As Caltrain ponders a new proposed lits of cuts, the Gilroy
station won’t be one of them.
As Caltrain ponders a new, less daunting list of cuts, the rail line’s Gilroy station is not expected to be a casualty.
Caltrain plans on cutting three stations, eliminating 10 trains and raising fares by this summer, but Gilroy’s station is safe, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.
Executives from Caltrain’s three member agencies – the Valley Transportation Authority, San Mateo County Transit District and San Francisco’s Metropolitan Transit Agency – reached an agreement Monday with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on a tentative plan that would significantly lessen Caltrain’s projected $30 million deficit for its 2012 fiscal year and allow more service than an earlier proposal, according to a Caltrain news release.
Starting this July, all service to the San Francisco-Brisbane Bayshore station, San Mateo Hayward Park station and San Jose Capitol station would be cut.
Weekend service at nine other stations also would be halted: 22nd Street in San Francisco, South San Francisco, Broadway in Burlingame, Belmont, San Carlos, Atherton, California Avenue in Palo Alto, San Antonio and Lawrence in Sunnyvale.
Base fares would see a 25-cent increase, and parking fees would rise from $3 to $4 daily and from $30 to $40 monthly, Dunn said.
The new proposal includes 76 trains for weekday service, 10 fewer than it has now, but a much brighter scenario than a 48-train plan Caltrain rolled out in February.
At that time, Caltrain’s plan, described as a worst-case scenario, also included the elimination of up to 16 stations and all service south of San Jose.
The new revised schedule would cut operating costs by $3.3 million, and fare and parking increases would generate roughly $2.5 million, Dunn said.
Caltrain would also receive $1.5 million for “preventative maintenance” from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, $4.5 million from San Francisco’s Metropolitan Transit Agency and $10.2 million from the VTA, Dunn said.
SamTans will contribute $3.7 million in capital funds to be exchanged for operating funds, and will give $2 million of a $5 million chunk handed to it by the VTA. SamTrans is expected to use the remaining $3 for 2013 contributions, Dunn said.
Dunn said Caltrain would use a projected $7.5 million surplus from its 2011 budget to help cover its 2012 costs. Dunn said that figure comes from “little savings throughout the year.”
“We knew this day was coming,” she said.
The agency also expects to save $250,000 in administrative costs, mostly by not filling vacant positions.
The new agreement, which will only cover the 2012 fiscal year, will go before Caltrain’s board of directors Thursday in San Carlos.
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