View source for Peninsula Commute

{{Short description|Passenger rail service between San Francisco and San Jose}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{hatnote|See [[Caltrain]] for the commuter rail service currently operating on the San Francisco Peninsula.}}
{{Infobox public transit
| box_width = 280px
| name = Peninsula Commute
| image = 2151 1196125200 - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg
| alt = West ([[rail directions|railroad north]]) of [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]], a [[Southern Pacific]] [[EMD SD9]] leads a two-car train before the [[Caltrain]] takeover
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = West ([[rail directions|railroad north]]) of [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]], a [[Southern Pacific]] [[EMD SD9E]] [[Southern Pacific 4451|#4451]] leads a two-car train before the [[Caltrain]] takeover
| image2 = 
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| owner = [[San Francisco & San Jose Railroad]] (1863–1870)<br />
                    [[Southern Pacific]] (1870–1980)
| area served = [[San Francisco Peninsula]]<br />[[Santa Clara Valley]]
| locale = [[San Francisco County, California|San Francisco]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]], and [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]]
| transit_type = [[Commuter rail]]
| lines = 1
| line_number = 
| stations = 32
| daily_ridership = 
| annual_ridership = 
| chief_executive = <!-- or | key_people = -->
| headquarters = 
| website = 
| began_operation = 1863
| operator = [[San Francisco & San Jose Railroad]] (1863–1870)<br />
                    [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific]] (1870–1980)<br />[[Amtrak]] (1978–1979)
| marks = 
| host = 
| character = commuter railroad with level crossings<br />partial service on freight lines
| vehicles = 
| train_length = 
| headway = 
| system_length = {{convert|50|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| notrack = 
| track_gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| minimum_radius_of_curvature = <!-- {{convert|0|ft|0|in|mm|0}} -->
| el = 
| average_speed = <!-- {{convert|0|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} -->
| top_speed = {{convert|79|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| map = {{Peninsula Commute route}}
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| map_state = collapsed
}}
The '''Peninsula Commute''', also known as the '''Southern Pacific Peninsula''' or just '''Peninsula''', was the common name for [[commuter rail]] service between [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] and [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] on the [[San Francisco Peninsula]]. This service ran as a private, for-profit enterprise beginning in 1863. Due to operating losses, the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]] (SP) petitioned to discontinue the service in 1977. Subsidies were provided through the [[California Department of Transportation]] (Caltrans) in 1980 to continue service, and it was renamed [[Caltrain]] in 1985.

==History==
Since 1863 the [[San Francisco Peninsula]], the series of towns (and later, cities) between [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], has been served by a railroad. The [[San Francisco and San Jose Railroad]] first provided freight and passenger service, followed by its successor, the Southern Pacific, and then briefly by the [[California Department of Transportation]] (Caltrans) and finally by a regional Joint Powers Board which runs today's passenger trains.

===San Francisco–San Jose Railroad===
{{main |San Francisco and San Jose Railroad}}

Although a line had been proposed in the past, construction on the railroad between [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] was started in 1860 "by a group of local capitalists of more than ordinary energy and resources" under the auspices of the [[San Francisco and San Jose Railroad]] (SF&SJ),<ref name="Daggett1922">{{harvnb|Daggett|1922|p=120}}</ref> and completed in 1863. The [[Central Pacific Railroad]] transferred its rights for the construction of the right-of-way between San Jose and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] to the [[Western Pacific Railroad (1862–70)|Western Pacific Railroad]] (WPRR, which was founded by the same members that had founded the SF&SJ) in late 1862. 

In December 1865, the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific Railroad Company]] (SP) was incorporated to build a rail line between San Francisco and [[San Diego, California|San Diego]].<ref name="Daggett1922" /> By the end of 1868, it was revealed the [[Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)|Big Four of the Central Pacific]] consisting of [[Leland Stanford|Stanford]], [[Collis Potter Huntington|Huntington]], [[Mark Hopkins, Jr.|Hopkins]], and [[Charles Crocker|Crocker]] had a controlling interest in the SF&SJ and SP, and the SF&SJ, SP, the [[Santa Clara and Pajaro Valley Railroad]], and the California Southern were folded into a consolidated Southern Pacific Railroad on October 12, 1870.<ref>{{harvnb|Daggett|1922|p=123}}</ref>

===Under Southern Pacific===
[[File:The Great Pleasure Route of the Pacific Coast Southern Pacific Railroad 1885.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Pictorial map of system in 1885]]

Under Southern Pacific the line was double tracked in 1904, and multiple cutoffs were built over a period ending in 1910.<ref name="ICC-DEIS" /> The first of these, the [[Bayshore Cutoff]], opened in 1907 and rerouted the line through a series of five tunnels built along the shoreline of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. This saved approximately three miles and seventeen minutes compared to the prior route,<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 August 1906 |title=Cuts Time Seventeen Minutes |volume=100 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=79 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19060818.2.55.25 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> which veered to the west around [[San Bruno Mountain]]. The Bayshore Cutoff also eliminated the use of helper engines to bring trains over the mountain. The second, the [[Mayfield Cutoff]], opened in 1908 to provide service to western [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara Valley]] cities such as [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]] and [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 1908 |title=Road completes new "Y" |volume=104 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=119 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19080927.2.173.9 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> The third, the [[Dumbarton Rail Bridge|Dumbarton Cutoff]], opened in 1910 and included the first bridge across the San Francisco Bay Area, between [[Newark, California|Newark]] and [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]], saving many miles to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] and Sacramento compared to the prior route through San Jose and [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]].

The [[Peninsula Electric Railroad]] was incorporated around the same time the Dumbarton Cutoff project was launched, and it was suspected that it was controlled by Southern Pacific in preparation for a quad-track expansion, as it was laying a route parallel with the Southern Pacific.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 1906 |title=Four Tracks for S. P. Company |volume=101 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=3 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19061203.2.64 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> As envisioned in 1909 from plans for the Peninsula Electric,<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 August 1909 |title=May Move Terminal Point to Palo Alto |volume=106 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=84 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19090823.2.43.24 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> SP announced that it would investigate the [[Caltrain Modernization Program|electrification of its Peninsula Commute line]] in September 1921, promising better and more frequent service.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 September 1921 |title=Electrifying of S.P. to be investigated |work=Sacramento Union |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SU19210907.2.139 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> Just a few days later, SP cited excessive post-war inflation, taxation, and competition from publicly funded highways as factors making electrification neither "practicable or desirable".<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 September 1921 |title=Not Practicable to Electrify Lines Down Peninsula—Sproule |work=Sacramento Union |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SU19210917.2.58 |access-date=27 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428052636/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SU19210917.2.58 |archive-date=28 April 2017}}</ref> Similarly, plans to eliminate all at-grade crossings were announced in 1909,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 August 1909 |title=Grade Crossings to be Abolished |volume=106 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=63 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19090802.2.66 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> but not carried to completion. As Southern Pacific's franchise to operate on 4th Street in San Jose was ending, it elected to build a diversion track to the west. This line forced a move for the city's passenger traffic to a [[San Jose Diridon station|new station at Cahill]], placing it one mile from downtown (whereas it had previously been a four-block distance).<ref name="mane-askmar">{{Askmar-Caltrain}}</ref> Passenger service along the [[Ocean View Branch]] ended after November 1928.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/150132636/ |title=Ocean View Train Suspension Approved |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=March 19, 1930 |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-recorder/150132600/ |title=Railroad Commission State of California |newspaper=The Recorder |date=October 26, 1928 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-gazette-the-peninsula-beacon/150132677/ |title=Colma Railway Loss Protested By Supervisors |newspaper=Times-Gazette |date=March 20, 1936 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

SP's Peninsula Commute experienced record ridership during [[World War II]]. During the war, 26 trains ran between San Jose and San Francisco per day, with headways as low as 5 minutes (traveling north) in the mornings and 3 minutes (traveling south) in the evenings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2 March 1942 |title=Changes in Commuter Trains Are Announced |work=San Jose Evening News |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dWsiAAAAIBAJ&pg=4272%2C5327 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> After the war, a May 1946 railroad strike displaced approximately 10,000 train passengers onto highways,<ref name=Lodi1946>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=18 May 1946 |title=S.F. Commuters Face Walking To The Office |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lB0_AAAAIBAJ&pg=3860%2C1153908 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> causing "historic" traffic jams along the [[Bayshore Freeway|Bayshore Highway]], with commute times for some automobile drivers to balloon from 30 minutes to 75 minutes going from [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]] to San Francisco, a distance of approximately {{convert|19|mi|km}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=22 May 1946 |title=Commuters In Peninsula Traffic Jam |work=Berkeley Daily Gazette |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QQ8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1152%2C2122457 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> In 1954, surveys comparing traffic on Bayshore Highway with train traffic concluded that just over half of all commuters to San Francisco passing through [[Brisbane, California|Brisbane]] were taking the train, and that eight more lanes would need to be added to the freeway to accommodate traffic if rail service were to stop suddenly.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://archive.org/details/southernpacificc2019cali |title=Southern Pacific Transportation Company: Investigation of Passenger Service, Peninsula Commute operations between San Francisco and San Jose |last=Gibson, James K. |last2=Peters, W. R. |date=20 January 1955 |publisher=California Public Utilities Commission; Transportation Division; Engineering Section; Construction, Maintenance and Service |pages=4–5 |quote=From an inspection of these figures it will be noted that an estimated 11,116 persons commute northward in private automobiles during the morning peak. Some 1,354 use the bus while some 12,825 persons take the train; or expressed in percentage, 44% commute by private automobile, 5.3% by bus and 50.7% by train. Returning southward during the p.m. peak 10,661 persons are estimated to use private automobiles, some 1,476 persons travel by bus, and 12,101 persons travel by train, the percentage distribution for the southward move being by private automobile 44%, bus 6.1% and train 49.9%. |last3=Getchel, M. E. |access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

