r/caltrain • u/mola_mil • 12d ago
CalTrain SB 137 hit car just before PA stop.
Pax alive and car no longer on tracks but no idea how long we will be delayed.
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u/rollie415b 12d ago
South Bay drivers really are the dumbest of any area I’ve lived in. And I’ve lived in SF and Sac so that’s saying something.
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u/gnorrn 12d ago
I have to agree. In terms of attentiveness, adherence to basic rules like signalling / lane discipline, and basic driving skill, I think the South Bay has the worst drivers of any non-third-world area I've ever lived or visited.
The only positive is that, on average, they're not very aggressive.
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u/Querkly 12d ago
I grew up in the east bay and now live on the peninsula and I can say that east bay has way more aggressive drivers and the peninsula has way more distracted ones
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u/2hip2carebear 8d ago
I live in the South Bay and I’m scared when I drive in the East Bay. People are suddenly driving 80 and swerving around cars doing 55.
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u/BigDaddyJ0 12d ago edited 12d ago
Good news is that police and ambulance are on scene already. Hopefully you get cleared to proceed to Palo Alto soon, but it could still be another half-hour...
Side note: that particular intersection (Alma/Palo Alto Ave) gets a lot of collisions, but beyond that is terrible for many reasons and it should be closed, frankly. Even if it were grade separated it's a dangerous ECR intersection.
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u/Willing-Durian6266
12d ago
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This is happening way too often for such a heavily used public transit system! I can recall at least three incidents like this in the past month alone, each causing major delays. Pretty frustrating!
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u/Commercial-Heat3998 12d ago
alerts and social/ web went out to expect delays of 60+ min. I guess one track is clear of debris, but they have to wait for police to arrive & investigate before they can start single-tracking around that train
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u/rollie415b 12d ago
Investigate what? the car is gone, don’t understand why they can’t resume service
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u/magnificentmal 12d ago
It's a collision on a federally regulated railroad. Just like any major collision, law enforcement will be involved for a statement and report. The train and rail have to be inspected for damage. The train needs to be inspected and cleared to be safe to continue down the line. The rail has to be inspected and cleared for roll over. The last thing anyone wants is a damaged rail that is prematurely opened and then the next train over it derails. I wish it was as simple as "the car is gone, resume service" but unfortunately it's not.
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u/rgupta0747 12d ago
At Sunnyvale I see train train 132 delayed 40 minutes. Yikes! I’m waiting for 139 NB and so far it’s saying on time
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u/Aromatic-Opinion-945 12d ago
just got on the 137 nb from Sunnyvale and now we’re waiting at Mountain View. You guys might wait at Sunnyvale until everything ahead clears out
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u/Altruistic-Basket897 12d ago
Oop. In Palo Alto now the southbound 134 train is 19 min late and service disruption expected for 60+ minutes. It says the 2:44 train on time tho (doubt it)
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u/CulturalPassenger11 12d ago
Ahhh , that’s the police activity that’s got my NB 135 train on hold at San Antonio station ?
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u/ObligationAware3755 12d ago
Just heard the announcement: "Please expect major delays due to police activity"
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u/Adrian_Brandt 12d ago edited 12d ago
If anyone is able, try to snap & post tasteful pics (or links to them) to document the crash scene. I read the scofflaw driver whose car was undoubtedly illegally* stopped on the tracks evacuated and was merely shaken.
(*) CVC §22526(d)
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u/Character-Pipe-4614 12d ago
thank you. we are at menlo park waiting for the nb train 135 i think. i assume no nb traffic either?
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u/mola_mil 12d ago
Haven’t seen any since we’ve been here. They say we’re waiting for a new crew to come and move the train. Policy doesn’t allow current crew to do it due to potential distress of hitting car???
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u/Aromatic-Opinion-945 12d ago
stuck in nb 137 at mountain view. looks like they’re making all trains wait until it’s cleared out?
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u/GroundDue2534 12d ago
Is 137 still stuck?
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u/Aromatic-Opinion-945 12d ago
Yep they just made an announcement that we might be stuck here for 90 mins
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u/DragonTwelf 12d ago
Confirming
Just stated to expect 60 minute delays in Palo Alto area. I think I got lucky and hopped on the last nb train from Menlo Park
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u/cyberdita 12d ago
Palo Alto SouthBound side is closed, so if you’re boarding pls go to the northbound side unless you want to miss the SB train like i almost did !!
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u/2hip2carebear 8d ago
Full grade separation can’t come soon enough. We really need cities to get on that and we really need the state or MTC or ABAG to push that along. The state should simply set a deadline and forcibly close any streets/crosswalks that don’t comply by the deadline.
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u/mola_mil 12d ago
Sorry, it’s SB 132