Tag Archives: Caltrain

Caltrain to introduce new electrified schedule

September 20, 2024 andy Leave a comment

This weekend (September 21), Caltrain will introduce all-electric service between San Francisco and San Jose. Along with the new electric trainsets, a new schedule will be implemented to leverage the improved acceleration of the new trains. The new schedules will offer faster and more frequent service on weekdays and weekends. Caltrain began a soft launch of the electric service on August 10, gradually rolling out new trainsets operating under the current diesel-based schedule.

Celebration events are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at various stations along the line (with a special train from Gilroy). Train service and parking will also be free over the weekend.

Schedule finder will have the new electric schedule available on Saturday.

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Bay Area, Opinions, Transit issues

Enough with unhelpful sensational headlines

August 14, 2024 andy

Last weekend, Caltrain had a relatively successful soft launch of electrified service. I spent the early part of Sunday riding electric trains along with other rail fans. Despite the learning curve for the train crews and some technical issues, the new trains are quiet, smooth, and accelerate rapidly.

Unfortunately on the last electric train of the day, a trespasser stepped on the track in Menlo Park and died upon impact with the train. I found out the incident the next morning by checking with social media accounts that covered the first day of electric service. Caltrain, following its new policy on not reporting fatalities, announced the delay and eventual train cancelation on Twitter/X that evening but did not reveal the nature of the delay.

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Bay Area, Transit issues

Caltrain electrification & Alternative Compliance

June 21, 2024 andy

On the weekend of June 8 and 9, 2024, Caltrain suspended diesel passenger trains to allow testing of new electric trains on the corridor. While the testing of electric trains have been conducted for many months, seeing many of them in simulated operation during daytime is eye opening. The trains are quiet; start fast and stop fast. The riding experience should be transformative when these trains are to be fully rolled out in September. The operating plan for September is to only have electric trains serving all trips between San Francisco and San Jose, and diesel locomotive haul trains would provide service between Gilroy and San Jose, where the trains operate on Union Pacific owned tracks that aren’t electrified. Arguably, Caltrain will have the most advanced passenger train sets in North America.

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Bay Area

Millbrae Station – 20 years later

June 21, 2023 andy

This month (June 2023) is the 20th anniversary of opening of BART SFO extension. Millbrae is the end of the line of this extension & the transfer point between Caltrain and BART. The station was built with an expectation of high ridership & transfer activities, but things changed quite a bit over the past 20 years with changes in economy, transportation/housing priorities, and COVID.

20 years ago I was a young transit activist & a regular Caltrain rider. I was able to see the station being constructed and was there on the opening day.

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