Freedom Train to Run on Martin Luther King Holiday Jan. 17

Caltrain and SamTrans will operate regular weekday service on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the annual Freedom Train will take people to San Francisco for the holiday celebration there.

The 20th annual Freedom Train is scheduled to depart the San Jose Diridon Caltrain Station at 10:00 a.m., with stops at the Sunnyvale station (10:12 a.m.), Palo Alto (10:28 a.m.), and San Mateo (10:48 a.m.) before arriving in San Francisco at 11:16 a.m. Boarding in San Jose begins at 9:45 a.m.

From the San Francisco Caltrain Station at Fourth and King streets, Freedom Train passengers will march to the celebration at Civic Center. The return Freedom Train departs San Francisco at 3:30 p.m.

The Freedom Train is specially chartered by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley. Tickets to ride the train cost $5 and are only available for purchase from the African American Community Services Agency, located at 304 N. Sixth Street in San Jose (408.292.3157) or from special ticket stands at the Diridon station the morning of the Freedom Train.

Regular Caltrain tickets are not valid on the Freedom Train, but Freedom Train tickets will be honored on all afternoon southbound Caltrains.

A celebration with refreshments is planned at 9:45 a.m. at the San Mateo Transit Center sponsored by the Mid-Peninsula Congregations of All Faiths. For information about that event, call the MLK Jr. Day Mid-Peninsula Celebration hotline at 650.377.8708.

For information about regular SamTrans and Caltrain service, call the Customer Service Center at 1.800.660.4287 or TDD only at 650.508.6448, or go to www.samtrans.com.

Caltrain is a tri-county partnership of San Francisco Municipal Railway, San Mateo County Transit District and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Caltrain operates 86 weekday trains between San Francisco and San Jose, with commute-hour service to Gilroy. A total of 62 trains offer service on weekends.

1/6/05