Clem is talking about how hard Millbrae is thanks to Quentin Kopp’s mucked up “leadership” when the original BART-to-SFO disaster was “designed” and built.
Now with California High-Speed Rail a real possibility, CHSRA should just do what should have been done all along. Route Caltrain (and now HSR) to SFO.
This map shows how it can be done right:
View Larger Map
Benefits:
- Problematic stations are avoid ( South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Broadway).
- Problematic 70-mph San Bruno Curve avoid (+ thorny question of taking someone’s house).
- Direct SFO stop
- A unified People Mover, BART, Caltrain/HSR stop — people coming from the East Bay (Oakland Airport??) would have little to no transfers.
- The Baby Bullet trains would now also be a Airport Express train for people coming from the South Bay/Peninsula. (instead of the 33-step Millbrae disaster)
- More of a direct connection to the actual terminal the passenger is flying into /out of.
- Airport workers from the Peninsula/South Bay could now take a single train to get to work — instead of 33-step Millbrae disaster.
- Update: Also this avoids fighting with 4 cities ( Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno, South San Francisco) as impacts to those cities are avoid almost entirely.
Is this likely to happen?
Well considering that Quentin Kopp is running CHSRA…
Tunneling is a seriously expensive proposition, especially under an existing airport terminal. I completely agree that an HSR stop directly at SFO would be hugely valuable, I just don’t think it’s financially feasible.
A less expensive option would be to discontinue BART service to Millbrae, such that that station can be converted to five standard gauge tracks (up from two). The currently underutilized ramp from Millbrae to SFO could be made available to selected Caltrain equipment retrofitted with variable gauge trucks. A gauge change station would allow Caltrain to use BART’s existing broad gauge tracks at SFO. Just add overhead catenaries along the ramp and into SFO plus BART signaling equipment to these special Caltrain consists.
This would imply a new Caltrain service between Gilroy/SJ and SFO alongside the existing one to 4th & King as well as the future service to the Transbay Terminal. HSR trains would not make it into SFO, though – passengers would have to transfer to Caltrain. If BART refuses to host BART-compatible Caltrain equipment at the SFO station, SamTrans could always re-instate its shuttle bus.
See this map for details.
@Rafael —
Thanks for commenting.
I have some questions for you:
Expanding on the tunneling disagreement. I went by SFO after I wrote this blog post. I think that a flyover would be a lot better. So rather than going down — the train should go up. This would avoid problems with managing construction around the support structures for all the highway ramps and the SFO international terminal. A flyover would also enable the existing buildings to the north or south to be more easily managed — no surprises about what is underground, and only the air rights over existing building would need to be condemned.
You can’t run the rail in a flyover if you’re crossing the runway — and you don’t want to run it in a tunnel if you’re crossing the San Bruno Canal.
Hmm. More and more problems.
@Anon —
Well considering that I haven’t actually plotted the flyover route, you are a little early on the criticism.
As far a San Bruno Canal goes, that could be rerouted, but as I noted earlier, the bigger problem is the support structures for the highway.