(KCBS Radio) — Caltrain is planning another series of weekend service closures as part of its slowly progressing plan to electrify the train system.
Tunnel construction begins on Saturday, Feb. 22 and runs every weekend through Mar. 29. There will be no weekend train service to the 22nd Street or San Francisco stations during that period.
“This is the installation of the overhead contact system,” said Dan Lieberman, spokesman for Caltrain. “So this is a necessity to get the electrified fleet up and running.”
Trains will make last stops at the Bayshore station and the parking lot at Bayshore will be closed. From there, riders can transfer to a free SamTrans bus that will replace train service to the 22nd and San Francisco stations.
“We saw this last year – it led to about maybe an extra 10-20 minutes on the end of your ride, depending on traffic conditions,” said Lieberman.
The goal is to have the system’s electric fleet up and running by 2022.
As for the closures, Lieberman said there is one silver lining. “It’ll be done by Giants season.”