Caltrain eNews: Focus on Weekend Construction, Guadalupe Bridge Improvements, and Growing Ridership

Building Tomorrow’s Railroad, One Weekend at a Time

Caltrain Electrification, which will provide passengers with greener, faster, and more frequent service, is nearing its final phase as we anticipate electrified service to begin in 2024. However, in 2023 we need to do intensive work along the corridor to complete critical construction and testing activities.

We have now had two weekends of localized shutdowns on our corridor to accommodate targeted construction work, with three partial weekend shutdowns planned in March. This work is necessary to ensure that electrified service is ready to launch in 2024, and we at Caltrain will do everything we can to see that it’s completed safely and quickly so riders can get back on board.

Lifeline bus bridge service is available to transport customers who need to travel through the impacted areas. If you’re planning a trip on Caltrain during the weekend, go to www.caltrain.com/status to see if your trip will be affected by construction, while our weekday service is still running a record-high 104 trains per day.

Caltrain construction worker works on foundation of newly installed catenary pole

Construction Speeds Along Thanks to Reduced Weekend Service

Caltrain reduced weekend service this month in order to stay on track for delivering electrified service next year. In February, our workers installed over 40,000 feet of wire along the corridor, as well as 90 cantilevers. Pole installation continues, with only 60 poles of the over 2,500 in the system left to install. We thank our riders for their patience during this period of construction, and the men and women out there working on our rails to ensure the project stays on schedule.

Guadalupe River Bridge Replacement Project Gets Underway

The Guadalupe River Bridge is getting a makeover, as Caltrain recently began construction on the nearly 90-year-old crossing. The northbound track on a wooden trestle bridge is being replaced while the southbound track gets extended, ensuring that the bridge will be secure against erosion and allowing the river to flow freely. Construction should last through 2025, without requiring any significant disruption of Caltrain service.

Caltrain Ridership More Than Doubles Over 2022

The numbers are in, and they show that 2022 was a banner year for Caltrain’s ridership. While still below its pre-pandemic levels, average weekday ridership was 15,345 in 2022, nearly two and a half times what it was in 2021. We thank our riders for getting back on board, and we look forward to seeing similar growth over the course of this year, as well as far more when electrification starts providing an even higher level of service.

image of an upraised Black fist alongside the words Black History Month

Caltrain Recognizes African American History Month

The Caltrain Board of Directors voted to recognize February as African American History Month. Caltrain is proud to serve a diverse population of riders and to celebrate the heritage of everyone who rides with us. We in the Bay Area are fortunate to live in a diverse, vibrant community, and Caltrain is honored to provide transit for everyone who calls the Bay Area home.

caltrain.com/Meetings

In light of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the Bay Area, Caltrain is monitoring the situation and following local public health agencies and CDC guidance regarding public meetings.

Caltrain is implementing a bold service vision for the future with a series of infrastructure and planning projects to modernize the system. Central among these projects is Electrification, which lays the foundation for a faster, greener, cleaner, and more reliable system for everyone.

1.800.600.4287 | Caltrain.com

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