S. F. AREA TRANSIT QUESTION

[al-in-chgo]

I'd like to visit San Francisco within a year and am fascinated by all that I am seeing of new rail transit, such as LRV's and CalTrain improvements, as compared to my last visit to Fat City in 1993. 

Is there -- either officially or thru fandom -- downloadable (or for sale and I'll pay) -- a map that shows in an integrated way all the rail transit options available in the area?  I'm particularly interested in S.F. and the Peninsula. 

Ideally it would integrate Muni Metro, CalTrains, LRV systems, BART and maybe the Amtrak California options thru Emeryville into a coherent whole.  I am very much a map-reader and some of these sites, while quite accessible, depend on bent-line schematics that I have very much trouble integrating into a coherent whole, or imposing upon a general map of the area. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks, al

 

[MP57313]

Al,

  I have yet to find what you are looking for - I think an integrated map would be overwhelming. But the VTA, which runs light rail and buses in the Mountain View / San Jose area, has an interactive map managed by Google which helps you do transit planning (i.e. it is geared toward transit, not driving).  You can find it at www.vta.org.  VTA has a cross-platform transfer to Caltrain at Mountain View; I haven't been up there since the southwest extension went in so I don't know how close it gets to San Jose Diridon station (Amtrak, Ace, CalTrain).

  other websites to local systems:

BART www.bart.gov

CalTrain  www.caltrain.com

ACE www.acerail.com  (runs mostly on freight-only ex-WP, San Jose-Stockton)

I don't have Muni's web address  

[al-in-chgo]

Al,

  I have yet to find what you are looking for - I think an integrated map would be overwhelming. But the VTA, which runs light rail and buses in the Mountain View / San Jose area, has an interactive map managed by Google which helps you do transit planning (i.e. it is geared toward transit, not driving).  You can find it at www.vta.org.  VTA has a cross-platform transfer to Caltrain at Mountain View; I haven't been up there since the southwest extension went in so I don't know how close it gets to San Jose Diridon station (Amtrak, Ace, CalTrain).

  other websites to local systems:

BART www.bart.gov

CalTrain  www.caltrain.com

ACE www.acerail.com  (runs mostly on freight-only ex-WP, San Jose-Stockton)

I don't have Muni's web address  

Thank you so much!  You have saved me a lot of Googling.

BTW I have found one Muni website -- sfmta dot com.  Site says it covers SFMTA and Muni.   

Cheers, Al

 

[al-in-chgo]

Al,

  I have yet to find what you are looking for - I think an integrated map would be overwhelming. But the VTA, which runs light rail and buses in the Mountain View / San Jose area, has an interactive map managed by Google which helps you do transit planning (i.e. it is geared toward transit, not driving).  You can find it at www.vta.org.  VTA has a cross-platform transfer to Caltrain at Mountain View; I haven't been up there since the southwest extension went in so I don't know how close it gets to San Jose Diridon station (Amtrak, Ace, CalTrain).

  other websites to local systems:

BART www.bart.gov

CalTrain  www.caltrain.com

ACE www.acerail.com  (runs mostly on freight-only ex-WP, San Jose-Stockton)

I don't have Muni's web address  

(above emphasis added)   Try sfmta dot com. 

 

[amsr]

I think I heard that they are talking about repairing the old dumbarton rail bridge and restarting commute train service from the east bay to the peninsula. Its the EX-SP line that comes from union city into Palo Alto. I think it would cut down on traffic as people commute a lot from the east bay to areas like sunnyvale, mountainview, etc.. for jobs in silicon valley.

http://www.smcta.com/Dumbarton_Rail/scoping_meeting/DRC_Scoping_Meetings_Presentation.pdf

http://www.bayrailalliance.org/dumbarton_rail

[al-in-chgo]

The sfmta dot com site was amazingly unhelpful to me.  What was stressed in Muni's dept. was new lines and that the map costs $3 but comes in four different covers.  I would gladly pay the three dollars plus post plus priority mail and shipping if someone were willing to mail it to me. 

I'll have to hand this to SEPTA -- they charge more than that for their maps (around $7 IIRC), but I could get one mailied ot me or in person at the SEPTA store. 

Surprisingly for a tourist mecca, S.F.'s Muni post struck me as remarkably unhelpful to tourists. 

 

[Kevin C. Smith]

Yes, there is-I'm away from home tonight so I don't have it in front of me but I just returned from my annual SF trip with my usual armload of maps & schedules. They do have a booklet that has all the public transportation maps in the Bay area. Schedules are another thing but there is contact information. The brochure shows everything from the Amtrak routes, Caltrains, etc. to the SF MUNI (bus and streetcar), BART and the various transit agencies in all the surrounding counties. It's a wealth of (route) information-I think it will be what you're looking for. I'll post more information tomorrow night after I get back.

[al-in-chgo]

Yes, there is-I'm away from home tonight so I don't have it in front of me but I just returned from my annual SF trip with my usual armload of maps & schedules. They do have a booklet that has all the public transportation maps in the Bay area. Schedules are another thing but there is contact information. The brochure shows everything from the Amtrak routes, Caltrains, etc. to the SF MUNI (bus and streetcar), BART and the various transit agencies in all the surrounding counties. It's a wealth of (route) information-I think it will be what you're looking for. I'll post more information tomorrow night after I get back.