However, in the period after the war, Peninsula roads were improved; the four-lane undivided Bayshore Highway (completed in 1925) was rebuilt into a six-lane divided freeway between 1949 and 1962, and [[Interstate 280 (California)|Interstate 280]] was completed in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hayler |first=R.A. |date=September–October 1964 |title=Interstate 280: Design of New Freeway Stresses Aesthetics |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/Californiahighways/chpw_1964_sepoct.pdf |journal=California Highways and Public Works |publisher=Division of Highways, Department of Public Works, State of California |volume=43 |pages=33–41 |access-date=7 July 2016 |quote=Construction of this route has already begun. In fact, the first completed portion in San Jose was opened to traffic on March 16, 1964. Other contracts are underway with more coming soon–so soon that the entire 50 miles of freeway are scheduled to be either in operation or under construction in the next five years. |number=9–10}}</ref><!--Arguably, you could say that I-280 still isn't complete, as the northernmost routing (where it is planned to connect to I-80) was never finished.--> Train ridership declined with the rise of automobile use, falling from a peak of 9.2&nbsp;million annual boardings in 1954 (approximately 16,000 weekday riders) to 4.4&nbsp;million in 1977 (approximately 7,000 weekday riders).<ref name="DeMoss-26" /><ref name="SPUR15">{{Cite web |last=Amin, Ratna |last2=Pugh, Graham |date=28 October 2015 |title=Will Rail Rule the Bay Area Peninsula Corridor Again? |url=http://www.spur.org/news/2015-10-28/will-rail-rule-bay-area-peninsula-corridor-again |access-date=26 April 2017 |publisher=SPUR: San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association}}</ref><ref name="JCMT82">{{Cite report |url=http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=caldocs_joint_committees |title=Hearing on Review of the Peninsula Commute Service |date=6 August 1982 |publisher=Joint Committee on Mass Transit, Assembly of the State of California |access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> Service to Los Gatos ended in 1959; the railroad noted the ease of reaching Vasona, the new end of the line, via automobile.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daily Palo Alto Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-sp-to-abando/154542248/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |agency=The Peninsula Times Tribune |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=January 2, 1959 |location=Palo Alto, California |page=10}}</ref> The Mayfield Branch saw its last service in 1964, with its right of way reused in construction of the [[Foothill Expressway]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Tracks, but no trains |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-tracks-but/154540214/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |newspaper=The Palo Alto Times |via=Newspapers.com |date=January 28, 1964 |location=Palo Alto, California |page=1}} {{free access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='06 earthquake debris turns up |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-06-earthqua/154540884/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |newspaper=The Palo Alto Times |via=Newspapers.com |date=January 25, 1966 |location=Palo Alto, California}} {{free access}}</ref>

[[File:Peninsula Commute Map (1955).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Map of system in 1955, drawn by the [[California Public Utilities Commission|CPUC]]]]
During peak hours in 1975, Peninsula Commute trains operated with headways as low as three or four minutes; however, with skip-stop and express train service patterns, the minimum wait for riders at a given station would be ten minutes.<ref name="PERSUS" /> During off-peak hours that same year, service frequencies dropped to longer than two hours between trains.<ref name="PERSUS" />

On several occasions during the 1960s and 1970s, SP attempted to discontinue the commute service due to increasing deficits and stagnant ridership. Ridership was 11,500 daily passengers on 22 trains in 1970,<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=10 December 1970 |title=Rail strike: Almost everybody is touched |work=Boca Raton News |agency=United Press International |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OfVTAAAAIBAJ&pg=5766%2C4078712 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> compared to 12,000 daily passengers in 1967<ref name=Lodi1967 /> and 10,000 daily passengers in 1946.<ref name=Lodi1946 /> The sole daily commute train which utilized the Mayfield Cutoff between [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] and Vasona was discontinued in 1964 with the construction of the Foothill Expressway.<ref name=Buchanan23>{{cite news |last1=Buchanan |first1=Bill |title=Buried train tracks once linking San Francisco with San Jose may find new life |url=https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/bay-area-train-tracks-new-purpose-vta-18457522.php |access-date=1 November 2023 |agency=SF Gate |date=1 November 2023}}</ref> In 1971, when [[Amtrak]] took over long distance passenger operations, Southern Pacific's extended commute train to [[Monterey, California|Monterey]], the "[[Del Monte (train)|Del Monte]]", was discontinued. Some SP passenger locomotives were sold to [[Amtrak]] and the remainder were transferred to Peninsula Commute service, which continued to operate. In 1975, the [[Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area)|Metropolitan Transportation Commission]] (MTC) published the ''Feasibility of Upgrading Peninsula Passenger Rail Service'' (''PERSUS'') report.<ref name="PERSUS">{{Cite report |url=https://archive.org/details/feasibilityofupg1975cali |title=The Feasibility of Upgrading Peninsula Passenger Rail Service |date=1975 |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Commission |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> ''PERSUS'' concluded the Peninsula Commute was underutilized and proposed a minor upgrade to improve service (and ridership), or major upgrades to extend service to [[Financial District (San Francisco)|downtown San Francisco]], either by connecting with [[Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]] in [[Daly City, California|Daly City]], or by extending the SP terminus to the [[Transbay Terminal]]; the ultimate goal was to remodel the service to be closer to transit than commuter rail, which entailed a reduction in headways so that passengers would have to wait less than fifteen minutes between trains during weekday daylight hours.<ref name="PERSUS" />

[[File:Amtrak 712 with a Peninsula Commute train, October 1978.jpg|thumb|right|In 1978/79, SP leased several [[GE P30CH]]s from [[Amtrak]] to operate the Peninsula Commute. {{cals|4th and King}} (October, 1978)]]

However, by that time the Peninsula Commute was no longer profitable: operating deficits were rising, from {{US$|670000|1964|round=-3}} in 1964 to over {{US$|1000000|1968|round=-4}} by 1968, {{US$|5300000|1975|round=-4}} by 1975, and {{US$|9000000|1976|round=-4}} just one year later in 1976 according to an independent review,<ref name="Hofsommer">{{harvnb|Hofsommer|1986|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BsRvIUwLwFwC&pg=PA287 287] }}</ref> which prompted SP to petition the [[California Public Utilities Commission]] (CPUC) for a fare increase of 111 percent in August 1974, as fares had increased minimally<ref>{{harvnb|Hofsommer|1986|p=287 }}:<br/>"round trip fare from San Francisco to San Jose was {{US$|1.75|1948|round=2}} in 1948, only {{US$|3.10|1967|round=2}} in 1967"</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=16 September 1970 |title=10 Per Cent Rail Discount Okayed In State |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GSc_AAAAIBAJ&pg=3851%2C6197327 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> and ridership, approximately 12,000 passengers per day in 1967<ref name=Lodi1967>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=13 March 1967 |title=Court Order Halts 14-Hour S.P. Walkout |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=abUzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5096%2C5480062 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> remained flat, despite the fuel crisis.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=29 November 1973 |title=Americans Turn to Rails in Fuel Crisis |work=The Milwaukee Journal |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3FA0AAAAIBAJ&pg=7008%2C6045150 |access-date=7 July 2016 |quote=Among lines reporting insignificant differences in passenger volume were the Penn Central Lines radiating from New York City, the Long Island Railroad, the Erie-Lackawanna Railway and the Southern Pacific, which operates commuter trains on the San Francisco peninsula.}}</ref> The CPUC authorized a 25% increase in fares in a 3–2 vote on July&nbsp;12, 1977, effective August 1977.<ref name="DeMoss-26" /> Because the CPUC decision process was so slow, SP President [[Benjamin Biaggini]] offered to purchase 1,000 eight-passenger vans and donate them for vanpools in exchange for permanently discontinuing the Peninsula Commute service.<ref name=Buchanan23 /><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1 September 1976 |title=Rail riders not wanted |work=The Spokesman-Review |agency=AP |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ByFOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6757%2C304730 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1 September 1976 |title=Railroad Makes Deal To Quit |work=Sarasota Journal |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kYI0AAAAIBAJ&pg=3277%2C79959 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1 September 1976 |title=Commuters Are Bad Business: Railroad Offers Free Vans To Lose Passengers; Would Give Away 1,000 Vehicles To Pool Rides |work=Toledo Blade |agency=AP |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oz0xAAAAIBAJ&pg=1738%2C308717 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> 

