Caltrain is getting new management. According to Railway Age:

“Caltrain management on Thursday announced it has negotiated a proposed contract with TransitAmerica Services Inc. of St. Joseph, Mo., to operate the San Francisco-San Jose Peninsula commuter rail system and that it will recommend the contract for approval to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board at its Sept. 1 meeting.

Caltrain said the recommendation “is based on a competitive process that extended over more than 15 months and included detailed and expert evaluation of five proposals from top rail management firms.”

If this is approved, it ends a 20 year contract with Amtrak. It means a new management team will take over all the functions that Amtrak used to do. Those include daily staffing and operation of trains, inspection and maintenance of tracks, signaling and communications, station operation and everything else.

Source: Railway Age, Caltrain Looking To A New Operator, 18 Aug 2011