Caltrain Baby Bullet Cars Entering Service

Caltrain will be putting the first new cars that will eventually operate in its "Baby Bullet" fleet into service the week of Oct. 21, giving both crews and passengers an opportunity to see how the cars perform in daily use.

Initially, five of the 17 new Baby Bullet cars will be put into passenger service, making one midday round trip. Three Baby Bullet trainsets should be in use by Thanksgiving.

The first trips will take place Oct. 22. Caltrain will run the cars with its current fleet of diesel locomotives until six new Baby Bullet engines, with a distinctive aerodynamic body, arrive early next year.

Built by Bombardier Corp., the Baby Bullet cars are set apart not only by a new color scheme but by their design, which includes lower floors for boarding and more doors than the current fleet of gallery cars.

Although the equipment will soon be in service, express train schedules will not be implemented until bypass tracks, signal work and other improvements are completed. These are being constructed as part of the CTX construction project, which will be completed in mid-2004.

One reason why Caltrain wanted to put the cars into service now is so crews who have been trained on them don't lose familiarity with their operation. When the cars first go into service, Caltrain and Bombardier officials will be on board to answer questions and assist customers.

Some points to note:

• Bike space is in the cab car, which will still be on the north end of the train. Each bike car has space for 16 bikes, so eventually each train will have two bike cars next to each other, providing 32 bike spaces. Initially, however, the first trainset will only have space for 16 bikes.



• Wheelchair space is in the second car from the north, next to the south door of the car. Passengers in wheelchairs will use portable lifts at the stations to board the cars.



• Luggage should be placed on the lower level in a safe position.