Training Monterey
A discussion of the proposals and challenges for rail service.
| A feature of the Monterey Peninsula Toy Box | ||
| Training MontereyA discussion of the proposals and challenges for rail service. |
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On this page: The Monterey Branch Line &
The Del Monte What if....? - Mr. Toy's fantasy proposal ______________ Show
your support for the Del Monte and this website. |
BackgroundBeginning in 1880 Southern Pacific's Del Monte Express (reputed to be SP's first "name train") brought travelers to Monterey from San Francisco. In later years the name was shortened to Del Monte, and it had a loyal customer base until its demise in 1971. For the last three decades local governments and citizens have been trying to revive the train. California's transportation networks are overstressed. It is becoming widely accepted that there will never be enough money or land to pave our way out of the problem. Rail has been underutilized, so it offers a cost-effective way to provide alternatives for the traveling public. Even for those who may never ride a train, every increment of rail expansion will lessen the burden on roads and airports, helping to make travel on all modes that much easier. In 1990 California voters passed Proposition 116, which provided start-up funding for various rail projects in California. The Del Monte was specifically included in this measure. That got the ball rolling. California divides the state into several "corridors" for managing existing and proposed rail service, some of which overlap. These include:
The first three corridors have already seen significant development since the early 1990s, and they have proven to be highly popular. Given the success of these trains, not to mention the increasingly hectic traffic on the freeways, it is likely that Monterey Peninsula residents will want to be connected to this network sooner rather than later. But will it happen? |
The Monterey Branch Line & the Del Monte The old Monterey passenger depot at Fisherman's Wharf The Tracks: In the fall of 2003 the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) purchased the Monterey Branch Line, the former Southern Pacific right of way (ROW), from Castroville part way into Seaside. The tracks are in disrepair and TAMC will need to rehabilitate the line, complete seismic retrofitting on the Salinas River Bridge, and prepare environmental studies before any service begins. The remaining ROW from Seaside to the Monterey depot by Fisherman's Wharf was purchased by those two cities in 1980. Funding was provided by Caltrans under the condition that the ROW be kept available for future transit development. The popular recreation trail between Canyon Del Rey and Fisherman's Wharf occupies part of the 100' wide ROW. Rail service would not require removing the recreation trail, but may require some realignment of it. Of course, the Monterey branch is only part of the equation. The Union Pacific Coast Line, the rail route between Los Angeles and the SF Bay area (via Salinas) is the other part. TAMC must work with Union Pacific to solve traffic control and capacity issues to ensure that passenger and freight operations will not interfere with each other. The Trains: When the branch line was purchased, it was TAMC's intent to revive the Del Monte service between the Monterey Peninsula and downtown San Francisco in 2009. However, the Del Monte now seems to be on the back burner with Caltrain service to Salinas and local "fixed guideway service" taking higher priority. Local or Intercity? Based on the results of public hearings and discussions with local city governments, TAMC is now considering some sort of "fixed guideway" local transit service on the Monterey branch line, either as a supplement to, or instead of, intercity service. As currently envisioned, this local service would provide express service between downtown Monterey, Seaside, Fort Ord, Marina, and Castroville where it will connect with future Caltrain service. It is as yet uncertain what form this local service might take. A light rail vehicle is under consideration, which would operate on the branch line tracks. Another option which seems to be gaining favor (though not with our webmaster) is "bus rapid transit." BRT would pave part of the ROW for the exclusive use of express busses, presumably parallel to the tracks to keep the tracks open for rail development. BRT would bypass the Salinas River railroad bridge and divert to Highway 1 for a short distance, because the bridge is not suitable for busses. There are currently three options being considered.
