Caltrain Right of Way Purchase

The preservation and improvement of Caltrain holds the highest priority of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. Without Measure A funds, the commuter rail service that began in the 1860s could have disappeared into history in the early 1990s.

At a critical point in the transfer of Caltrain to the three-county Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, some $39.1 million in Measure A funds was made available to complete the funding needs for the purchase of the right of way in 1991. In so doing, the transportation authority helped establish a new life for the commuter railroad on the San Francisco Peninsula.

By the following summer, the JPB was in a position to take full responsibility for Caltrain, which has continued to grow in terms of service and ridership.

Breaking record after ridership record, Caltrain in 1997-98 rolled up its highest ridership since 1954, approaching the all-time highs of the World War II era.