The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company began passenger rail service on the Peninsula in 1863. In the 1990s, San Mateo County, San Francisco County and Santa Clara County came together to talk about acquiring the right-of-way from Southern Pacific to preserve the rail service, which goes through the three counties.
There was a joint powers agreement that established the basic rules of the road, Hartnett explained. It was determined at that time, the rail service shouldn’t have its own separate bureaucracy, that it would be managed by another agency. “The agency that was chosen was the San Mateo County Transit District,” said Caltrain Executive Director Jim Hartnett.
“Again, it was so there are not separate bureaucracies, you can leverage people resources and all the other resources necessary to do the business,” he explained.
While all the counties worked together to get state monetary support to buy the right-of-way, the three counties together had to make up the difference to purchase it and he said San Mateo County was the only one that came up with its share.
“Had the purchase of the right-of-way not occurred, there wouldn’t be any reason for the joint powers agreement and the joint powers authority because we wouldn’t have rail service anymore,” Hartnett said.
The Caltrain system as it’s known today, started in 1992 when the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board took over operation of the train.
Caltrain contracts with the San Mateo County Transit District to manage the commuter rail service. And, the San Mateo County Transit District contracts with a private company, TOSI, Transit America, to do the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the rail line. Caltrain does not have any of its own employees.
While Hartnett is executive director of the Caltrain commuter rail service, he is employed by the San Mateo County Transit District as its chief executive officer, general manager.
For more on Caltrain and its Modernization Program: MassTransitmag.com/12410252
