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Letter from the Executive Director
It has long been said that the Peninsula is a place where the future
is invented. Bracketed by the ever-energetic San Jose to the south,
the ever-creative San Francisco to the north, and fully engaged by
the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley that permeates our daily lives,
we eagerly embrace the future. Here at Caltrain, through the
wisdom of policy-makers who recognized what mass transit can
be, we have kept stride.
Peninsula train service is 143 years old and, throughout that
history, the train has been a central part of daily progress and
growth. It was 14 years ago that a three-county joint powers
authority was formed to purchase the rail service and continue
to operate it for the benefit of all the residents of San Francisco,
San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
In those 14 years, Caltrain service has grown from 54 weekday
trains to 96, including 22 Baby Bullet trains that can run from
San Jose to San Francisco in less than an hour. At the same
time, average weekday ridership has grown from 20,825 in
1992 to 32,291 in mid-2006, an increase of 55 percent, and
annual total ridership has grown from 6,969,703 to 10,148,616,
an increase of 45.6 percent.
Now, looking forward to the next 20 years of Caltrain growth
and progress, we are poised for exciting new programs that
will include a full upgrade of the quality of the railroad and the
transformation of the system from 19th century technology
to a modern, 21st century, electrified rapid transit system.
The future is full of promise for more service, faster service,
more effective service that can provide an opportunity
for everyone to enjoy the benefits of Caltrain. Built on a historic
foundation that has its roots in the earliest California history,
Caltrain is looking to a future in which it will be more innovative,
more creative and more energetic – and a more significant part
of our lives.
Michael J. Scanlon
Executive Director
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