Northern California - cal train baby bullet from SF to SJ in the am??

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meeegun
01-16-10, 01:40 PM
hi

i am looking to take the cal train from the 4th&king station to diridon station in sj a couple of days a week for school. i currently ride a 98 bianchi eros, which is obviously not foldable. i was wondering if there was anyone in here who is a frequent rider on cal train who could give me a bit of advice. i want to catch the 859 bullet but i am concerned that i will end up missing my train if there is no space for my bike. is there anyone on here who routinely rides this train who can tell me if it is usually packed to the hilt with bikes? as the semester draws nearer i am trying to plan out my morning commute and knowing what to expect on this train would be helpful.

thanks

SlowRoller
02-01-10, 04:15 PM
If you are catching the train from 4th and King I would not anticipate any problems, particularly at that hour. I would suggest showing up about 15 minutes early for the first couple of commutes so you are assured a spot and get a feel for how crowded your train is with bike commuters. Some trains are more crowded than others. However, rarely do bikes get bumped at the 4th and King, which is the beginning of the line for south-bound Caltrains. Same advice goes for the reverse commute from Diridon to 4th and King. But again, Diridon is near the beginning of the line for north-bound trains. So, the train probably won't be at its bike capacity yet.
uspspro
02-02-10, 03:49 PM
If you are catching the train from 4th and King I would not anticipate any problems, particularly at that hour. I would suggest showing up about 15 minutes early for the first couple of commutes so you are assured a spot and get a feel for how crowded your train is with bike commuters. Some trains are more crowded than others. However, rarely do bikes get bumped at the 4th and King, which is the beginning of the line for south-bound Caltrains. Same advice goes for the reverse commute from Diridon to 4th and King. But again, Diridon is near the beginning of the line for north-bound trains. So, the train probably won't be at its bike capacity yet.

+1 to what SlowRoller said.

Also please put a tag on your bike saying: SF <-> SJ
So everyone knows where the bike is going.

Also do not put your bike on top of one that is getting off sooner than you. If there are no empty racks reshuffle the bikes so they are in the proper order for smooth egress at each stop.