BAY AREA COUNCIL LAUNCHES CALTRAIN COMMUTER COALITION

As Caltrain marked the 10th anniversary of its Baby Bullet service on Monday (Oct. 27), Bay Area Council President & CEO Jim Wunderman joined the festivities and announced the formation of a new advocacy coalition that will work to support efforts to expand Caltrain capacity and service.  While the Baby Bullet has helped to fuel the astounding economic growth along the Highway 101 over the past decade, Caltrain now faces unprecedented ridership and capacity constraints.  Caltrain is working to address these challenges through short-term plans to operate longer diesel trains and long-term plans to operate high performance electric trains, but looming financial and political challenges still need to be overcome. The Bay Area Council was instrumental in helping secure funding to modernize and electrify the Caltrain system.

The Caltrain Commuter Coalition (C3) – which includes participation from member companies such as Google, Oracle, LinkedIn, San Francisco 49ers, Stanford University and others – will collectively advocate for Caltrain modernization, capacity enhancement, and other improvements that will bolster job creation and continue to drive economic growth in the region.  Other groups supporting C3 include San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA), San Francisco Planning PUR  and Silicon Valley Leadership Group. For more information about the Council’s transportation work, contact Vice President Michael Cunningham.