Former Peninsula Rail 2000 (now BayRail Alliance) board member Russell Reagan wrote to us regarding the Transbay Terminal/Caltrain extension project:

1997 was the year when it was almost killed, and 1998 was when then-SF mayor Willie Brown backed away from his sharp rhetoric that the Caltrain extension needed to be killed that made headlines in 1997. I wouldn’t tell the story that it was almost killed in one specific year; it was barely alive during the mid-90s, and others might describe other points in its history when it was almost killed. But if there was any one year when it was closest to being killed, that year was 1997.

During the mid-90s, prior to Willie Brown’s harsh position in 1997, the project to extend the Caltrain line to the TT or alternative locations was under study, while the JPB, especially its staff and general manager Jerry Haugh, showed only weak interest in the project moving forward. Support for it was weak as well with the city/county of San Francisco, while so much political muscle was behind the BART-SFO extension, especially from Quentin Kopp, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee; and as you remember, Kopp also opposed the Caltrain DTX.

It was clear to us that the BART extension would be a failure in terms of ridership, especially if the DTX were built, or even if Caltrain continued to provide service north of where the two lines connected near the airport. All of these considerations pointed to the likely demise of the planned Caltrain DTX.

In June 1998 however, the SF League of Conservation Voters began their efforts to qualify for the ballot the initiative that would become Prop. H in November 1999. We did obtain a well over half of the signatures needed to qualify for the Nov. 1998 ballot by the deadline, and then SFLCV attempted to place it on that same ballot through the Board of Supervisors. At that time (two years before district elections were reinstated), nearly all the supes were loyal to Willie Brown.

Then Brown himself, in a political move related to a dispute with MTC over the alignment of the new Bay Bridge east span, placed on the Nov. 1998 ballot an advisory initiative calling for the return of rail service on the Bay Bridge. This was in conjunction with the cities of Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley. This was instigated by then-mayor of Emeryville Ken Bukowski. All four cities passed similar advisory initiatives by wide margins in November 1998. Implicit in Brown’s involvement with this was a reversal of his position against tearing down the TT, almost completely unnoticed by the public after his very outspoken opposition to the Caltrain DTX the previous year.

“Coincidentally” around that time, the ownership of properties adjacent to the Terminal changed hands. They were acquired by a new owner who, unlike the previous owners, KSW Properties and Fritzi Realty, supported (or at least were not against) plans to rebuild the TT. KSW Properties and Fritzi Realty had owned the parcels since the 1970 fully expecting that BART meant the demise of transbay bus service and the Terminal as well.

The last bus (AC Transit O line) departs from the old Transbay Terminal about 15 minutes after midnight on August 7.

On August 7, 2010, the old Transbay Terminal will be closed and torn down after seven decades of operation. The old terminal will eventually be replaced by a modern facility that will accommodate the future extension of Caltrain and High Speed Rail. When the Terminal was opened in 1939, it was served by the Key System interurban trains from the East Bay and Sacramento Northern rail trains from as far as  Chico. In 1958, rail service was discontinued at the Transbay Terminal and the Key System rail system became what is today’s AC Transit Transbay bus network.

After BART began Transbay service in 1974, there were many suggestions to remove the Transbay Terminal to make room for additional office developments. However, the initial founders of Peninsula Rail 2000 (today’s BayRail Alliance) believed that the Transbay Terminal could still be an important transit asset. The founders of the group specifically included the extension of commuter rail service from 4th & King as a part of the plan to preserve and modernize Caltrain.

For the following two decades, the plan to extend Caltrain to the Transbay Terminal was studied numerous times (some of the documents are available at the BayRail’s transit library). The plan was almost killed in 1998 (when Muni Metro service to Caltrain began and when MTC and SamTrans were pushing to extend BART to SFO) but was revived after voters overwhelmingly approved a measure supporting the project a year later. In 2001, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority was created to oversee the planning and construction of the project. Since then, TJPA and BayRail fought battles to obtain the right of way and get the EIR approved. BayRail Alliance is proud to see the project finally becoming reality.

After the closure of the old terminal, all buses will stop at the ground-level temporary terminal at Howard and Main streets for the next 7 years while the new terminal is being constructed.

Hourly guided tours of the old terminal will be provided on Friday, July 30th. The tours will meet at the ground floor entrance at 1st & Mission streets.
Tour I: 12 noon
Tour II: 1 pm
Tour III: 2 pm
Tour IV : 3 pm
Tour V : 4 pm

In addition, an open-house event will be held at the temporary terminal on August 3rd from 4pm to 7pm.

On Tuesday, San Francisco residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of locating the high speed rail terminus at the planned Transbay Transit Center on Mission and 1st streets.

Measure G was passed by 83%. San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly placed it on the ballot because the High Speed Rail Authority was studying an alternative location for the rail terminus at the request of some project opponents. The concept of a station at Beale Street drew opposition from the City, nearby residents, and rail advocates. The study delayed the Transbay Transit Center project for a few months.

In April, with boardmember Quentin Kopp dissenting, the High Speed Rail Authority voted to eliminate the Beale Street alternative from further consideration.

This is the third time San Francisco voters expressed support for a rail station at the Transbay Transit Center. Voters passed Prop H in 1999 and Prop K sales tax in 2003.

BayRail Alliance general meeting (5/20) – Transbay Terminal/Caltrain Downtown SF extension update

Time/date: Thursday, May 20, 2010 6:45PM -8:30 PM

Robert Beck from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority will provide an update on the project to extend the rail alignment for Caltrain and California High Speed Rail to a new Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco. This project has made a tremendous progress since last year. Later this year, the current terminal is expected to be demolished and AC Transit operation will be transferred to a temporary terminal.

Mr. Beck is the Senior Program Manager with the TJPA.  With an engineering degree from Masters in Business Administration from UC Berkeley, he is a licensed Mechanical and Civil Engineer.  Mr. Beck joined the TJPA from the San Francisco Department of Public Works where he was the Deputy Director of Engineering and City Engineer.  During his 18 years with Public Works and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, he oversaw a wide range of major capital projects and programs for the City and County of San Francisco.

**Meeting location**

This meeting is free and open to the public. RSVP is encouraged (info@bayrailalliance.org).Location: Cafe Yulong, back room, 743 W. Dana St., Mountain ViewDate/time: Thursday, May 20, 2010 6:45PM -8:30 PM

Cafe Yulong is located two blocks from the Mountain View Caltrain Station (between Castro and Hope Streets). We meet in the back room of the restaurant. Dinner will be available for a $11 charge, your choice of beef, chicken, pork or tofu.

After years of planning, the Transbay Transit Center/Downtown Extension is nearing shovel-ready status. However, California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is attempting to kill this project with a bogus idea of a having a downtown station on Main and Beale Street.

Transbay Transit Center opponents are claiming that the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) needs to restudy their alternative as a part of the environmental clearance process. If their claim holds true, it would make the Transbay Transit Center project no longer eligible for the $400 million in Stimulus funds. If the project receives that fund as planned, construction would start within months. Read More