{{quote |text=The strange result in the decision of the majority is a travesty of justice. Ironically, it is so bad it is likely to even jeopardize the interest of the one group who seems to benefit, that is the present SP commuters who are being so heavily subsidized by others. Danger to commute interest comes from the real possibility that the [[Interstate Commerce Commission|ICC]] may require abandonment of train commute service because it finds the present intolerable situation constitutes an undue burden on interstate commerce. From our involvement in the case we have seen nothing that could be used to prove that the ICC is wrong in taking this unfortunate action. |author=Dissenting commissioners |source=July 12, 1977 CPUC 25% fare increase ruling<ref>DeMoss, Alan, quoting CPUC decision {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|p=31}}</ref>}}

On May 6, 1977, SP formally filed a petition with the CPUC (Application No. 57289) to discontinue the commuter operation due to ongoing losses.<ref name="ICC-DEIS" /><ref name="ACT77">{{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977}}</ref> At that time, SP was running 44 trains a day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2 June 1978 |title=California discovers the train |work=Star-News |agency=NY Times News Service |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yrksAAAAIBAJ&pg=5627%2C390163 |access-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> The petition was opposed by regional transit agencies, including the MTC, who passed Resolution No. 479 to request the CPUC deny the SP petition.<ref name="Beckett811" /> On October 17, 1977, the administrative law judge issued an order asking "Who will pay the cost of this regional insurance against the uncertainties of tomorrow? In the interim period, CALTRANS, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the three counties involved are directed to meet, consult, and plan toward whether they will be willing to obtain funds under the provisions of the [[Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1970|Urban Mass Transportation Act]] and their own resources to meet the operating deficit of Southern Pacific's commute and transit operations."<ref name="Beckett12">Beckett, John in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|p=12}}</ref> 

Since the CPUC had not taken action on the petition 120 days after the filing, SP filed another petition to discontinue service with the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC) on November 17, 1977.<ref name="ICC-DEIS" /><ref name="ACT77" /> Although the CPUC denied the SP application on April 19, 1978, jurisdiction had already passed to ICC.<ref name="ICC-DEIS" />

===State administration and Caltrain===
{{main |Caltrain}}

[[File:SP commuter train at 22nd Street station (2), April 1985.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Last days of SP equipment, including these "Suburban" single-level coaches at {{cals|22nd Street}} (April 1985)]]

In response to the CPUC petition, Assemblymember [[Lou Papan]] wrote Assembly Bill 1853, which allowed local transit districts served by the Peninsula Commute to purchase tickets from SP at face value and sell them to riders at a discount, subsidizing passengers.<ref name="AB1853">{{cite California statute |year=1977 |chapter=1216 |page=4093 |title=An act to add and repeal Section 26002.5 of the Government Code, to amend Section 483 of the Penal Code, and to amend Sections 522 and 99260.5 of, to add Sections 707 and 99234.7 to, and to add and repeal Section 99151 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation, and making an appropriation therefor.}}</ref> AB 1853 also allowed the [[California Department of Transportation]] (Caltrans) to negotiate with SP for operation of the commuter rail service and the purchase of the right-of-way between Daly City and [[San Bruno, California|San Bruno]], which had only seen occasional freight traffic since the completion of the Bayshore Cutoff in 1907.<ref name="AB1853" /> Preservation of rail service was seen as critical to ensuring traffic would continue to flow, as both the Bayshore Freeway and I-280 were nearing capacity; and to preserve air quality in the region.<ref name="ACT77" /> The right-of-way between Daly City and San Bruno was seen as key to a planned [[History of Bay Area Rapid Transit#San Francisco International Airport extension (1984–2003)|extension of BART]] to [[San Francisco International Airport]],<ref name="ACT77" /> an extension that eventually opened in 2003.

The recommendations of the 1977 ''Peninsula Transit Alternatives Project'' (''PENTAP'') Report (mandated by the Legislature in 1975 by SB 283)<ref name="SB283">{{cite California statute |year=1975 |chapter=1130 |page=2781 |title=An act to amend Section 29140.6 of, and to add Section 99233.9 to, the Public Utilities Code, to amend Section 7102 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 2540) to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation, and making an appropriation therefor. |quote=SEC. 14. (a) The Metropolitan Transportation Commission shall conduct a study on alternative forms of transit development within the West Bay Corridor in the San Francisco Bay area.}}</ref> were used to draft AB 1853.<ref name="Beckett811">Beckett, John in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|pp=8–11}}</ref> ''PENTAP'' recommended that train and bus service be improved, fixed rail transit facilities be better utilized in the near future, and facilities and options should be preserved for long-range expansion and modernization.<ref name="Beckett811" /> MTC passed Resolution No. 411 in 1977, proposing a three-phased approach:<ref name="Beckett811" />
# Maintain existing service levels, by subsidizing passenger fares and improving the SP interface with [[San Francisco Municipal Railway|MUNI]]
# Improve service levels and standards, by entering into a "purchase of service" contract with a rail operator (SP) and defining service based on regional transit requirements, not operator needs or profits
# Expand rail service

In a December 1977 public hearing before the Assembly Committee on Transportation held in San Jose, SP executive Alan DeMoss testified that "rail commute service should no longer be cross-subsidized by other railroad activities"<ref name="DeMoss-26">DeMoss, Alan in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|pp=26–27}}</ref> and offered $8&nbsp;million to help purchase buses to replace the service.<ref name="DeMoss-42">DeMoss, Alan in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|pp=42–43}}</ref> However, both samTrans and the Santa Clara County Transit District stated they would not be able to operate that bus service; it was estimated that a fleet of 122 buses would be required, arriving and departing from San Francisco every 35 to 50 seconds.<ref name="ICC-DEIS">{{Cite report |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011420501 |title=Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Finance Docket 28611: Southern Pacific Transportation Company To Discontinue the Operation of Passenger Trains Between San Francisco and San Jose and Intermediate Points |publisher=Interstate Commerce Commission |date=14 July 1978 |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> Testifying later at that same hearing, [[SamTrans]] chair John Mauro pointed out that since the inception of the [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]] bus service in 1975, service to San Francisco was purposely crippled in speed to avoid competing with the rail service.<ref name="Mauro-79">Mauro, John in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|pp=79–82}}</ref> Mauro had previously tried to negotiate with SP to enter a "purchase of service" contract in March 1976, but SP refused to accept a direct subsidy, which led to the passenger fare subsidy instead.<ref name="Mauro-79" /> During that hearing, the committee chair, Walter Ingalls, stated bluntly the state was not "going to authorize either SamTrans or [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] or [[San Francisco County, California|San Francisco County]] or any of the three to buy and operate a railroad. [...] No one's going to offer to buy your railroad."<ref name="DeMoss-42" /> SP had previously offered to sell MTC a single track along the right-of-way between San Bruno and San Jose in December 1975, which could have been used to extend BART, but the offer was not taken.<ref name="DeMoss-45">DeMoss, Alan in {{harvnb|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977|p=45}}</ref> 

Ridership increased during 1979 and 1980, aided by the gasoline crisis and fare subsidies;<ref name="JCMT82" /> the Peninsula Commute was so sensitive to gasoline prices that ridership jumped by 40% in May and June 1979.<ref name=SJR25>{{cite California statute |year=1979 |chapter=101 |res=true |page=4916 |title=Senate Joint Resolution No. 25—Relative to Southern Pacific Transportation Company's San Francisco Peninsula commuter service |quote=WHEREAS, On July 6, 1979, an administrative law judge of the commission issued a preliminary affirmative ruling on this petition, and this ruling will become effective unless overturned by the commission or unless local public transit agencies within six months can negotiate a contract for service with Southern Pacific providing for reimbursement of its fully allocated operating deficit of $11.6&nbsp;million; and [...]<br/>{{pad|1.0em}}WHEREAS, The present gasoline shortage has resulted in a 40 percent increase in ridership on this commuter rail service during May and June 1979, and discontinuance of this vital transportation service would be inconsistent with federal energy conservation policies; and [...]}}</ref> SP's ICC petition received a preliminary affirmative ruling from the administrative law judge in July 1979.<ref name=SJR25 /> To preserve the commuter service, Caltrans took over financial responsibility on {{start date|1980|07|01}}, and contracted with SP to operate the service.<ref name="SB654">{{cite California statute |year=1980 |chapter=568 |page=1556 |title=An act to amend Sections 14035 and 14035.5 of, and to add Sections 14035.6 and 14035.65 to, the Government Code, relating to intermodal terminal facilities.}}</ref> In the first fiscal year, covering 1980–81, operating costs were $19.33&nbsp;million and fare revenue was $7.81&nbsp;million, resulting in a [[farebox recovery ratio]] of 43%. The deficit was covered by a mix of Urban Mass Transportation Act funds ($2&nbsp;million), contributions from SP ($400,000), and the state and three counties served ($4.56&nbsp;million each).<ref name="JCMT82" /> During state administration, Caltrans purchased new locomotives and cars that replaced the SP equipment in 1985 and provided push-pull service (removing the need to turn locomotives around at terminals), upgraded stations, introduced shuttle buses to nearby employers, and renamed the operation [[Caltrain]]. Southern Pacific continued to operate the service under contract to Caltrans. However, ridership continued to decline and the farebox recovery ratio fell to 34.3% in the 1983–84 fiscal year,<ref name="CTC85" /> which violated the minimum of 40% set by AB 1010 in 1982.<ref name="AB1010">{{cite California statute |year=1981 |chapter=1183 |page=4769 |title=An act to amend Sections 14000.5 and 14038 of, to amend and renumber Section 14036 of, to add Sections 14031.6, 14031.7, 14031.8, 14031.9, 14031.10, 14034, 14035.3, 14036, 14038.5, and 14538 to, and to repeal and add Section 14035 of, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 707, 99313, and 99316.5 of, to add Sections 708, 730.7, and 763.1 to, and to repeal Section 99318.5 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation. |quote=14031.9. (b) Any existing commuter service funded under Section 14031.6 shall be eligible for those funds, commencing with the 1984–85 fiscal year, only if it maintains a ratio of fare revenues to operating costs of at least 40 percent during the previous year of operation.}}</ref>

