Caltrain

Caltrain is a commuter rail line in California that helps people travel along the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley, also known as Silicon Valley. It starts in San Jose at the Tamien station and goes north to San Francisco at 4th and King Street. The train offers different types of service, including express, limited, and local stops.

There are 28 regular stops on the Caltrain line, plus a few special stops that only open on certain days, like for football games or only on weekdays or weekends. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 63,000 people used Caltrain each weekday. By March 2026, the number of passengers had dropped to about 42,000 because of changes caused by the pandemic.

Caltrain is managed by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, a group made up of transportation agencies from Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. The train used to run with diesel locomotives, but now 51 miles of the track between San Francisco and San Jose have been changed to use electric power, though diesel trains still run on part of the route.

History

Southern Pacific service

The original commuter railroad was built in 1863 under the authority of the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad; it was purchased by Southern Pacific in 1870.

After 1945, the number of people using the train declined because more people started using cars; in 1977 Southern Pacific asked to stop the commuter service because it was losing money. California legislators wrote a bill in 1977 to help local transit districts buy tickets and help commuters until 1980; the bill also allowed Caltrans to start talking with Southern Pacific to operate the passenger rail service.

To keep the commuter service going, in 1980 Caltrans started working with Southern Pacific and began helping the Peninsula Commute. Caltrans bought new trains and replaced old ones in 1985. Caltrans also improved stations, added buses to help people get to nearby jobs, and named the operation CalTrain.

Joint Powers Board

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board was formed in 1987 to manage the line. With money from the state and local areas, the PCJPB bought the railroad tracks between San Francisco and San Jose from Southern Pacific in 1991. The PCJPB took over CalTrain operations and chose Amtrak to operate the trains. PCJPB extended the CalTrain service from San Jose to Gilroy, connecting to VTA light rail at Tamien station in San Jose.

In July 1995, CalTrain became accessible to passengers with wheelchairs, excepting 22nd Street station, which has no step-free access. Five months later, CalTrain increased the bicycle limit to 24 per train, making the service attractive to commuters in bicycle-friendly cities such as San Francisco and Palo Alto.

In July 1997, the current logo was adopted, and the official name became Caltrain, dropping the capitalized "T".

In 1998, the San Francisco Municipal Railway extended the N Judah line from Market Street to the San Francisco Caltrain Station at 4th and King streets, providing a direct connection between Caltrain and the Muni Metro system. A year later, VTA extended its light rail service from north Santa Clara to the Mountain View station. Starting in 1999, Caltrain reconstructed several stations and upgraded tracks and level crossings under the "Ponderosa Project".

In June 2003, a passenger connection for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain systems opened at Millbrae station just south of the San Francisco International Airport.

Baby Bullet service

In June 2004, Caltrain finished a project for a new express service called the Baby Bullet. The project included new tracks in Brisbane and Sunnyvale as well as a new traffic control system. The Baby Bullet trains stopped at only a few stations between San Francisco and San Jose Diridon station; the express trains could pass slower trains at two locations (near Bayshore and Lawrence stations) where extra tracks were added. Travel time for about 46.75 miles between San Francisco and San Jose is 57 minutes (four stops), 59 minutes (five stops) or 61 minutes (six stops), compared to 1 hour 30 minutes for local trains. The Baby Bullets have the same top speed of 79 mph (127 km/h) as other trains, but fewer stops save time.

Modernization and electrification

The Caltrain Modernization Program electrified the main line between San Francisco and the San Jose Tamien station, allowing transition from diesel-electric locomotive power to electric trains. Electrification would also allow future expansion to downtown San Francisco. Electrified vehicles require less maintenance, but electrification will increase required track maintenance by about the same amount, at least initially. The plan called to electrify the system between San Francisco and San Jose Tamien station. Originally scheduled for completion by 2020, the first electric trains started on August 11, 2024, with full electrification achieved and diesel trains retired on September 21, 2024.

