Freight Fear on the Caltrain Line

The San Mateo County Times added some great insights on the negative impact of HSR to the Peninsula in today's front page article by Mike Rosenberg.  He nails it right from the start:

Caltrain's plans to electrify its trains with the inception of high-speed rail would devastate the region's freight business, drive up consumer costs and force trucks onto crowded Bay Area freeways, according to industry leaders.

Electrification of the Caltrain corridor from San Francisco to San Jose in the early part of the next decade is expected to help the agency expand its commuter service and save on operating costs. The electric rail will also accommodate state high-speed rail trains as they zip from San Francisco on their way to Los Angeles.

But it would also close the window in which freight trains can operate on the corridor from 15 hours to a measly 5 hours, between midnight and 5 a.m., under current proposals.

Electrification would also prevent 40 percent of freight car trains from using the railroad because of proposed height restrictions from overheard wires. Additionally, several thousand feet of freight track at the pivotal South San Francisco rail yard would be torn up.

What has been missing from the discussion--what little discussion there has been since the HSR Authority is so secretive--has been some acknowledgement of how important freight is to our local economy.  Lumber and other building materials, fruits, veggies and all sorts of other things come by rail.  The article points out that rail moves 2,000 lbs of stuff 436 miles on a gallon of fuel while a truck only transports that same ton 80 miles.  Let's talk real green policy, not hype.

This article is worth reading from top to bottom.  www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_13095478

Well done, Mr. Rosenberg.  Over to you, Caltrain.

Comments

[mike]

good now let's stop the HSR coming through and even better, replace caltrain with an undergroud system. We would reduce pollution, noise, traffic, and deaths along the peninsula, not to mention provide more reliable service.

[freight philippines]

Thank you so much for bringing up this,you have nice and very informative blog.

missy

[NaomiCooley21]

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