At that point, I immediately started to look around for police cars because whenever the crew starts making vague announcements, it almost always means that there is a problem person on the train.
Afterward, I overheard another passenger saying that there was a man in the last or second to last car, that was threatening a woman with a knife. I have no official confirmation of the man's story and have no way of knowing how he got his information even if it is true, but that brings up a point I wanted to make.
Whenever there is a serious incident or problem on Caltrain, the crew responds by making vague and in some cases outright false announcements to the passengers as if we are too ignorant to figure out what is really going on in a general sense. Why?
It seems to me that it would be better to let people know what is really happening so that wild rumors don't get started. Let me be clear, I don't know if what I overheard was the truth or a wild rumor, but that is exactly my point; it is in the best interests of Caltrain and their passengers for the passengers to be fully informed about incidents taking place so passengers can make informed decisions regarding their safety and commute choices.
These incidents do not happen every day, but from my experience in the last 3 years, they do seem to be occurring more often in the last year. And while Caltrain is a good alternative to driving for many people, I am finding the increased number of delays due to incidents like this or more mundane reasons, as well as the overcrowded cars more than enough reason for me to start driving again.
