Caltrain starts a soft launch of electric train service tomorrow, August 11. A few electric trains will be in service tomorrow, interspersed with the old diesel trains and still running the current service. Caltrain isn’t announcing which trains will be electric during the soft launch period. More electric trains will be added in incrementally, and […]
This coming weekend and next, come join exciting, fun and informative Transit Month activities on the Caltrain corridor and around the region. Saturday, September 23, tour the new Caltrain electric trains in San Francisco between 10am and 2pm. The train tour in San Jose this summer drew 4,000 people – so please register if you’d
Caltrain is rolling out marketing plans to regrow transit ridership after steep pandemic declines. The strategies encourage people to take the train for more kinds of trips and for current commute patterns. Coasters at bars encouraging people to have fun safely with a train as the designated driver. Family and group day passes making excursions more
At its May board meeting, the Caltrain board advanced a 2-year budget with plans to provide steady service, and with the likelihood of partner contributions to the capital budget. Choices that Caltrain makes within the next two years have the potential to make a significant difference in ridership regrowth and revenue. Operating budget with steady
On Thursday, February 2, the Caltrain board will discuss short-term opportunities to regrow transit ridership. Caltrain is looking at single agency strategies that it can fully control. These strategies will be helpful, but this narrow focus on short-term independent actions underestimates the depth of the challenge Caltrain is confronting. The railroad is struggling to break
On January 31, the State of California announced that it is awarding $367 million to Caltrain to finish its electrification project, which is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2024. The funding for Caltrain complements $43 million in federal funding, adding up to the full $410 million gap needed to complete electrification, which will enable
The Federal omnibus spending bill included $43 million to help complete Caltrain electrification. Additional funding is expected in early 2023 from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which has funding guidelines that favor projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are currently under construction. The electrification funding may help defer the fiscal
Caltrain will be the first major agency in the Bay Area to face a fiscal cliff, as federal relief funding runs out and ridership grows back more gradually. This could result in cuts to service and/or maintenance starting this coming year. To address the transit fiscal cliff as a region, the MTC has requested that
At the September board meeting, Board Chair Steve Heminger reported that had requested that staff bring back recommendations for potential service cuts. His remarks are at 2:33 in the meeting video. Heminger noted that Caltrain’s strategy to regrow transit ridership has included running more frequent all-day service. However, Caltrain’s ridership recovery from the pandemic is
Thanks to your help, the Bay Bridge Bus Bill AB 455 (Wicks, Wiener), sailed through the Senate Transportation Committee and it is now on to the Senate Appropriations Committee. We are now one step closer to faster, more reliable, equitable, and greener travel across the Bay Bridge Corridor keeping the Bay Area\’s people and economy
At long last, the Bay Bridge Bus Bill AB 455 (Wicks, Wiener), is coming to a vote in the Senate Transportation Committee this Tuesday, June 14th! Although the bill passed the Assembly in 2021, it got held up in committee and its fate was uncertain. But after much collaboration between the Transbay Coalition, the Assemblymember’s
At a board budget workshop on March 21, the Caltrain board will contemplate challenging years ahead with the prospect of changed post-pandemic travel patterns. Business surveys predict that office workers will be commuting an average of three days per week, reducing Caltrain’s pre-pandemic ridership base. Federal funding has kept transit afloat in the Bay Area
The City of San Francisco and Caltrain are planning for new stations and station access improvements in Southeast San Francisco. Accessibility ramps could be installed at 22nd street in a few years if there was money for it (and there are potential funding sources)A new infill station could be built in the Bayview at Evans,
At a special board meeting on December 6, the Caltrain board approved updates to the price tag and schedule for the electrification project. Based on an in-depth review, and a settlement of disputes with the contractor Balfour Beatty, the price tag has increased by an additional $100 million, and the scheduled delivery date is
On Thursday July 1, the Caltrain board will receive a presentation about its proposed service restoration for August, timed to increase service when BART does. The proposed new schedule addresses popular demand to bring back baby bullet trains. It continues the Covid-era improved connect to BART at Millbrae. It also keeps and improves on
Great news! The language for the bill to improve bus travel times on the Bay Bridge and the approaches has been filled out and is a lot closer to being finalized. You can view the language for the bill, “AB-2824 Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program (Bonta)” here. Before, there was just “placeholder language” which is
Imagine a quick and reliable ride between the East Bay and San Francisco. Imagine healthier air and a reduction in carbon emissions. We want to turn that imagination into a reality. Will you join us?