[[File:Caltrain-Southern Pacific Commuter Trains by Roger Puta (30824831575).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Changing of the guard: SP No. 3199 leads Caltrain No. 903 out of {{cals|San Francisco}} (August 1985)]]

By 1988, the service was the only operating commuter rail in California.<ref>{{CA-Rail Passenger Development Plan-1988}}</ref> The state felt that regional control of the Peninsula Commute was more appropriate, as it was primarily a benefit to the region, not the state.<ref name="CTC85">{{Cite report |url=http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/1985/01_85_intercity_and_commuter_rail_services_in_california.pdf |title=Intercity and Commuter Rail Services in California |date=January 1985 |publisher=California Transportation Commission |access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> Thus, the Peninsula Corridor right-of-way was purchased for {{US$|202000000|1991|round=-5}} from SP in 1991 by the newly formed [[Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board]] (PCJPB),<ref name=samTrans-PCJPB>{{Cite report |url=https://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2004/SamTrans%20vers%203.0_final.pdf |title=San Mateo County Transit District Contribution to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board |last=Grand Jury |date=2005 |publisher=Superior Court of San Mateo County |quote=In December 1991, San Mateo County Transit District, the City and County of San Francisco, and the Santa Clara County Transit District (the member agencies) established the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Joint Powers Board) to operate commuter trains using the Southern Pacific Right of Way in the three counties. The purchase price of the Right of Way was $202 million. Through a bond issue, the State of California contributed $120 million. Payment of the balance was allocated by the Joint Powers Board among the three member agencies based on a mileage formula. San Mateo's share was $39.1 million (47.7 %), Santa Clara's share was $34.6 million (42.2%), and San Francisco's share was $8.3 million (10.1%).<br/>Due to the lack of funds from San Francisco and Santa Clara Counties at the time the agreement was signed, San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) agreed to contribute Santa Clara's and San Francisco's shares in order to insure [sic] acquisition of the Right of Way. All parties to the agreement understood that neither San Francisco nor Santa Clara had any legally enforceable obligation to repay the contribution. Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties may at their election undertake good faith efforts to repay the contribution in a lump sum or through a repayment schedule. |access-date=6 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129193423/http://sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2004/SamTrans%20vers%203.0_final.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> who subsequently assumed responsibility for the operation of Caltrain in 1992. The PCJB then contracted operations to [[Amtrak]], ending 122 years of operation by Southern Pacific. [[TransitAmerica Services]] took over operations in 2012.

==Rolling stock==
SP took over the Peninsula Corridor route from the SF&SJ in 1870 and assumed control of the existing set of locomotives and passenger cars, which were mainly [[4-4-0]] steam engines and 36-passenger wooden railcars. As SP began introducing diesel locomotives on its long-distance ([[Main line (railway)|main-line]]) routes, steam engines were moved into Peninsula Commute service, culminating in the use of [[Southern Pacific class GS-1|the large "General Service"]] [[4-8-4]] locomotives which served the Peninsula Corridor through 1957. Diesel-electric [[Fairbanks-Morse]] Train Masters had been running in Peninsula Commute service since 1954. Fairbanks-Morse and, later, EMD diesels served the Peninsula Commute past 1980, when the state-run CalTrain began assuming financial responsibility for the service, and were not retired until 1985, when the state purchased new [[EMD F40PH]] locomotives. One of the factors driving the purchase of new locomotives was the dramatic increase in annual lease costs in 1985.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster" />

===Locomotives===
;Steam
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size: 120%;" |'''Steam locomotives of the Peninsula Commute'''<ref name="IronHorse99">{{Cite magazine |last=Douglas |first=Don |date=November 1999 |title=Southern Pacific Commute Trains in the Steam Era |url=http://s412909226.onlinehome.us/KPRMS/nrhs/SP_commute_steam/SPSteam.htm |url-status=live |magazine=The Ferroequinologist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020821013225/http://www5.pair.com/rattenne/nrhs/SP_commute_steam/SPSteam.htm |archive-date=21 August 2002 |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref>
|-
! Builder !! Model/Class !! Locomotive Numbers !! Years of Service !! Notes !! Photograph
|-
| Various
| [[4-4-0]]<br/>"Eight Wheel" or "American"
|
| 1870-1900s
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |
|
|-
| Various
| [[2-6-0]]<br/>"Mogul"
|
| 1870-1900s
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |
|
|-
| Various
| [[4-4-2 (locomotive)|4-4-2]]<br/>"Atlantic"
|
| 1870-1900s
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |
|
|-
| Various
| [[4-6-0]]<br />"Ten Wheel"
|
| {{circa|1900s-1950s}}
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |
|
|-
| American Locomotive Company
| rowspan=2|[[4-6-2]]<br />"Pacific" 
| 2400–2404
| rowspan=2|{{circa|1923/24}}–1954
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Built 1904; displaced from main-line passenger service by 4-8-2 locomotives.
| rowspan=2|[[File:SP Steam locomotive 2479.JPG|100px]]
|-
| Baldwin
| 2405–2427
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Built 1906–1907; displaced from main-line passenger service by 4-8-2 locomotives.
|-
| Schenectady
| [[4-8-2]]<br />"Mountain"
| 4300–4327
| {{circa|1945}}–1954
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Built 1923–1924; displaced from main-line passenger service by 4-8-4.
| [[File:USA 024 Oakland 3.jpg|100px]]
|-
| Baldwin
| [[4-8-4]]<br/>[[Southern Pacific class GS-1|GS-1]]
| 4400–4409
| rowspan=3|{{circa|1950}}–1957
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |"General Service" or "Golden State" class built 1930; displaced from main-line passenger service by diesel-electric locomotives.
|
|-
| Lima
| [[4-8-4]]<br/>[[Southern Pacific class GS-2|GS-2]] thru [[Southern Pacific class GS-6|GS-6]]
| 4410–4469
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Built starting 1937
| [[File:2472 4449 july 1992x - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|100px]]
|}
With population (and ridership) growth on the Peninsula, the initial mix of [[4-4-0]], [[2-6-0]], and [[4-4-2 (locomotive)|4-4-2]] locomotives were replaced by [[4-6-0]]s.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> Older locomotives were redesignated to Commute service after they were displaced by newer locomotives assuming main-line (long-distance, inter-city) passenger service. Pacific-type [[4-6-2]]s were used on peak-hour commutes by the 1930s and 1940s, displacing 4-6-0s, and more 4-6-2s were made available for the Commute by the introduction of [[4-8-2]]s in main-line service; by 1945, the 4-8-2s were displacing 4-6-2s on peak-hour trains, 4-6-2s were moved to off-peak service, and 4-6-0s were used on weekend trains.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> By the early 1950s, peak-hour trains were pulling up to seventeen cars in a single consist, requiring the use of the "General Service" class [[4-8-4]]s.<ref name="IronHorse99" />

After gaining experience with diesel engines in main-line service, SP began testing various diesel locomotives for the Peninsula Commute, finally selecting the Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 "Train Master" because the relatively short distance between stations meant acceleration (and power) was the paramount priority.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> The final steam-led Peninsula Commute train departed San Francisco for San Jose on January 22, 1957, led by 4-8-4 No. 4430.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> However, [[Southern Pacific 2472|4-6-2 No. 2472]] was moved from San Francisco to San Jose at the head of Caltrain #74 on December 16, 1994; #2472 was to lead a special charity excursion train back to San Francisco the next day. While coupled to Caltrain #74, though, #2472 was used to help accelerate the train out of each station, so it was not just a cosmetic appearance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=W.O. |title=The Last Steam-Powered "Peninsula Commute" |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/steam/2472/caltrain74.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |website=Wx4's Dome of Foam}}</ref> #2472 has since been used occasionally along the Peninsula Corridor for special service, but not while providing revenue passenger service.

