Bayshore (Caltrain station)

Infobox Station
name=Bayshore Station


image_size=200
image_caption=The pedestrian bridge of the Bayshore station as limited-stop train flies by.
address=400 Tunnel Avenue,San Francisco
line=Caltrain
type=Commuter rail
other=
platform=
parking=Available
bicycle=Lockers available
passengers=171 [ [http://caltrain.com/caltrain_ridership_2007.html Caltrain.com - Ridership] ]
pass_year=2007
pass_percent=3.0
opened=
rebuilt=
ADA=Yes
code=
owned=Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
zone=Fare Zone 1

Bayshore Station is a Caltrain commuter rail station located in the Visitacion Valley District of San Francisco, California. Like most other Caltrain stations, it is not staffed with ticket personnel. Tickets are available from Caltrain ticket machines.

tation amenities

*Caltrain Ticket Machines
*Caltrain 10-Ride Ticket Validators
*Pedestrian walkway above tracks to cross to the opposite platform.

Track configuration

The station contains four tracks, two bypass rails in the middle and two side tracks on the left and right for trains stopping at the station. The two bypass tracks are designed for Baby Bullet trains, which do not stop at Bayshore. During commute hours on weekdays, Local and Limited Stop trains are held at Bayshore on the side tracks until the Baby Bullet passes on the bypass track. This is done because Baby Bullets often stop at further stations along the route before Local and Limited Stop trains, even if they depart San Francisco after the Local and Limited Stop trains. A fence in the middle of the four tracks prevents passengers from running across the four rails.

Unbuilt connection to Muni

Muni intended to establish another light rail connection to the Bayshore station at Visitacion Valley in southern San Francisco with its new Third Street light rail extension. However, during the CTX Project, the Bayshore station was moved from San Francisco down south to San Mateo County without informing Muni. To complicate matters, this connection has also been plagued by cost and design issues. The Third Street extension opened in early 2007 without the connection.

History

Bayshore Station was established by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1907 along the newly constructed Bayshore Cutoff. This rail line was built to create a faster and more direct route into San Francisco from the south. The railroad also planned to build an extensive terminal facility in Visitacion Valley that would serve as the primary maintenance and marshaling facility for the San Francisco Peninsula. Financial problems delayed completion of the project, and the 250 acre Bayshore rail yard and shops were not opened until 1918. The facility operated around the clock and employed over 1,000 workers.

The Bayshore shops were responsible for the maintenance of all of the locomotives assigned to the Southern Pacific's Coast Division which stretched south to Santa Barbara. By 1952, this was 133 steam engines, but by 1954, diesel-electric locomotives had become common enough that the Bayshore steam shops were closed. The roundhouse continued to service diesel locomotives, but the decline of industry and shipping in San Francisco and along the peninsula led to the closure of the yards in the early 1980s.

References

* [http://www.caltrain.com/caltrain_station_list.html Caltrain station list]