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Third Rail
Author: Juice
Date: 08-18-2009 - 18:11
What a crock. To electrify the entire length of CalTrain over pipe dream prospects of high-speed rail service would rank as high on the list of pointless piss-away-money projects as VTA's Jolly Trolley and the Taj MaGonzales.
Don't get me wrong, a new downtown terminal in San Francisco would be fantastic. It's something the city has needed ever since 3rd and Townsend was replaced with that glorified bus station with umbrella sheds -- probably even earlier. The proposed TransBay Terminal and the passenger rail network it would serve could once again make the city the transit hub it hasn't been since the glory days of the old SP.
There's other, almost certainly more practical ways to do this than electrify the entire CalTrain corridor, though the pork-rolling politicians and granola head lobbyists pushing the junk science "green" agenda might object.
So the downtown extension necessitates a tunnel. Even in the most ventilated of passages, fume-throwing motive power isn't ideal. No problem. Lay some third rail leading/into the tunnel and get some dual-mode diesels with third rail shoes. No danger to ROW trespassers as the entire length is either underground, or fenced in on the approach. No height restrictions on freight equipment, and no unsightly wires next to that gingerbread depot in the middle of Menlo Park's downtown.
Admittedly, I'm no expert on the subject, but having resided in the Bay Area and others with commuter rail services with exponentially more ridership (and that are actually well-developed, well-operated systems) I can't see a full length electrification justified. As for the high speed rail? EuroStar ran on portions of DC third rail for 13 years before the completion of a new, dedicated line, replacing the Waterloo terminal. Admitted, the service was not without its problems, but they managed to make do with the decades-old Southern Railway electrification for over a decade.
Don't get me wrong, a new downtown terminal in San Francisco would be fantastic. It's something the city has needed ever since 3rd and Townsend was replaced with that glorified bus station with umbrella sheds -- probably even earlier. The proposed TransBay Terminal and the passenger rail network it would serve could once again make the city the transit hub it hasn't been since the glory days of the old SP.
There's other, almost certainly more practical ways to do this than electrify the entire CalTrain corridor, though the pork-rolling politicians and granola head lobbyists pushing the junk science "green" agenda might object.
So the downtown extension necessitates a tunnel. Even in the most ventilated of passages, fume-throwing motive power isn't ideal. No problem. Lay some third rail leading/into the tunnel and get some dual-mode diesels with third rail shoes. No danger to ROW trespassers as the entire length is either underground, or fenced in on the approach. No height restrictions on freight equipment, and no unsightly wires next to that gingerbread depot in the middle of Menlo Park's downtown.
Admittedly, I'm no expert on the subject, but having resided in the Bay Area and others with commuter rail services with exponentially more ridership (and that are actually well-developed, well-operated systems) I can't see a full length electrification justified. As for the high speed rail? EuroStar ran on portions of DC third rail for 13 years before the completion of a new, dedicated line, replacing the Waterloo terminal. Admitted, the service was not without its problems, but they managed to make do with the decades-old Southern Railway electrification for over a decade.