;Diesel
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size: 120%;" |'''Diesel locomotives of the Peninsula Commute'''<ref name="IronHorse99" /><ref name="DieselEra">{{Cite news |last=Percy |first=Richard A. |date=2007 |title=Southern Pacific Commute Trains in the Diesel Era |publisher=Espee Railfan |url=http://espee.railfan.net/commute_cars.html |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref>
|-
! Builder !! Model !! Locomotive Numbers !! Years of Service !! Notes !! Photograph
|-
| [[Electro-Motive Diesel|EMD]]
| [[EMD GP9]]
| 3186–3196
| 1954–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Initially built as 5600–5603, 5622–5625, 5893–5895; renumbered to 3000–3010 in 1965-66; renumbered to 3186–3196 in 1975. Reverted to SP control in 1985 after lease expired.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster">{{Cite web |date=1980 |title=Southern Pacific's Final Peninsula Commute Fleet Roster |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/locos/commute1980equipt/1980roster.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Southern Pacific}}</ref> At least two survived: [[Southern Pacific 5623|5623]] and [[Southern Pacific 3194|3194]].
| [[File:CalTrain's Experimental Paint Scheme Was Only on GP9E 3187 (30588506922).jpg|100px]]<br/>1982 "Rainbow" scheme
|-
| [[Fairbanks Morse]]
| [[FM H-24-66]]
| 3020–3035
| 1954–1975
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Delivered as 4800–4815; 4800 and 4801 were the F-M "western" demonstrators TM-3 and TM-4. Renumbered to 3020–3035 in 1966. All retired and scrapped once major rebuilds were required.
| [[File:3021 with Tr144 track 14 Nov1972RP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Electro-Motive Diesel|EMD]]
| [[EMD SDP45]]
| 3200–3209
| 1971–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Moved from long-distance (inter-city) service after Amtrak takeover in 1971. Replaced F-M H-24-66 as they were retired. Pulled from duty in 1978–79. Reverted to SP control in 1985.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster" />
| [[File:SP 3209 South of Curtner Feb 71xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Electro-Motive Diesel|EMD]]
| [[EMD SD9]]/[[EMD SD9E]]
| [[Southern Pacific 4450|4450 ''Huff'']] and [[Southern Pacific 4451|4451 ''Puff'']]
| 1973/74–85
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |[[Southern Pacific 4450|4450]] was scrapped at the [[Western Pacific Railroad Museum]] in [[Portola, California]], after featuring for years in the collection of the [[Golden Gate Railroad Museum|Golden Gate Railway Museum]]. [[Southern Pacific 4451|4451]] still survives in 2017, in derelict condition, at [[Schellville, California]].
| [[File:Around Southern Pacific's San Francisco Terminal in March 1985 -- 9 Photos (30665551270).jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[Electro-Motive Diesel|EMD]]
| [[EMD GP40P-2]]
| 3197-3199
| 1974–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Supplemented SDP45s. Reverted to SP control in 1985.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster" /> Rebuilt as GP40-2 to remove steam generators for passenger car heating once leases reverted to SP. Currently in service: [[Union Pacific]] 1373, 1375; [[Indiana Harbor Belt]] 4010.
| [[File:Caltrain-Southern Pacific Commuter Trains by Roger Puta (30824828575).jpg|100px]]
|-
| [[GE Transportation Systems]]
| [[GE P30CH]]
| Amtrak 7xx (15 total)
| 1978–79
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Leased to SP for 1978–79 after SP SDP45s were pulled from passenger service under an ICC order to return offline freight cars.<ref name="prn1978">{{Cite magazine |date=July 1978 |title=Amtrak GEs Take over Espee Commuter Work |url=http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/742/49174/july-1978-page-12 |magazine=[[Pacific RailNews]] |volume=18 |issue=7 |pages=12–13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912165258/http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/742/49174/july-1978-page-12 |archive-date=2014-09-12}}</ref>
| [[File:AMTK 700 with subs Aug 78cz.jpg|100px]]
|}
The first diesel on the Peninsula Commute ran on September 28, 1953, using SP Locomotive No. 5325, an [[EMD SD7]] equipped with a steam boiler; it left the shortly thereafter, as the SD7 was unable to match the performance of the 4-6-2 steam locomotives then being used for off-peak and weekend service.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> 

SP began testing Fairbanks-Morse (F-M) [[FM H-24-66|"Train Master" H-24-66 locomotives]] in late 1953, and purchased two of the four demonstrator models for use on the Peninsula Commute service.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> Because the existing "Suburban" and "Harriman" passenger cars then prevalent in the fleet took steam heat from the locomotive boiler, SP passenger diesel engines were equipped with [[steam generator (railroad)|steam generators]]. The diesel era of the Peninsula Commute began on August 25, 1954, when two Train Masters went into test service. The Train Masters, which used the unique [[Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engine|opposed-piston two-stroke 38 8-1/8 prime mover]] developed by F-M for American diesel-electric submarines in World War II, were the most powerful diesel-electric locomotives available at a nominal {{convert|2400|hp|kW|abbr=on}}, and had performance comparable to the 4-8-4s for peak service: while the starting [[tractive effort]] of the "General Service" class 4-8-4 ranged from {{convert|63230|to|66330|lbf|kN|abbr=on}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Golden State Class |url=http://www.steamlocomotive.com/northern/?page=sp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230050634/http://www.steamlocomotive.com/northern/?page=sp |archive-date=30 December 2010 |access-date=28 April 2017 |website=Steam Locomotive}}</ref> the Train Master was rated at {{convert|79500|lbf|kN|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FM H24-66 |url=https://www.thedieselshop.us/Data%20FM%20H24-66.HTML |access-date=28 April 2017 |website=The Diesel Shop US}}</ref>

[[File:SP 3195 at San Jose with F40xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|thumb|right|SP No. 3195 (GP9) running in tandem with Caltrain No. 911 (F40PH) in August 1985]]

The Train Masters were complemented by a fleet of [[EMD GP9]]s fitted with steam generators; while peak-hour trains required one Train Master or two GP9s, off-peak and weekend trains could more economically use a single GP9.<ref name="IronHorse99" /> Switching duties were handled by an [[ALCO RS-32]],<ref name="DieselEra" /> or an [[ALCO S-2 and S-4|ALCO S-4]]. When Amtrak took over inter-city (main-line) service in 1971, the SP [[EMD SDP45]]s then in main-line use were reassigned to Commute service, and three unique passenger-equipped [[EMD GP40P-2]] engines were delivered in 1974, allowing SP to retire all of the Train Masters by 1975.<ref name="DieselEra" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Percy |first=Richard A. |date=2010 |title=Southern Pacific Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 |url=http://espee.railfan.net/sph24-66.html |access-date=26 April 2017 |website=Espee Railfan}}</ref> The fleet of EMD GP9s, SDP45s, and GP40P-2s were used by SP to run the Peninsula Commute.

In 1978, SP pulled the SDP45s from Peninsula Commute service<ref name="prn1978" /> to comply with an ICC order to return freight cars. Amtrak leased fifteen [[GE P30CH]] locomotives to SP to keep the commuter rail service running, but none of the GE engines were equipped with steam generators. After 1980, the SP fleet continued in leased service to the nascent state-run CalTrain service until the state of California ordered new EMD F40PH locomotives, which were delivered in 1985. Shortly after the introduction of the F40PHs in 1985, a brake issue was discovered, forcing the F40PHs to briefly run in tandem with an SP locomotive.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jacksich |first=Drew |date=January 2008 |title=SP GP9 #3195 with CalTrain F40 #911 August 1985 |work=TrainOrders |url=https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1582425 |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref>

