Caltrain Rider Advocates Rail Safety After Close Call

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September 21, 2009

Caltrain rider Nick Sayer belongs to an exclusive club. The 41–year-old software engineer is one of a small number of people who have been hit by a train and survived. Now, as part of “Railroad Safety Month,” Sayer is telling his story in the hopes of calling attention to the importance of rail safety.

Sayer was on his way to work in May 2008 when he inadvertently stepped in front of a train at the Santa Clara Caltrain Station. The train, which usually arrived on the northbound track, was on the southbound track. Even though it was only traveling about five miles an hour, Sayer was thrown 10 feet into the air and landed on the platform. “I thank my lucky stars that I was thrown onto the platform rather than onto the tracks,” said Sayer. Sayer escaped with bumps and bruises and a cut on his forehead. Shortly after the accident, he used his blog to caution other riders to be careful when crossing train tracks.

Sayer has been invited to speak about his experience at a celebration to mark the completion of Caltrain’s latest effort to improve safety on the right of way through engineering – safety improvements to nine grade crossings in the city of San Mateo. The event will be held at the San Mateo Caltrain Station at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The improvements are part of a larger project to improve 25 grade crossings in San Mateo County. The project included such safety improvements as more clearly-marked pedestrian crossings with fencing and gates, improved sidewalks and pavement markings, and where appropriate, roadway medians. The San Mateo County Transportation Authority provided $16 million for the $17.2 million project. A similar project is underway in Santa Clara County.

Since Caltrain acquired the right of way along the Peninsula in the 1990s, safety has been a top priority. This commitment includes investing millions of dollars in engineering projects that enhance safety.

In 2006, as part of its “Don’t Shortcut Life” safety campaign, Caltrain began a multi-year project to build fencing at strategic locations throughout the entire right-of-way. As part of the project, Caltrain obtained feedback from cities about proposed areas for fencing. The list was reviewed and evaluated by Caltrain engineering staff and a fencing plan was developed and ranked according to urgency. Since then nearly 60,000 linear feet of fencing at a cost of $4 million has been installed along the Caltrain right of way.

One of Caltrain’s most important safety efforts has been to reconfigure older stations with narrow center-boarding platforms. Due to safety concerns, only one train is allowed to enter these stations at a time. Other trains must “hold out,” or wait outside the station until the other train clears the station. Previously, the Hayward Park, San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park and Mountain View stations were upgraded to eliminate the “hold-out” rule. This year the California Avenue station was added to the list.

Safety improvements at the main Palo Alto station on University Avenue also were included in the $35 million project. An at-grade pedestrian crossing was eliminated and an existing pedestrian tunnel was modified to accommodate riders with disabilities.

A $20.5 million project to eliminate the “hold-out” rule at the historic Burlingame station was completed last year. A center track fence prevents pedestrians from crossing the tracks except at designated crossing areas, which are protected with pedestrian crossing gates.

Also in 2008, a $4.3 million project to improve the grade crossings in San Bruno and neighboring South San Francisco was completed. San Mateo and San Bruno avenues were realigned to improve an awkward crossing. Scott Street and San Bruno, San Mateo and Angus avenues, as well as Linden Avenue, have new pedestrian gates, sidewalks and curbs and modern crossing panels.

South San Francisco, Broadway, Atherton and Santa Clara are the only remaining “hold-out” stations on the Caltrain corridor. A contract to build a new wider, longer center-boarding platform and a pedestrian underpass at the Santa Clara station is scheduled to be awarded by the end of the year.

Caltrain’s commitment to safety includes its partnership with the California High-Speed Rail Authority to bring high-speed rail to the Peninsula. The project includes grade separating the entire rail line, which would eliminate all at-grade crossings.