AgdaPkt 2021.02.08 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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7.A. - Page 14 of 36 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2021 DEVORA"DEV" DAVIS, CHAIR STEVE HEMINGER, VICE CHAIR CINDY CHAVEZ JEFF GEE DAVE PINE CHARLES STONE SHAMANN WALTON MONIQUE ZMUDA JIM HARTNETT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Background Redwood City Station is the fifth -busiest station in the Caltrain system. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the station served approximately 4,200 weekday riders. Ridership has doubled since 2010 as Redwood City has added more residents and jobs near the station. Over the next two decades, Caltrain expects ridership to more than double again as development activity, service improvements, and a potential Dumbarton rail connection drives strong demand at Redwood City Station. Caltrain 2040 Service Vision & Redwood City Station The Caltrain Business Plan envisions Redwood City Station as a major mid -peninsula hub of the Caltrain system. The Business Plan's 2040 Service Vision includes two types of regional trains serving the Caltrain corridor — Local trains and Express trains — that would meet for timed transfers at Redwood City Station to help reduce travel times for longer trips. For example, a passenger traveling from Burlingame to San Jose could transfer from a Local train to an Express train at Redwood City to save 10 minutes of travel time. In order to implement the 2040 Service Vision, Redwood City Station would be expanded from two tracks to four tracks. A four -track station would enable cross -platform transfers between Local and Express trains, and to facilitate Express trains overtaking Local trains. Without an expanded station, Caltrain cannot realize this vision to operate Express and Local services given the significant constraints of the Caltrain corridor and the future challenges associated with both expanding Caltrain service and introducing future High Speed Rail trains. Rebuilding Redwood City Station also presents an opportunity to coordinate with planned transit -oriented development, address needs for grade separations and improve station access. Alternatives Considered As a major ridership center at the approximate midpoint of the Caltrain corridor, Redwood City Station is well suited to serve as Caltrain's mid -Peninsula hub. Other stations location options were considered but are not suggested for further study at this time due to less optimal outcomes for service, ridership, operations, and infrastructure. Caltrain initially considered nearby stations such as San Carlos and Menlo Park for the mid - Peninsula hub, but each posed challenges and tradeoffs. If either of these stations were selected, they would receive Express train service instead of Redwood City, cutting Redwood City's potential future service from a planned eight trains per hour per direction to four. From a demand standpoint, this would result in lower system ridership overall since both San Carlos and Menlo 190