===Passenger cars===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size: 120%;" |'''Passenger cars of the Peninsula Commute'''<ref name="DieselEra" /><ref name="Wx4-1">{{Cite web |last=E.O. |title=SP Commute Cars, 1: Harrimans and Subs |url=http://www.wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_jose/depot/commcars/cars.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |website=Wx4's Dome of Foam}}</ref><ref name="Wx4-2">{{Cite web |last=E.O. |title=SP Commute Cars, 2: Galleries and the #2202 |url=http://www.wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_jose/depot/commcars/cars2.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |website=Wx4's Dome of Foam}}</ref>
|-
! Builder !! Model !! Numbers !! Quantity !! Seats !! Years of Service !! Notes !! Photograph
|-
| Pullman?
| Harriman
| 19xx–20xx
| approx. 90
| 72
| c.1900–1968
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Ordered in 10 groups (60-C-1 to 60-C-10), passenger compartment nominally {{convert|60|ft}} long, for main-line service. Introduced to the Peninsula Commute in the 1930s to replace earlier wooden cars still in service. Out of service by 1968. At least two (#1949 and #1975) survive in service for the [[Niles Canyon Railway]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017 |title=Southern Pacific #1949 |publisher=Niles Canyon Railway |url=http://www.ncry.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=541047&module_id=171855&actr=4 |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2017 |title=Southern Pacific #1975 |publisher=Nicles Canyon Railway |url=http://www.ncry.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=541047&module_id=171856&actr=4 |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref>
| 
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Pullman Company|Pullman]] & Standard Steel
| rowspan=2 |Suburban
| 2085–2159
| 75 total
| rowspan=2 |96
| rowspan=2 |1924/1927–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Passenger compartment was {{convert|72|ft}} long, distinguishing these from earlier "Harriman" cars. Ordered in three groups: {{ubl|72-IC-1 (1924; qty 60; #2085–2144)|72-IC-2 (1924; qty 10; #2145–2154)|72-IC-3 (1927; qty 5; #2155–2159)}} Thirteen cars have since been restored and converted to electric heating, and are currently in service with the [[Grand Canyon Railway]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Train Equipment |url=https://www.thetrain.com/the-train/train-equipment/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108132253/https://www.thetrain.com/the-train/train-equipment/ |archive-date=8 November 2017 |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Xanterra/Grand Canyon Railway}}</ref> Several have been preserved at the [[Golden Gate Railroad Museum]],<!--2097, 2143, 2156--><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Southern Pacific Coaches Nos. 2097, 2143 & 2156 |url=http://www.ggrm.org/Collection_view.aspx?id=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003224/http://www.ggrm.org/Collection_view.aspx?id=11 |archive-date=27 April 2017 |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Golden Gate Railroad Museum}}</ref> Niles Canyon Railway,<!--2101, 2114--><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Collection |url=http://www.ncry.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=541047&module_id=137689 |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Niles Canyon Railway}}</ref> [[Railtown 1897 State Historic Park|Railtown 1897]],<!--2139, 2140--><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Historic Rolling Stock |url=http://railtown1897.org/index.php/collections/historic-rolling-stock |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003010/http://railtown1897.org/index.php/collections/historic-rolling-stock |archive-date=27 April 2017 |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Railtown 1897 State Historic Park}}</ref> [[Western Railway Museum]],<!--2093, 2113--><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Mainline Railroad Cars |url=http://www.wrm.org/visit/car-roster/passenger-cars/mainline-railroad |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Western Railway Museum}}</ref> and other locations.<!--2091, 2095, 2106, 2148--><ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Collection: Logging & Other Railroad Rolling Stock |url=http://timberheritage.org/our-collection/logging-other-railroad-rolling-stock/ |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Timber Heritage Association}}</ref>
| rowspan=2 | [[File:7 Southern Pacific Commuter Train Shots by Roger Puta (30956328832).jpg|100px]]<br/>Interior<br/>[[File:Peninsula Commute train at Palo Alto, August 1980.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="font-size: 80%;" |2089, 2092, 2115, 2120, 2128, 2130, 2135, 2142, 2145, 2152
| 10
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Classified as "unserviceable" in 1980 and used as parts cars.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster" />
|-
| Pullman?
| Streamline
| 2202
| 1
| 122
| 1965–71?
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" | ex-''Daylight'' #2400 or 2401, built in 1937. Rebuilt in 1965 with five-across seating. Sold to Stockton Terminal & Eastern in 1971. Currently owned by the Northwest Rail Museum and stored near Tillamook, Oregon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brumberg |first=Ted |date=6 July 2014 |title=NRM # 2202 |url=http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=986555 |access-date=25 April 2017 |website=Railroad Picture Archives}}</ref>
| 
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Pullman Company|Pullman-Standard]] and [[American Car & Foundry]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Pullman Gallery Car|Gallery]]
| 3700-3730
| 31
| 145
| 1955/57–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Used incandescent lights and on-board diesel generator for air conditioning. Built in two groups:{{ubl|85-MLC-1 (1955; qty 10; #3700–3709; P-S)|85-MLC-2 (1957; qty 21; #3710–3730; ACF)}} Six were sold to [[Transcisco Tours]] and have subsequently been purchased by [[BNSF Railway]] for use as business cars and track geometry cars (ex-3700–3703, 3707, 3708).<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaBoda |first=J.M. |title=Business Car Photo Index: Burlington Northern Santa Fe 40-63 |url=http://passcarphotos.info/Indices/BC3b.htm |access-date=5 May 2017 |publisher=Passenger Car Photos}}</ref>
| rowspan=2 |[[File:An Outbound SP Commuter Train Sequence by Roger Puta (31114532776).jpg|100px]]
|-
| 3731–3745
| 15
| 164
| 1968–1985
| style="text-align:left;font-size: 80%;" |Distinguished by fluorescent lights, tinted windows, and stainless steel vestibule doors compared with prior series. Group 85-MLC-3 (1968; qty 15; #3731–3745; built by P-S). The entire fleet of 46 gallery cars was purchased by Tillamook Repair Car for service on Tour Alaska (later [[Princess Tours]]) in 1986<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lerten |first=Barney |date=17 March 1988 |title=Old rail cars become 'Trains of the Century' |work=Mohave Daily Miner |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nJoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5185%2C988355 |access-date=5 May 2017}}</ref> and four were rebuilt as [[Ultra Dome]]s (ex-3734, 3740, 3744, 3745) with 90 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Combs |first=John |date=21 May 2016 |title=Princess Rail Cars |url=http://www.alaskarails.org/fp/Princess.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Alaska Rails}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Jody |date=2005 |title=Princess Tours 2005 car refitting, part 1 |url=http://www.trainweb.org/ultradomes/princess/refurb1.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |website=TrainWeb}}</ref>
|}

[[File:SP 3194 at Oyster Point, CA in November 1978 (32682700780).jpg|thumb|right|SP #3194 ([[EMD GP9]]) pulling six "Suburban" coaches past [[Oyster Point Marina/Park|Oyster Point]] (November 1978)]]

The earlier wooden and steel-framed coaches were replaced with the all-steel 72-seat "Harriman" coaches starting in approximately 1900.<ref name="DieselEra" /> SP introduced slightly longer all-steel 96-seat "Suburban" coaches in 1924, and continued to run them until the introduction of new state-owned equipment in 1985. The 1980 lease agreement between SP and the State of California showed a total of 83 passenger cars in revenue service: 27 operable "Suburbans", 10 "Suburbans" suitable for parts (nearly all "Suburbans" dating back to 1924), and 46 "Gallery" cars.<ref name="Wx4-1980roster" /> {{as of|2017}}, several "Harriman" and "Suburban" coaches survive (including all 27 operable "Suburbans"); thirteen "Suburbans" are still in revenue service for the [[Grand Canyon Railway]], while others are in use on the [[Niles Canyon Railway]], [[Sacramento Southern Railroad]], [[Western Railway Museum]], among others.

SP rolled out Pullman-built "[[Pullman Gallery Car|Gallery]]" cars with two passenger decks in 1955;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Fred |date=2013 |title=Southern Pacific commuter train (San Francisco peninsula), 1956-1960s |url=http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/commute56.htm |access-date=26 April 2017 |website=TrainWeb}}</ref> passengers on the upper deck sat on two balconies along the sides of the car, and the center aisle was open to allow conductors to check tickets on both levels without having to ascend stairs. 

A Streamline coach from the ''Daylight'' service was converted for Commute use in 1965 by adding five-abreast seating (one seat for two, and another seat for three across the aisle) for a total of 122 seats.<ref name="Wx4-2" /> It was not popular and was sold to the Stockton Terminal & Eastern in 1971. Instead, to increase passenger capacity, SP purchased a third flight of "Gallery" cars, delivered in 1968, which may be distinguished from the 1955/57 Gallery cars by a different window configuration.<ref name="DieselEra" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Fred |date=2013 |title=Southern Pacific commuter train (San Francisco peninsula), 1960s-1985 |url=http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/commute60.htm |access-date=26 April 2017 |website=TrainWeb}}</ref> 

"Gallery" and "Subs" could be mixed to make up multi-car consists. In 1978, a Commute train had from one to nine cars, and were always led by a locomotive, meaning the locomotive needed to be turned at each terminal.<ref name="PERSUS" /> With the introduction of new state-owned locomotives and rolling stock in 1985 capable of [[push–pull train|push-pull service]], locomotives no longer needed to be turned.

