frequent weekday service. In addition, planners have been looking at improving rail connections to the region's major airports.

The list of candidate Blueprint projects also includes upgrades to services that reach beyond the region's borders. The Capitol Corridor intercity rail line between Sacramento and San Jose could add a new station in Hercules and enhance the peak-period schedule between Solano County and Oakland. The Altamont Commuter Express, which already links Silicon Valley with San Joaquin County, likewise could augment peak-hour service.

Rail expansions and upgrades such as these do not come cheap: The BART extension from Fremont to San Jose would cost $4 billion to build, and the electrification and extension of Caltrain to down-town San Francisco would cost over $1 billion--all the more reason for a careful cost-benefit analysis of the alternatives.
-- Réka Goode

Contents

• Front Page
• Transportation Blueprint for the 21st Century
• By Rail, By Sea, By HOV
  • Rail Expansion Projects
  • Ferry Expansion Projects
  • Rapid Bus Projects
• Blueprint Basics
• Facts and Figures: Bay Area Projections 2000