IMPORTANT: Public meetings to determine the "locally preferred alternative" will be held in November 2008, and a decision will be made in January 2009. Keep an eye on TAMC's Rail Policy Committee page for further information. |
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Caltrain and the Coast Daylight
| The Monterey branch line at Marina Stops, Schedules, & Services: The Del Monte Train, if it ever gets going, will likely travel between Monterey and San Francisco twice a day on weekdays, and three times a day on weekends. Total travel time to San Francisco would be about two and a half hours, which is comparable with driving. Intermediate stops would probably include Seaside or Sand City, Marina, Castroville, Pajaro, Gilroy, San Jose (with connections to the Capitol Corridor and Altamont Commuter Express), Palo Alto, and Millbrae (with connections to BART and San Francisco Airport). The Capitol Corridor connection is especially important, for it will provide a rail link from Monterey to several east bay cities, Sacramento, and on up to Auburn. Proposed extensions will eventually allow us to travel by train to locations as far away as Redding and Reno, but those are far in the future. How would this compare to Caltrain's Salinas service? The Del Monte would operate throughout the day to meet a variety of travel needs, including tourism. Caltrain would be primarily a commuter service, running northbound only in the morning, and southbound in the evening, with no service during the day. This is an important distinction. If the Monterey Branch Line is to be used only for local service, peninsula travelers and tourists would be limited to the Northbound mornings and Southbound evenings schedule. What sort of equipment might be used for Monterey Peninsula rail service? Nothing is certain yet, but TAMC has indicated that the Del Monte, if developed as planned, will not be a mere commuter train and will need to be attractive to tourists as well as locals. It will have some sort of food service/lounge car and other comfort amenities. Local rail service will require only basic rail transit vehicles with few amenities and just basic seating. The Colorado Railcars DMU, a self powered railcar, is being looked at as a serious candidate for both local and intercity service. It is cleaner, quieter and more efficient than a conventional locomotive when pulling a relatively short train. The DMU is also very flexible in that it can be configured in a variety of ways to meet different needs. It can be a simple one or two car local transit vehicle, or a comfortable five car train with lots of amenities. However, the single-level DMU is not compatible with existing bi-level railcars used on the Capitol Corridor. That makes it difficult to swap equipment to meet changing demand, or to temporarily replace equipment that needs repair. So bi-level equipment with a conventional locomotive is also under consideration for the Del Monte. The Timing and the Money: Unfortunately, the Del Monte's revival is anything but certain. The money just isn't there yet. Indeed, when this web page was first published, 2006 was the expected start-up date. Soon after it was pushed back to 2009. Now TAMC says nothing will run on the Monterey Branch Line before 2014! Even that is likely to be local service, not intercity, as the latter appears to have been postponed indefinitely. These perpetual delays inspired our new motto, "Dude, where's our train?" and the depot graphic depicting a figure staring at empty tracks. Why is funding so hard to come by? Unlike highway, airport and local transit projects, which are eligible for 80% federal funding, intercity rail projects must be funded entirely at the state and local levels. This is the primary reason why rail service is almost nonexistent in most areas of the country. A change in federal policy is needed to correct this imbalance, but despite pleas from numerous state and local governments, Congress has turned a deaf ear. Please contact your elected representatives in Washington and tell them to pass a passenger rail funding program, similar to the highway and aviation trust funds which have proven to be successful. What if...?Mr. Toy would like to see another option on the table. Instead of developing a new train why not extend the existing Capitol Corridor to Monterey? The Del Monte would only go as far as San Francisco, which is an easy drive for most of us. But the Capitol trains, which already get as close as San Jose, go as far as Sacramento and Auburn. Future extensions are envisioned to take the trains to Reno. So perhaps these trains might offer greater possibilities and incentives for Monterey Bay area travelers. The service has proven to be popular, and it probably wouldn't take much effort to promote Monterey as a destination for existing riders. Since Monterey was California's first capitol, the trains could be promoted as providing "Capitol to Capitol Service!" Perhaps even more important, TAMC would not need to purchase any new equipment, because the rolling stock already exists. Start-up costs would likely be lower, and thus the service might be implemented sooner. San Francisco bound travelers need not fret, however, for if that is your destination, you could easily transfer to Caltrain at San Jose and ride to any number of stops along the SF Peninsula. Caltrain serves more destinations than the Del Monte would, because Caltrain runs both express and "milk run" trains. Extending the limits of the Capitol Corridor would, however, require an act of the legislature, and the consent of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.
For further reading see the official page of the TAMC Rail Program. |