==Fares==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size: 80%;"
|+ style="font-size: 150%;" |'''Peninsula Commute Historical Prices'''{{efn|Prices are One-way/''Round Trip'' ['''Monthly''']. Starting in 1973, no discount was applied to round trip tickets, which were priced at 2× the one-way fare, so round-trip prices are not shown for 1973 and later.}}
|-
! scope="col" |Miles{{efn|Original mileage based on western alignment}}!!scope="col" |Station{{efn|Historical station names}}
! scope="col" |04 May 1884<ref name=1884TT>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=4 May 1884 |title=Schedule of Commutation Rates |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/assorted/sp1884fares.jpg |access-date=20 July 2016 |website=wx4's Dome of Foam |publisher=Southern Pacific}}</ref>
! scope="col" |25 Jun 1899<ref name=1899TT>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=25 June 1899 |title=Coast Division: Time Schedules of Passenger Trains: Monterey Line—Broad Gauge |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/maps/sp1899tt_coast_spc.pdf |access-date=20 July 2016 |website=wx4's Dome of Foam |publisher=Southern Pacific}}</ref>
! scope="col" |Miles{{efn|Revised mileage based on the 1907 Bayshore cutoff route. Stations are coincident from San Bruno south to San Jose.}}!!scope="col" |Station
! scope="col"|05 May 1938<ref name="1938TT">{{Cite web |last=Southern Pacific |date=5 May 1938 |title=Southern Pacific Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mayfield, San Jose, Los Altos, Los Gatos |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/maps/sp1938commute_tt.pdf |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=wx4's Dome of Foam}}</ref>
! scope="col"|27 Sep 1953<ref name="1953TT">{{Cite web |last=Southern Pacific |date=27 September 1953 |title=Southern Pacific Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose, Los Altos, Los Gatos |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/103688802@N02/16183764886/ |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=flickr}}</ref>
!scope="col"|Zone{{efn|Zones instituted some time prior to 1958 to simplify fare structure}}
! scope="col"|28 Sep 1958<ref name="1958TT">{{Cite web |last=Southern Pacific |date=28 September 1958 |editor-last=Jafafa Hots |title=Southern Pacific Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose, Los Altos, Los Gatos |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jafafahots/8414562089/ |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=flickr}}</ref>{{efn|Time tables prior to 1964 include the Vasona Branch line, listing prices (but not schedules) for destinations along branch line starting at Mayfield (California Ave) including Los Altos, Loyola, Simla, Monta Vista, Congress Jct. and terminating at Los Gatos.}}
! scope="col"|12 May 1968<ref name="1968TT">{{Cite web |last=Southern Pacific |date=12 May 1968 |title=Southern Pacific PENINSULA Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose, Los Gatos |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/assorted/sp1968tt_1.jpg |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=wx4's Dome of Foam}}</ref>
! scope="col"|22 Dec 1973<ref name="1973TT">{{Cite web |last=Southern Pacific |date=22 December 1953 |title=Southern Pacific PENINSULA Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/103688802@N02/27450757794/ |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=flickr}}</ref>
! scope="col"|01 May 1976<ref name="1976TT">{{Cite web |date=1 May 1976 |title=Southern Pacific PENINSULA Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose and intermediate stations |url=http://espee.railfan.net/ptt/commute_tt_05-01-1976aa.jpg |access-date=7 July 2016 |website=Espee Railfan}}</ref>
! scope="col"|01 Apr 1978<ref name="1978TT">{{Cite web |date=1 April 1978 |title=Southern Pacific PENINSULA Time Tables: San Francisco, So. San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, California Avenue, San Jose and intermediate stations |url=http://www.railsaroundthebay.net/history/commutes/schedules/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131255/http://www.railsaroundthebay.net/history/commutes/schedules/index.html |archive-date=1 July 2007 |access-date=7 July 2016 |website=Rails Around the Bay}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row"|0.0
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Francisco 4th and King Street station|Townsend St]]
|rowspan="2"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="3"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''0.0'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Francisco 4th and King Street station|San Francisco]]
|rowspan="5"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="4"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|style="font-size: 300%;" rowspan="4"|'''SF'''
|rowspan="5"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="5"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="4"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="4"|0.00 ['''0.00''']
|rowspan="4"|0.95 ['''n/a''']
|-
!scope="row"|3.4
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[22nd Street station (Caltrain)|Valencia St]]|| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''1.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[22nd Street station (Caltrain)|23rd Street]]
|-
!scope="row"|4.6
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Paul Avenue station|Bernal]]
|0.15/''0.30'' ['''3.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''4.1'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Paul Avenue station|Paul Avenue]]
|-
!scope="row"|6.9
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Bayshore station (Caltrain)|Ocean View]]{{efn|Named ''San Miguel'' in 1879 timetable}}
|0.15/''0.30'' ['''4.00''']
|0.15/''0.25'' ['''3.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''5.2'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Bayshore station (Caltrain)|Bayshore]]
|- style="background: #fdd;"
!scope="row"|9.2
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Colma station (Southern Pacific Railroad)|Colma]]
|0.25/''0.40'' ['''5.00''']
|0.25/''0.40'' ['''3.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''8.6'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Butler Road station|Butler Road]]{{efn|Butler Road moved between Zone 1 and SF several times.}}
|rowspan="2"|0.25/''0.45'' ['''8.00''']
|style="font-size: 300%;color: #f00;" rowspan="5"|'''1'''
|rowspan="3"|1.10 ['''27.00''']
|rowspan="3"|1.15 ['''29.25''']
|rowspan="3"|1.45 ['''36.55''']
|- style="background: #fdd;"
!scope="row"|12.2
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[South San Francisco station (Caltrain)|Baden]]
|0.40/''0.70'' ['''6.00''']
|0.35/''0.50'' ['''4.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''9.3'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[South San Francisco station (Caltrain)|South San Francisco]]
|0.20/''0.35'' ['''3.96''']
|rowspan="4"|0.50/''0.90'' ['''13.25''']
|rowspan="2"|0.70/''1.30'' ['''18.30''']
|- style="background: #fdd;"
!scope="row"|14.3
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Bruno station (Caltrain)|San Bruno]]
|0.50/''0.90'' ['''7.00''']
|0.40/''0.50'' ['''5.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''11.6'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Bruno station (Caltrain)|San Bruno]]
|0.20/''0.40'' ['''4.36''']
|0.30/''0.55'' ['''8.20''']
|- style="background: #fdd;"
!scope="row"|—
| style="font-size: 80%;" |—
| style="background: #fff;" colspan="2"|N/A
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''12.x'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Lomita Park, California|Lomita Park]]{{efn|Lomita Park was closed in the 1960s.}}
|0.20/''0.40'' ['''4.83''']
|0.34/''0.65'' ['''9.00''']
| style="background: #fff;" colspan="4"|N/A
|- style="background: #fdd;"
!scope="row"|17.0
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Millbrae station|Millbrae]] 
|0.60/''1.10'' ['''8.00''']
|0.45/''0.65'' ['''5.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''13.7'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Millbrae station|Millbrae]]
|0.20/''0.40'' ['''5.42''']
|0.37/''0.70'' ['''10.20''']
|0.70/''1.30'' ['''18.30''']
|1.10 ['''27.00''']
|1.15 ['''29.25''']
|1.45 ['''36.55''']
|- style="background: #dfd;"
!scope="row"|—
| style="font-size: 80%;" |—
| style="background: #fff;" colspan="2"|N/A
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''15.2'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Broadway station (Caltrain)|Broadway]]
|0.25/''0.45'' ['''6.02''']
|0.42/''0.80'' ['''11.05''']
|style="font-size: 300%;color: #080" rowspan="4"|'''2'''
|rowspan="4"|0.60/''1.10'' ['''16.50''']
|rowspan="4"|0.90/''1.65'' ['''22.20''']
|rowspan="4"|1.30 ['''31.75''']
|rowspan="4"|1.35 ['''34.25''']
|rowspan="4"|1.70 ['''42.80''']
|- style="background: #dfd;"
!scope="row"|19.2
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Burlingame station|Burlingame]]{{efn|Named ''Oak Grove'' in the 1879 time table}}
|0.70/''1.25'' ['''8.50''']
|0.55/''0.90'' ['''5.75''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''16.3'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Burlingame station|Burlingame]]
|0.25/''0.45'' ['''6.47''']
|0.42/''0.80'' ['''11.75''']
|- style="background: #dfd;"
!scope="row"|21.1
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Mateo station|San Mateo]] 
|0.75/''1.35'' ['''9.00''']
|0.60/''1.00'' ['''6.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''17.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Mateo station|San Mateo]]
|0.25/''0.45'' ['''7.07''']
|0.47/''0.85'' ['''12.90''']
|- style="background: #dfd;"
!scope="row"|—
| style="font-size: 80%;" |—
| style="background: #fff;" colspan="2"|N/A
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''18.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Hayward Park station|Hayward Park]]{{efn|''Leslie'' in the 1938 time tables}}
|0.35/''0.57'' ['''7.53''']
|0.50/''0.90'' ['''13.40''']
|- style="background: #fda;"
!scope="row"|24.x
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Hillsdale station (Caltrain)|Beresford]]
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|0.70/''N/A'' ['''N/A''']{{efn|Round trip and single-rider monthly commutation not sold for Beresford. Family commutation sold for {{US$|14.00|1899|round=2}}, good for thirty one-way trips within six months.}}
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''20.3'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Hillsdale station (Caltrain)|Hillsdale]]{{efn|''Beresford'' in the 1938 time tables}}
|0.35/''0.57'' ['''8.06''']
|0.55/''1.00'' ['''14.40''']
| style="font-size: 300%;color: #f80" rowspan="4"|'''3'''
|rowspan="4"|0.77/''1.45'' ['''19.75''']
|rowspan="4"|1.10/''1.95'' ['''26.10''']
|rowspan="4"|1.60 ['''36.50''']
|rowspan="4"|1.70 ['''39.25''']
|rowspan="4"|2.10 ['''49.05''']
|- style="background: #fda;"
!scope="row"|25.1
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Belmont station (Caltrain)|Belmont]]
|0.90/''1.65'' ['''10.00''']
|0.70/''1.10'' ['''7.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''21.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Belmont station (Caltrain)|Belmont]]
|0.40/''0.59'' ['''8.66''']
|0.59/''1.10'' ['''15.50''']
|- style="background: #fda;"
!scope="row"|27.x
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Carlos station|San Carlos]] 
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|0.75/''1.25'' ['''7.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''23.2'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Carlos station|San Carlos]]
|0.45/''0.69'' ['''9.18''']
|0.59/''1.10'' ['''16.00''']
|- style="background: #fda;"
!scope="row"|28.6
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Redwood City station|Redwood City]]
|1.00/''1.85'' ['''11.50''']
|0.80/''1.25'' ['''8.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''25.4'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Redwood City station|Redwood City]]
|0.50/''0.75'' ['''10.04''']
|0.67/''1.25'' ['''17.10''']
|- style="background: #ddf;"
!scope="row"|30.9
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Atherton station|Fair Oaks]]
|1.10/''2.00'' ['''12.50''']
|0.90/''1.50'' ['''8.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''27.8'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Atherton station|Atherton]]
|0.55/''0.80'' ['''11.03''']
|0.72/''1.30'' ['''18.35''']
|style="font-size: 300%;color: #00f" rowspan="4"|'''4'''
|rowspan="4"|1.00/''1.82'' ['''23.00''']
|rowspan="4"|1.35/''2.50'' ['''30.00''']
|rowspan="4"|1.95 ['''41.25''']
|rowspan="4"|2.05 ['''44.25''']
|rowspan="4"|2.55 ['''55.30''']
|- style="background: #ddf;"
!scope="row"|32.1
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Menlo Park station|Menlo Park]]
|1.15/''2.10'' ['''13.00''']
|0.95/''1.50'' ['''9.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''28.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Menlo Park station|Menlo Park]]
|0.55/''0.87'' ['''11.43''']
|0.75/''1.35'' ['''19.10''']
|- style="background: #ddf;"
!scope="row"|34.x
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Palo Alto station|Palo Alto]] 
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|0.95/''1.50'' ['''9.50''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''30.1'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Palo Alto station|Palo Alto]]
|0.60/''0.93'' ['''11.96''']
|0.80/''1.45'' ['''19.35''']
|- style="background: #ddf;"
!scope="row"|34.9
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[California Avenue station|Mayfield]]
|1.25/''2.25'' ['''14.00''']
|1.00/''1.60'' ['''10.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''31.8'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[California Avenue station|California Avenue]]{{efn|''Mayfield'' in the 1938 time tables}}
|0.65/''0.98'' ['''12.62''']
|0.84/''1.55'' ['''20.45''']
|- style="background: #ffa;"
!scope="row"|38.x
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Castro station (Caltrain)|Castro]]
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|1.10/''N/A'' ['''N/A''']{{efn|Round trip and single-rider monthly commutation not sold for Castros. Family commutation sold for {{US$|22.00|1899|round=2}}, good for thirty one-way trips within six months.}}
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''34.8'''
|style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Castro station (Caltrain)|Castro]]
|0.70/''1.10'' ['''13.80''']
|0.87/''1.60'' ['''21.75''']
|style="font-size: 300%;" rowspan="3"|'''5'''
|rowspan="3"|1.18/''2.14'' ['''26.50''']
|rowspan="3"|1.60/''2.85'' ['''34.20''']
|rowspan="3"|2.25 ['''46.25''']
|rowspan="3"|2.40 ['''49.50''']
|rowspan="3"|3.00 ['''61.90''']
|- style="background: #ffa;"
!scope="row"|39.1
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Downtown Mountain View station|Mountain View]]
|1.40/''2.55'' ['''16.00''']
|1.15/''1.75'' ['''11.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''36.1'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Downtown Mountain View station|Mountain View]]
|0.74/''1.10'' ['''14.33''']
|0.92/''1.70'' ['''22.55''']
|- style="background: #ffa;"
!scope="row"|41.9
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Sunnyvale station|Murphys]]
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|1.25/''N/A'' ['''N/A''']{{efn|Round trip and single-rider monthly commutation not sold for Murphys. Family commutation sold for {{US$|25.00|1899|round=2}}, good for thirty one-way trips within six months.}}
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''38.8'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Sunnyvale station|Sunnyvale]]
|0.80/''1.23'' ['''15.39''']
|1.00/''1.80'' ['''23.30''']
|- style="background: #ed8;"
!scope="row"|47.4
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Santa Clara Transit Center|Santa Clara]]
|1.65/''3.05'' ['''19.00''']
|1.25/''2.00'' ['''14.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''44.3'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[Santa Clara Transit Center|Santa Clara]]
|0.90/''1.40'' ['''17.56''']
|1.12/''2.05'' ['''25.55''']
|style="font-size: 300%;color: #a80;" rowspan="3"|'''6'''
|rowspan="3"|1.32/''2.36'' ['''28.50''']
|rowspan="3"|1.75/''3.10'' ['''36.60''']
|rowspan="3"|2.40 ['''49.25''']
|rowspan="3"|2.55 ['''52.75''']
|rowspan="3"|3.20 ['''65.95''']
|- style="background: #ed8;"
!scope="row"|49.6
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[College Park station (Caltrain)|College Park]]
| style="background: #fff;"|N/A
|1.25/''N/A'' ['''N/A''']{{efn|Round trip and single-rider monthly commutation not sold for College Park. Family commutation sold for {{US$|25.00|1899|round=2}}, good for thirty one-way trips within six months.}}
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''45.7'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[College Park station (Caltrain)|College Park]]
|0.94/''1.47'' ['''18.09''']
|1.17/''2.15'' ['''26.35''']
|- style="background: #ed8;"
!scope="row"|50.0
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Jose Diridon station|San Jose]] 
|1.75/''3.25'' ['''20.00''']
|1.25/''2.00'' ['''15.00''']
| style="background: #f2f2f2;"|'''46.9'''
| style="font-size: 80%;" |[[San Jose Diridon station|San Jose Diridon]]
|0.97/''1.52'' ['''18.62''']
|1.19/''2.15'' ['''26.50''']
|-
|colspan=14 |'''Notes'''<br/>{{notelist|30em}}
|}

