BIDS ARE due by September 17 for supply of up to 20 double-deck gallery cars for the CalTrain commuter rail line, including five cab control vehicles. Each must have a wheelchair lift and disabled-accessible toilet. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board has $30m to buy additional vehicles to expand its fleet.
PCJPB has awarded a contract to relay 12·9 km of double track between San José and Sunnyvale with continuous welded rail. Several curves will be eased to reduce running times. However, long-standing plans for a CalTrain extension into the centre of San Francisco are likely to be abandoned, after Mayor Willie Brown rejected the proposals.
A poll published on June 22 predicts strong support for a commuter rail line to the north of San Francisco. Residents in Marin and Sonoma counties would back a half-cent sales tax to fund the line.
- Los Angeles Metrolink was due to accept the first of 24 new Bombardier double-deck coaches by the end of July; they are more than four months late because of problems with the seat covers and foam filling, which SCRRA contended did not meet its flammability requirements. o
