Results tagged “caltrain”

According to SFist Jonathan, "My train is stopped in Burlingame @ 6:20 pm -- the conductor says the train is being held here due to a bomb threat at Millbrae."

According to the following Twitter message it did, Just this afternoon.

At about 4:50 p.m. yesterday in Redwood City, a southbound train collided with a Honda near Whipple Avenue and El Camino Real. KTVU reports, "the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the San Mateo County coroner's office." The train was traveling "approximately 60 mph," so it couldn't stop. The name of the driver has yet to be revealed. No word as to whether or not it was a suicide hit.

After three students from Gunn High School in Palo Alto committed suicide this year by lying down for their final nap at the East Meadow Drive crossing, Caltrain plans to hold a press conference today. With the most recent suicide occurring last week -- a 13-year-old girl killed herself a little before 11 p.m. on Friday night -- former Palo Alto Mayor Victor Ojakian, who lost his son to suicide, spoke out about the tragedies. "To make sure that individuals who are in a state of maybe despair or hopelessness know there are other options other than taking their lives," he said. "To look at not just what is happening on Caltrain or with this particular incident that involves another Gunn student but to look at the County overall and try and do something about suicide prevention." The Santa Clara County Mental Health Director also announced a new "suicide task force" to help curb the problem.

Following on the heels of this week's Caltrain suicides, "a pedestrian was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Berkeley Thursday morning, the third person to be struck by a train in the Bay Area in a 24-hour period.," according to CBS 5. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said that the unidentified male intentionally jumped out in front of the southbound train heading to Oakland near the Grayson Street crossing. On Wednesday night, just a few hours prior to the Amtrak death, a man hurled himself "into the side of a moving Caltrain at the Menlo Park station." He is expected to live. The Amtrak victim, however, died at the scene.

Proving that this newfangled locomotive technology will do society more harm than good, Catrain confirmed this morning that a woman was struck and killed by a train at a Palo Alto railroad crossing yesterday. According to reports, "[a] northbound train struck the victim who had apparently made her way on to the tracks near a crossing at East Meadow Drive at around 9:55 p.m." This makes the fourth train-related fatality of 2009.

Caltrain has claimed the life of another pedestrian in two weeks. This morning, a man was struck at the San Mateo station. According to reports, "he collision happened at 6:43 a.m. when southbound train No. 206 struck the man who Caltrain characterized as a trespasser on the tracks near 25th Avenue." It is not yet know whether or not this most recent fatality was an accident or suicide. Northbound and southbound trains are operating at normal speed, but you can "expect delays of 45-60 minutes" today. If you recall, a man and a woman, in separate incidents, sat down on the tracks at the San Antonio station earlier this month.

A day after a woman sat down on the tracks near the San Antonio station for a final nap, a second person died at the unforgiving hands of Caltrain. A male pedestrian, according to reports, was hit and killed by a northbound train in Palo Alto early this morning. Happening at around 8:30 a.m. near East Meadow Drive, the unidentified man was killed while the gates, lights and bells were reportedly going at the time of the crash. This most recent death makes Caltrain's second fatality of 2009.

According to ActionNewsSF, "Caltrain service stopped in both directions due to a fatal accident where a train struck a trespasser at San Antonio Station in Mt View." After calling Caltrain to find out more, they could only confirm that, yes, there was a fatal accident at the San Antonio Station. Eeech. Sounds gruesome. Anyway, you should expect delays this afternoon if you plan on riding the train. Please adjust your schedule accordingly. Update: The victim was an apparent suicide. According to SFGate, "The woman, whose name has not been released, sat down on the tracks less than a half-mile north of the San Antonio station about 11:30 a.m. and was hit by a southbound train."

News is coming in that there was a fatality at Hayward Park this morning at around 7:30 a.m. According to CalTrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn an unidentified person was struck and killed by southbound train No. 210 just south of the Hayward Park. Caltrain also says that its trains are running about 30 minutes behind schedule due to the train-related death.

Although trains are running slowly as of 2:30 p.m., CalTrain is expected to return to normal by this evening's commute. If you recall, all choo-choos came to a halt this morning after a "system-wide signal interruption." As an extended olive branch, CalTrain will offer riders free rides for the rest of the day. Rides will be on the house until 1:30 a.m. Friday. Also, Caltrain tickets can be honored on SamTrans buses and on VTA routes 22 and 522. (Can you imagine if Muni started being this kind to riders? They'd be in financial ruins in less that a week. Well, more than they already are, that is.)

Due to a "system-wide signal interruption," according to a Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dun, service has come to a standstill. It has something or other to do with a "computer malfunction in the main signal operating system in the San Jose yard." SFist readers have also told us that they're stuck at Bayshore. It is not yet known just when service will be fully restored. In related news, there was a "stage 3 at central," whatever that means, on Bart that resulted in a train getting stuck under the bay. Bart service, though, seems to be running as usual now.

We heard from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition today that at the November 6th of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, there was still no word on increased capacity for bicycles on Caltrain.

Seems like we've had one person a day getting smacked by a Caltrain. Or something like that. Like, are they really that fast and/or sneaky? Scary. Anyway, an unidentified man was put in the hospital this morning after being hit by a Caltrain train in Mountain View while he was crossing the tracks. He is listed in critical condition. This comes on the heels of another train collision on Thursday morning when a car tried crossing the Caltrain tracks in San Jose. The driver of the latter accident is also in the hospital, listed in critical condition. (CBS 5)

Gosh, it's a nice day. Wouldn't it be swell to leave work early and head over to the Presidio, San Francisco's beautiful national park? (Tip: yes, it would.) But don't count on Muni getting you there. After all, you don't look forward to having to endure hour-long waits, do you? (Tip: no, you do not.)

We were there through the bitter season--the mud, the rain, the cold, the mid-afternoon sunsets. With dripping, grime-streaked rain gear covering our heels and neckties, we rode our rusting, filthy commuter bikes to the Caltrain station all through the winter, a sweaty, soggy bunch, smelling of mildew and Tri-Flow.

Some of you may remember a couple of weeks ago, when we were on a Caltrain that struck and killed a woman near 22nd street. Well, we were on the train again this morning, and when we got on at mountain view, a very familiar voice came over the PA.

We were stuffing our stuff into a backpack as the train left 22nd Street at 4:30 this afternoon when the hissing started and the train slowed. All of the people in the bike car stirred; something had happened. The train stopped in the middle of the tunnel, and the conductor came over the PA. He sounded tense. "There is an emergency situation," he said. "We'll be delayed here for some time. Please be patient."

How will this weekend's Transit Camp affect you, the average beleaguered bus rider? In lots of ways: better websites, nicer maps, smarter rides, and information customized exactly to your transit needs ... which all adds up to you getting where you're going, faster and happier. Or at least, that's how it'll be if the Transit Camp evangelists can convince transit agencies to play along. The event is a sort of meeting-of-the-minds between transit-happy hackers and transit officials; the officials own the resources and data, and campers want to liberate it for you.