An exterior view of Caltrain’s new electrified trains during a press tour on Friday, June 23, 2023, at San Jose Diridon Station in San Jose, Calif. Caltrain is suspending service between San Francisco and San Jose on Saturday and Sunday to test its new electric train fleet that is slated to begin carrying passengers in September.
Caltrain’s electrification project is the first undertaking in North America in a generation where diesel trains and their infrastructure are transitioned to an electrified system. Electrification means faster and more frequent service, including doubling train frequency on weekends, Caltrain officials said. Electric trains are also more environmentally friendly.
The project has been in the works since the late 1990s and broke ground seven years ago. The project became all the more real when the Swiss-made red-and-white emblazoned trains were first revealed at their factory in Salt Lake City in 2019, offering a glimpse into one of the biggest makeovers to the region’s transportation system in years. Caltrain received the first train car two years ago.
Caltrain’s electrified tracks are slated to be shared with California’s High-Speed Rail in the coming decades if the ambitious project ever reaches the Bay Area. For now, the top speed is 79 miles per hour, the same as the old trains, officials said.