 

Thus far the "all-purpose" transit map has been my holy grail.  Kevin, any info you can offer will be very greatly appreciated. 

 

[paulsafety]

Thus far the "all-purpose" transit map has been my holy grail.  Kevin, any info you can offer will be very greatly appreciated. 

Have you tried Amazon?

http://www.amazon.com/San-Francisco-Transit-David-Peckarsky/dp/0938011553/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211140886&sr=8-7

Product Description
Complete Muni system map, large-scale downtown map, regional rail & ferry services and Owl night services map. Muni cable cars, streetcars/ Muni Metro and buses. Regional transit, including BART, Amtrak® CA, ferries & CalTrain. Detailed inset map of BART extension to SFO Intn'l Airport.

Also, http://world.nycsubway.org/us/sf/ provides a nice overview with details such as route maps and track maps.

Also, http://transit.511.org/static/providers/maps/SF_7122007102947.gif

Also, http://www.sfcityscape.com/maps/bay_area_rail.html

Hopefully some of these will be helpful!

 

Paul

[al-in-chgo]

 

I deal with Amazon all the time; have two orders now for books and DVD's pending.  But it never occurred to me to buy a transit map online!     Thanks !  O Brave New World.

The embeds you gave me were great; very informative.

Thanks to all.  I am not totally perfectionist about making plans in advance, but it's comforting to know that we can go thisaway or thataway with some kind of public trans when the need comes.  The objective is to do as much as possible with flanged wheel-on-rail, anything that carries passengers. 

Thanks again, Al S.

 

[Kevin C. Smith]

Yes, there is-I'm away from home tonight so I don't have it in front of me but I just returned from my annual SF trip with my usual armload of maps & schedules. They do have a booklet that has all the public transportation maps in the Bay area. Schedules are another thing but there is contact information. The brochure shows everything from the Amtrak routes, Caltrains, etc. to the SF MUNI (bus and streetcar), BART and the various transit agencies in all the surrounding counties. It's a wealth of (route) information-I think it will be what you're looking for. I'll post more information tomorrow night after I get back.

 

Thus far the "all-purpose" transit map has been my holy grail.  Kevin, any info you can offer will be very greatly appreciated. 

 

Well, if I can get the link to post correctly, here goes...

http://www.511.org/ is the website for access to the transit agencies in the Bay Area. To order a copy of the guide (free!) click on the tab for "Transit" (never mind the drop down menu-just the tab), then scroll down the page to Announcements. There is a link to order the new guide.

Hope this works.

[al-in-chgo]

 

Can someone tell me why Emeryville and not Oakland is the end of the line for the California Zephyr?  And is there local or regional rail available at Emeryville? 

 

[paulsafety]

Can someone tell me why Emeryville and not Oakland is the end of the line for the California Zephyr?  And is there local or regional rail available at Emeryville? 

I couldn't tell you "why"; however, per Amtrak's site -- there is a bus connection to both Oakland and downtown San Fransisco.  Also, there's a free shuttle bus that connects the station with BART and other Emeryville businesses. 

Emeryville is a station on the "Capitol Corridor" (San Jose to Sacramento).  It is also serviced by San Joaquins and Coast Starlight.  

BART would enable you to get to Fremont for ACE (Altamont Commuter Express) and to San Fransisco for CALTrain and SF Muni (and the cable car musuem).

Don't forget NAPA Valley Wine Train if you can rent a car to get up there.  Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista is great for trolleys and Western Pacific artifacts. 

Paul F.

[oakmont59]

The best transit maps for SF MUNI are at the San Francisco Municpal Transit Agency website: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/official.htm.

As I remember, Emeryville became the end of line for the California Zephyr at a time when Amtrak was looking for a better connection from the East Bay for the buses to and from San Francisco going over the Bay Bridge. This may have been not long after the 1989 earthquake put the old SP station in Oakland permanently out of order. Oakland at the time didn't want to put out money for a new station; Emeryville did. Emeryville has a very close connection to the Bridge, probably less troublesome than connecting from the bridge to the Oakland station at Jack London Square. Oakland has since built a lovely new station, but a deal is a deal. Also, running an Amtrack train from Emeryville to Jack London Square involves, as I understand it, some single track running, and also some street running, plus a back up move later to get back to Amtrak yard tracks.

 That said, Jack London Square station is about 2 blocks from a lively night life/bookstore/marina district; during the day you can catch a ferry to and from San Francisco. Emeryville has some new commercial development around it, and maybe fewer homeless people hanging around late at night, but basically is much less interesting and lively than the Jack London Square district just north of the Oakland station. My wife and I went down to Jack London one evening to meet a nephew coming off the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles; the train was hours late, but we had a fine time in a Thai restaurant in a historic building, sitting in the lounge listening to a fellow singing 50's rock/pop songs.

[Anonymous]

Can someone tell me why Emeryville and not Oakland is the end of the line for the California Zephyr?  And is there local or regional rail available at Emeryville? 

 

The reason the Zephyr ends at Emeryville is that it is where Amtrak turns the train at. After they empty the train it gets run out to West Oakland to wash & service the train set. And then gets run over to Amtrak shop.

      The Capitol equipment(Amtrak California) sets are all push  pull sets & don't need to get turned.

          Don't quote me on this as I'm doing this from memory. And there are better sources out there.  Also its been many years since I paid close attention to the operation there.(and I don't live in CA anymore)

Rgds IGN