The California Department of Transportation (Caltrain) recently celebrated the debut of its electrified train fleet in San Francisco.
The Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project will convert the Caltrain corridor between San Francisco and San Jose from diesel to an electric service and will equip the corridor to accommodate future California High Speed Rail service.
Once the project completes, express trains will operate in under an hour, and local trains will operate in 75 minutes. Every station will have service every 30 minutes mid-day, evenings and weekends, while 16 stations will have service every 15 to 20 minutes during peak periods. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduce by an estimated 250,000 tons annually.
The project began construction in 2017, and limited passenger service began Saturday. Full passenger service begins in September.
“The completed Caltrain project is an integral part of high-speed rail and the story California is telling about clean transportation,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “And Californians are already seeing the results for themselves as we electrify Caltrain, finish structures, lay track, design and build stations, and buy trains. We’re making rail real in California.”
The project was funded by more than $1.3 billion in state funding, including more than $700 million from high-speed rail.