The general manager for the Santa Clara County Valley
Transportation Authority said the organization should alter funding
for some of its projects to redirect more money to the struggling
Caltrain line, which faces a $30 million deficit.
The general manager for the Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority said the organization should alter funding for some of its projects to redirect more money to the struggling Caltrain line, which faces a $30 million deficit.
In a Feb. 2 memo to the VTA board of directors, Michael Burns wrote, “The time has come to prioritize our projects to determine what we can and cannot afford in order to preserve the maximum amount of Caltrain services going forward.”
A community outreach meeting to discuss Caltrain’s deficit and its future is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Gilroy Senior Center, located at 7371 Hanna St.
The budget shortfall could mean the elimination of service south of San Jose’s Diridon Station, leaving a South County riders looking for alternative methods for getting to work.
Caltrain currently operates 86 weekday trains, including 22 express trains, with an average ridership of 40,000. Saturday service includes 36 local trains and four express trains. Sunday service includes 32 local trains and four express trains. Caltrain does not offer weekend service to Gilroy.
The line receives funding from the VTA, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency and San Mateo County Transit.
Burns offered five suggestions for funneling more money to Caltrain, including redirecting funds from a Dumbarton rail project.
Burns also suggested the VTA could reimburse SamTrans $7.1 million in right-of-way reimbursement, providing that SamTrans directs that money to its share of Caltrain operations.
Caltrain could also look into selling some of its properties or work with the San Francisco MTC to prioritize its operations for first call on regional discretionary funding to assist with operations.
“It is unlikely that any of these strategies alone will eliminate the projected operating deficit for (fiscal year 2012),” Burns wrote. “However, implementing one or more of these strategies could provide much needed financial relief for Caltrain in the near term.”