Electrification resulted in faster trip times thanks to better acceleration on the new electric trains. A scheduled local train trip from San Jose Tamien to San Francisco was shortened from 115 minutes with a diesel train to 83 minutes with electric service, an improvement of 32 minutes.

Proposed plans

Integration with California High-Speed Rail

The Caltrain line from Gilroy to San Francisco is planned to be part of the route for the California High-Speed Rail line. With changes made in July 2019, special tracks for high-speed trains are planned south and east of Gilroy station. Between San Francisco and Gilroy, these high-speed trains would share tracks with Caltrain and travel up to 110 miles per hour. South and east of Gilroy, they would travel even faster, up to 220 miles per hour.

Downtown San Francisco extension

Main article: The Portal (San Francisco)

A tunnel has been suggested to extend Caltrain from its current end in San Francisco to the Salesforce Transit Center. This would put the train closer to many jobs and other transportation like buses and BART. As of 2012, only part of this tunnel below the Transbay Terminal was being built. In April 2012, leaders decided to focus on getting money for the rest of this $2.5 billion extension. Another idea, suggested by the mayor at the time, was to remove the current train station and tracks, along with a nearby highway, and build homes instead. Trains would then go to the Transbay Terminal through a new tunnel. In April 2018, this idea was dropped in favor of a new plan going under Pennsylvania Avenue. This new plan would cost $6.7 billion and might not be finished until 2032.

Dumbarton extension

Main article: Dumbarton Rail Corridor

Caltrain has been chosen to add train service across the San Francisco Bay to Alameda County in the East Bay. This would add four new stations: Union City, Fremont-Centerville, Newark, and Menlo Park/East Palo Alto. The old bridges on this route would be replaced. Plans to start building in 2009 were delayed because of money problems, and the project was put off for at least ten more years.

South of Gilroy extension

Main article: Monterey County Rail Extension

There have been ideas to extend Caltrain service south of Gilroy into Monterey County since the 1980s. This would add new stations in Pajaro, Castroville, and end at the existing Salinas station. The project depends on getting money from the state and federal government, and an agreement with the company that owns the tracks. As of March 2020, plans were to start service with two daily trips in 2022, with more trips added later.

Oakdale infill station

A study from 1988 looked at replacing an old station with a new one further north. In 2005, the old Paul Avenue station closed. A new study in 2014 suggested putting a new station near City College of San Francisco. In June 2022, a report recommended putting the new station between Oakdale and Jerrold streets. Work to prepare for this station included removing an old bridge over Quint Street in 2016 and building a new road connection.

Infrastructure and service

The Caltrain right of way between San Francisco and Tamien stations is owned and taken care of by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB). They bought it from Southern Pacific in 1991. The system has 31 stations. San Francisco is the northern end, and Gilroy is the southern end. Most trains start and end at Tamien.

Many stations have been updated to make trains run more smoothly. Some stations are only used on certain days or for special events, like Stanford University’s football games.

The Caltrain Centralized Equipment Maintenance and Operations Facility, a big train maintenance yard north of San Jose Diridon station, opened in 2007 after construction began in 2004.

Main article: List of Caltrain stations

Operations

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board bought the tracks between San Francisco and San Jose for a lot of money in 1991. Trains can only go a little way past San Jose because of rules with another company.

Caltrain has become very popular. More people started using it between 2005 and 2015 because more businesses opened near the stations, people began preferring trains over cars, and Caltrain added more trains and faster services.

The fast trains, called Baby Bullet, are very reliable, arriving on time 95% of the time. Caltrain helps the environment by moving many people and saving cars from the road.

Ticketing

Caltrain uses a system where riders must buy a ticket before getting on the train. Tickets can be bought from machines at stations or through the Caltrain app. Ticket windows at some stations closed in 2005.

Tickets have different rules. One-way tickets last four hours, while round-trip tickets work all day. There are special passes for certain groups like seniors and children. Fares depend on how many zones you travel through, with six zones covering different areas from San Francisco to Santa Clara County.

Caltrain uses the Clipper card for easy payments. Riders need to tap their card when getting on and off the train. Forgetting to tap off can lead to extra charges. There is also a mobile app for buying tickets with smartphones.

