Caltrain

Mayor Newsom, I and City staff have met twice with Caltrain on train and horn noise, as well as train vibrations and the status of the wall Caltrain committed to as part of its sidetrack work.  Key updates from those meetings:

While noise from the trains have been greatly reduced due to the introduction of new, electric trains, there is increased resident unhappiness due to the increased horn noise due to the increased frequency of train trips.

Caltrain reported that they have introduced additional training for all engineers since our first meeting, as well has having auditors make unannounced visits on the trains to ensure the engineers are complying with all regulations to keep passengers safe while minimizing train noise.  

Caltrain continues to review their regulations to see if there is anything else they can be doing regarding horn noise.  They are very aware of the frustration and unhappiness of San Mateo residents on this issue, as are Mayor Newsom and me.  Staff is meeting with Caltrain again in 2 weeks on this issue

Caltrain agreed to strongly support the City’s efforts to introduce a Quiet Zone into San Mateo.  This would eliminate train horns from sounding throughout San Mateo (including the Hayward Park pedestrian crosswalk) once San Mateo installs major infrastructure and gates along the rail line and passes the safety test of the Federal Railroad Agency.

Caltrain staff is continuing to conduct research on resident complaints of excessive vibration.  They will be updating us in the next couple of weeks on this, as well as their previous commitment to build a sidetrack wall.