Caltrain Adds Bicycle Cars, Fine Tunes Train Schedules

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Caltrain officials early next month will adjust the train schedule and add a third bicycle car to each set of its Bombardier fleet of trains.

Both changes will take effect April 4.

The aim of adjusting the schedule is to provide riders with more confidence in the published schedule, Caltrain officials said.

Due to the rising number of riders, including riders with bicycles, trains have been making longer stops at stations.

The schedule will be adjusted by several minutes to reflect the actual departure times at each station, according to Caltrain officials.

The new timetable is available here.

The addition of another bicycle car to the Bombardier fleet will bring the number of spaces for bicycles from 48 to 72, which is in line with the 80 spaces available on the Gallery fleet of trains.

"We're really happy with the step Caltrain has taken," Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Shiloh Ballard said.

The coalition has been working with Caltrain on the change for a while. A survey by the coalition showed that 13 percent of Caltrain riders bring a bike onto the trains.

A separate survey of 300 riders showed that 45 percent would drive if they could not take their bike on a train.

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition spokesman Chris Cassidy said the coalition is encouraged by the change.

"They're making strides to meet demand," Cassidy said.

However, sometimes bike riders are bumped or kept from boarding a car, because the car is crowded.

Caltrain and its Bicycle Advisory Committee will recognize the addition of the bike cars by holding a celebration at 8 a.m. April 4 at San Francisco's Fourth and King streets' Caltrain station.

Members of the bicycle community and the public are invited to attend.

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