Caltrain Takes You Out to the Ballgame

The crack of the bat, the smell of garlic fries and a train ride to the ballpark; this only means one thing to baseball fans in the Bay Area - the 2003 season is underway.

Caltrain will begin baseball service to Pacific Bell Park for the Giants' first home exhibition game against the Texas Rangers on Friday, March 28 by running extra service and longer trains. Two special service trains will be scheduled to serve Pac Bell crowds before each game.

After the game, fans can board any regularly scheduled train, an express baseball train, or an extra local baseball train serving all regular stops along the Peninsula to Tamien. The express train will depart 15 minutes after the last out or when full, and will express to San Carlos, then make all regular stops to Tamien. The extra local train will depart 25 minutes after the game.

Caltrain also will expand capacity on its regular trains by adding cars. Caltrain generally uses five cars per train, with each train able to seat more than 700 people.

Caltrain will offer express bus service to weekend games while the railroad is undergoing weekend construction on its improvement project, known as CTX.

The baseball bus routes - BB1, BB2 and BB3 - will operate at or near 15 stations along the rail corridor. The buses will arrive at the park 45 minutes before the game and depart as they fill after the final out. Regular Caltrain fares apply and tickets must be purchased in advance from station ticket vending machines. No cash fares are accepted onboard the bus.

Last year, approximately 260,000 baseball fans used Caltrain service to ballgames.

Passengers who purchase their tickets in advance receive a $3 offboard discount. Caltrain has ticket vending machines at all stations with the exception of Paul Avenue and College Park.

Passengers may purchase One-way, Round-trip, 10-ride tickets, or Weekend Passes. The 10-ride Ticket is a great bargain for families and groups of friends heading to the ballpark because one ticket may be used by all members of the traveling party, providing they don't exceed the 10-ride limit. A Weekend Pass is valid from the first train on Saturday to the last train on Sunday.

For additional schedule and fare information, call Caltrain at 1.800.660.4287 (or TDD only) 650.508.6448.