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This month, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees the commuter-rail service Caltrain, will perform due diligence on entities that submitted proposals to operate Caltrain after its contract with Amtrak expires on June 30, Caltrain officials said in a prepared statement.

In September, the board received proposals from: Keolis Rail Services America; Peninsula Corridor Rail Services, a joint venture between Amtrak and Bombardier; Peninsula Rail Services, a joint venture between Rail America and RATP-Dev; Transit America Services Inc., a subsidiary of Herzog; and Veolia.

The board has conducted "thorough evaluations of each proposal and conducted interviews with firms found to be in the competitive range," Caltrain officials said.

Caltrain expects to conclude negotiations in late spring and make a recommendation to the board by early summer. The new contractor is expected to begin operating Caltrain by year's end.

Amtrak  has operated Caltrain since 1992. Although the current contract expires June 30, a contract provision would allow Amtrak to continue operations on a month-to-month basis until June 30, 2012.