Bullet trains, weekend service coming in June Bullet trains, weekend service coming in June (May 21, 2004)

San Antonio station riders consider new schedule a victory

By Grace Rauh

After nearly two years without train service on Saturdays and Sundays, Mountain View residents will be able to catch a weekend ride come June 5.

Caltrain is also debuting its "baby bullet" express trains two days later. The new service promises to cut travel time between downtown Mountain View and San Francisco by more than 30 minutes.

Although the bullet trains will ease commute time for Mountain View residents, some say they are most pleased with the return of weekend service.

The Community School of Music and Arts, which is only a short walk from the San Antonio train station, hosts weekend concerts and other events for the public. Evy Schiffman, CSMA's communications director, is thrilled that weekend service will begin next month.

"One of the things that we want is that people from all over can come here," Schiffman said. "It gives us so much more of a reach on the weekends, which is when we have optimum use."

Earlier this year, it was unclear whether weekend trains would stop at the San Antonio station. Residents from The Crossings, a transit-oriented community adjacent to the San Antonio station, lobbied Caltrain to include them in their weekend schedule.

"We have been pleased. It shows that citizen action has an effect," said Kevin Pardo, who lives at The Crossings and fought to secure a spot for the San Antonio station on the weekend schedule. "We appreciate that the Caltrain board took a look at our stop."

The weekend trains will run every hour to nearly all stations between San Francisco and San Jose, and service will be free for the first two weekends.

Despite their name, the baby bullets do not travel at a faster rate than regular trains, but shave time off the journey by only making a few stops between San Francisco and San Jose. The downtown Mountain View station is one of seven stops on the baby bullet train route. There will be five bullet trains each morning and five in the evening during peak commuter times.

For more information about Caltrain's new schedule, call (800) 660-4287 or visit www.caltrain.com.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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