Editing Palo Alto, California (section)

===Rail===
[[File:California Avenue station building, November 2008.jpg|thumb|California Avenue Station]]
Passenger train service is provided exclusively by [[Caltrain]], with service between San Francisco and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], extending to [[Gilroy, California|Gilroy]]. Caltrain has two regular stations in Palo Alto, the main one at the [[Palo Alto Station]] in downtown Palo Alto (local, limited, and express). The main Palo Alto station is the second busiest (behind [[San Francisco 4th and King Street station|4th and King]] in San Francisco) on the entire Caltrain line. The other station is located at [[California Avenue (Caltrain station)|California Avenue]], (local and limited).<ref>{{cite web|title=Caltrain This station was the primary station for Mayfield before it was annexed. Timetable|url=http://www.caltrain.com/schedules/weekdaytimetable.html|website=Caltrain.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903011916/http://www.caltrain.com/schedules/weekdaytimetable.html|url-status=live|archive-date=September 3, 2014}}</ref>  A third, the [[Stanford (Caltrain station)|Stanford]] station, located beside Alma Street at Embarcadero Road, is used for occasional sports events (generally [[College football|football]]) at [[Stanford Stadium]]. Freight trains through Palo Alto are operated by [[Union Pacific]] (formerly [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific]]).

There are 4 [[Level crossing|grade crossings]] within city limits, at the intersections of Alma St, Churchill Ave, Meadow Dr, and Charleston Rd. The city has made plans upgrade the southern crossings and even proposed closing the Churchill Ave crossing completely to road traffic, but the project has been a hot-button issue for local residents and politicians for over a decade. The current proposed solution is elevating the tracks above grade, while lowering the roadway below grade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheyner |first=Gennady |date=November 24, 2023 |title=Caltrain plans for 4-track segments complicate Palo Alto's effort to redesign rail crossings |url=https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/11/24/caltrain-plans-for-4-track-segments-complicate-palo-altos-effort-to-redesign-rail-crossings |access-date=November 25, 2023 |website=Palo Alto Weekly |language=en}}</ref> A subway tunnel underneath the right of way and converting the old track bed into a park was also proposed, but eventually dropped after it was deemed to be too costly and concerns over environmental impacts.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://connectingpaloalto.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/XCAP-Final-Report.pdf |title=Report of the Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) on Grade Separations for Palo Alto |publisher=Connecting Palo Alto |date=March 4, 2021 |access-date=August 11, 2023}}</ref> Despite increased train service and Caltrain already installing [[Caltrain Modernization Program|Electric Service]] equipment on the mainline, Palo Alto has no green-lighted plans to address the crossings, except for immediate changes at Churchill Ave to address safety concerns at that intersection.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Transportation/Transportation-Projects/Alma-StreetChurchill-Avenue-Railroad-Crossing-Safety-Improvements-Project |title=Alma Street/Churchill Avenue Safety Improvements Project |publisher=City of Palo Alto Office of Transportation |access-date=August 11, 2023}}</ref>