Peninsula residents clamored for lower fares as early as 1908; SP officials replied by pointing out rates were already cheaper than similar services in [[New York City|New York]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], and [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 1908 |title=Peninsula Residents Want Reduced Rates |volume=103 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=139 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19080417.2.50 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> A discount 10-ride ticket was introduced in 1909 to partially defray rates for frequent commuters.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 February 1909 |title=Peninsula Residents Secure Lower Rates |volume=105 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=74 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19090212.2.60 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> In 1910, SP added that rates across the Bay were comparable, and maintenance of the line between [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], partially paid by fares, was expensive.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 May 1910 |title=Peninsula Towns to Get New Local Train |volume=107 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=156 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19100505.2.82.2 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> Although SP purchased the electric railway connecting Palo Alto and San Jose, bringing hope that it would be extended further north, it turned out the purchase was merely a strategy to eliminate competition.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 1911 |title=Transportation for the Peninsula |volume=109 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=138 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19110417.2.44 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

When fares began to be regulated in 1912, associations in Peninsula cities and [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] filed complaints against SP, citing rates that were significantly higher than fares to [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]] destinations of similar distance.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 March 1912 |title=Lower Rates Demanded by City Suburbs |volume=111 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=117 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120326.2.55 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=30 April 1912 |title=Peninsula Rates Again Attacked |volume=111 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=152 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120430.2.36 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 May 1912 |title=San Jose Objects to R. R. Rates |volume=111 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=181 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120529.2.106 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> The higher rates to Peninsula destinations was believed to cause slow growth of properties on the Peninsula.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 April 1911 |title=Discrimination Against the Peninsula |volume=109 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=150 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19110429.2.59 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> The suit was heard on August 26, 1912,<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 August 1912 |title=Lower Commuting Rates Demanded |volume=112 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=87 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120826.2.112 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> and after it became clear that many cities felt the rates were excessive and that a rate cut would happen, SP asked for a continuance to put together a compromise.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 August 1912 |title=Lower Rates a Certainty for the Peninsula |volume=112 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=88 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120827.2.50 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

Also in 1912, SP proposed that private club cars be provided on several morning trains to allow commuters to "enjoy a shave or shampoo and indulge in convival highball while making their daily trips to San Francisco."<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 July 1912 |title=Private Club Cars are Offered by Railroad |volume=112 |work=San Francisco Call |issue=42 |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120712.2.8 |access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Amtrak]]
*[[Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]]
*[[Caltrain]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Daggett |first=Stuart |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001108922 |title=Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific |date=1922 |publisher=The Ronald Press Company |location=New York, New York  |access-date=8 July 2016}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hofsommer |first=Don L. |title=The Southern Pacific, 1901–1985 |date=1986 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-60344-127-8 |location=College Station, Texas |chapter=New Directions }}
* {{Cite report |url=http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=caldocs_assembly |title=Public Hearing: Future Public Transportation Plans in the San Francisco / San Jose Corridor Including Implementation of AB 1853 |date=2 December 1977 |publisher=Assembly Committee on Transportation, Assembly of the State of California |access-date=26 April 2017 |ref={{harvid|Assembly Committee on Transportation|1977}} }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* {{Cite web |title=SP timetable from 1980 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/27619442@N06/16277133923/}}
* {{Cite book |last=McGovern |first=Janet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjorOsVgXlcC |title=Caltrain and the Peninsula Commute Service |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-7622-0 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |access-date=8 July 2016}}
* {{Cite journal |last=<!--staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 March 1907 |title=The Bay Shore and Dumbarton Cut-Offs of the Southern Pacific. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-I1MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA328 |journal=The Railroad Gazette |volume=XLII |pages=328–331 |number=11}}
* {{Cite web |last=Morris |first=Robert |date=1960–1990 |title=SP Commute Trains |url=http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/spcom.html |access-date=25 April 2017 |publisher=Robert Morris Photography}}

{{Caltrain}}

[[Category:Public transportation in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1863 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Southern Pacific Railroad]]
[[Category:1863 in rail transport]]