Before 2018, not having a ticket could lead to big fines and sometimes arguments. Now, the process is simpler with smaller fines that go directly to Caltrain. Repeated issues may still lead to bigger problems through the court system.

Logos, markings, and liveries

When Caltrain started, it used trains and cars painted in dark grey from Southern Pacific. The locomotives had a special red design called “Bloody Nose.” In 1982, an experiment tried a new look with red, silver, and blue colors, nicknamed “Rainbow.”

In 1985, when new trains arrived, Caltrain chose teal and blue stripes. By 1997, the trains changed to gray with black roofs, and newer trains got gray with red details.

Train numbering scheme

Each train has a three-digit number showing its route and direction. Since 2024, the numbers work like this:

• The first digit shows the type of service:

  • 1xx: Weekday local trains stopping at every station.
  • 4xx: Weekday trains skipping some stops between San Francisco and Redwood City, then stopping at every station to San Jose.
  • 5xx: Weekday express trains with few stops.
  • 6xx: Weekend local trains stopping at every station.
  • 8xx: Trains running between San Jose and Gilroy.

• The last two digits show the order of the train and its direction: odd numbers go north, and even numbers go south. For example, 501 is the first northbound express train, and 502 is the first southbound express train.

Legacy schemes

In the past, train numbers were shown on signs on the trains. Before 2021, the numbers were two digits. The first digit showed the service type, and the last two digits showed the order and direction of the train.

Between 2021 and 2024, the numbering changed again, with different meanings for the first digit depending on the service type.

Rolling stock

Electric multiple units

Caltrain uses special trains called EMUs made by Stadler Rail. In 2016, Caltrain bought 96 of these EMU cars to run on their electrified line. These cars are arranged into 16 trainsets, with plans to buy more in the future. By 2030, Caltrain plans to have 23 EMU trainsets, six diesel trainsets, and one battery electric train.

These new trains are double-decked and can reach speeds of up to 110 mph, though they will likely run at 79 mph in regular service. They are also designed to work with future California High-Speed Rail trains.

Caltrain began using these electric trains for public service on August 11, 2024.

Locomotives

Before 1985, Caltrain used locomotives leased from Southern Pacific. Since then, they have used mostly diesel-powered locomotives. In September 2024, newer diesel locomotives were kept for service between Gilroy and San Jose, while electric trains took over the route between San Francisco and Tamien. Older diesel locomotives were sold to Lima, Peru.

Legacy passenger cars

Before September 2024, Caltrain’s diesel trains had one locomotive and five or six passenger cars. These cars were either gallery cars or bilevel cars. Caltrain had 93 gallery cars and 41 bilevel cars in 2017.

After September 2024, these older diesel trains were replaced by electric trains between San Francisco and Tamien. The newer diesel locomotives and bilevel cars are now used on the southern segment between San Jose and Gilroy. Some of the older cars were sold to Lima, Peru.

Miscellaneous/Maintenance-of-Way

Caltrain has special cars for track maintenance and occasionally runs a special Holiday Train decorated with lights. This event started in 2001 and is sponsored by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Equipment lease to Caltrans

In September 2025, Caltrain leased some of its equipment to help Caltrans with shortages on its Capitol Corridor and Gold Runner routes.

Bicycle access

Caltrain was one of the first commuter rail services to allow bicycles on its trains. It started this service in 1992, letting four bikes on certain trains. By 2016, each train could carry up to 80 bicycles in special bike cars. Since 2024, every seven-car train has two cars just for bikes.

Cyclists need to tie their bikes to racks using a provided cord and make sure they don’t block the aisle. Each rack holds four bikes. Riders must be at least six years old, and those under 12 need an adult to help with their bike. Only single-rider bikes are allowed, and they must be less than 80 inches long. Folding bikes are allowed if folded properly.

Caltrain has added more bike cars over the years to meet demand. Now, most trains have two or three bike cars, letting many more people bring their bicycles. The train service also offers bike lockers at stations for people to store their bikes.