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Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

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Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#41

Post by abind »

SamDc73 wrote: post #25
baby wrote: post #22

The Caltrain sucks though because taking a car is so much more fast/practical. I must have taken it once in 5y because it's just so far out in the city and not easy to access (and then super slow). People in Europe take trains because it's a better alternative than driving! Make subways land right in the train station in SF, then make the train faster, then you have something useful. On the other hand I agree with th…

The electric trains are a bit faster, but still slower than something like BART. My main issues with Caltrain are the cost (public transit shouldn’t be more expensive than driving) and the schedule: depending on the station, missing a train can mean waiting 30-60 minutes. also the Peninsula isn’t really built around trains. I still have to drive 5-10 minutes just to get to the station, then wait, then ride at that po…

Last mile connectivity is my issue as well! I live near a VTA light rail stop but taking that almost doubles my trip time to SF.

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#42

Post by nostrademons »

jedberg wrote: post #30
rconti wrote: post #5

It's notable that the annual ridership is up 47% in the FY ending June 2025 vs the FY ending June 2024, when electrification was only complete in September 2024-- in other words, it's not even a full year's worth of ridership increase. On the flip side, I find it shocking that ridership is still only 60% of pre-pandemic levels. Anecdotally, the increased service is a game-changer. Speed matters, too, a lot, but the f…

> On the flip side, I find it shocking that ridership is still only 60% of pre-pandemic levels. It makes a lot of sense. Many companies went full remote during the pandemic and stayed that way, or if they went in person, it's only 60% of the time or less. And a lot of people left the area during the pandemic, and those that are returning are coming back to SF, not the suburbs. I used to take the train every day for y…

Commuting and residential patterns changed too. A lot of Googlers purchased houses in the Tri-valley during COVID instead of living in apartments in Mountain View or Sunnyvale or SF. Now they have a Dumbarton or 237 commute instead of something Caltrain-accessible. Tech companies also started laying off in 2022, and stopped hiring in the Bay Area; I'd bet that total employment along the Caltrain corridor is significantly lower than in 2019.

The Bay Area also needs way better last-mile transportation. I looked into taking Caltrain to work; it'd take 22 minutes to Caltrain the ~15 miles to the nearest Caltrain station, and then another 22 minutes to shuttle the 2.5 miles to work.

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#43

Post by hangonhn »

abind wrote: post #41
SamDc73 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The electric trains are a bit faster, but still slower than something like BART. My main issues with Caltrain are the cost (public transit shouldn’t be more expensive than driving) and the schedule: depending on the station, missing a train can mean waiting 30-60 minutes. also the Peninsula isn’t really built around trains. I still have to drive 5-10 minutes just to get to the station, then wait, then ride at that po…

Last mile connectivity is my issue as well! I live near a VTA light rail stop but taking that almost doubles my trip time to SF.

Yeah my plan is to try Waymo as the last mile. Just idea right now but it sounds like a reasonable alternative to driving.

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#44

Post by idreyn »

guelo wrote: post #8
quotemstr wrote: post #2

Caltrain is functional, I guess, but it's one linear system. It doesn't even have express tracks. (It has a few four-tracked overtaking areas, but nothing pervasive.) Inside, basic electric power outlets are hard to find. Grade separation? Ridiculous fantasy. The route map hasn't expanded since 1992. Yeah, they've electrified the system. Congrats, I guess? The system is still a glorified people mover. It goes in one…

It's insane that it's not connected to Bart. Or that it isn't Bart. Bart goes SF to San Jose in the East Bay but we have a separate system on the West Bay? It's all a sign of how dysfunctional California governments have been at all levels for a long time. A big part of the dysfunction in the Bay Area is because there are 100 separate tiny governments. If it were one big government, like NYC, we could have sensibly c…

NYC here, our three disconnected commuter rail systems would all like a word :)

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#45

Post by thefourthchime »

rconti wrote: post #5

It's notable that the annual ridership is up 47% in the FY ending June 2025 vs the FY ending June 2024, when electrification was only complete in September 2024-- in other words, it's not even a full year's worth of ridership increase. On the flip side, I find it shocking that ridership is still only 60% of pre-pandemic levels. Anecdotally, the increased service is a game-changer. Speed matters, too, a lot, but the f…

I can tell you the light rail in Austin is a complete failure. There was some ridership before the pandemic, but after a few years, the numbers are dismal. They've covered the windows with ads, so you can't even tell how empty they are inside. Meanwhile, they crisscross the city, constantly blocking streets with rail guards just to shuffle a handful of people north and south.

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#46

Post by mwillis »

thot_experiment wrote: post #26
baby wrote: post #22

The Caltrain sucks though because taking a car is so much more fast/practical. I must have taken it once in 5y because it's just so far out in the city and not easy to access (and then super slow). People in Europe take trains because it's a better alternative than driving! Make subways land right in the train station in SF, then make the train faster, then you have something useful. On the other hand I agree with th…

You must be riding a different Caltrain, unless I'm on my motorcycle it's always faster to get anywhere in SF via Caltrain + bike from the peninsula during commute hours, it's not even close.

reading is tougher though

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#48

Post by [deleted] »

baby wrote: post #22

The Caltrain sucks though because taking a car is so much more fast/practical. I must have taken it once in 5y because it's just so far out in the city and not easy to access (and then super slow). People in Europe take trains because it's a better alternative than driving! Make subways land right in the train station in SF, then make the train faster, then you have something useful. On the other hand I agree with th…

[deleted]

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#49

Post by bickfordb »

The US needs a model for stronger state and regional authorities that plan and implement mass transit and zoning. In California in particular, cities and counties have consistently bungled planning, locking entire communities into single family housing with low height maximums, ceded walkable downtowns to freeway strip malls dominated by a handful of national retailers, and few updates to mass transit since BART was built in the 1970s. The example of the North Bay NIMBYs blocking BART expansion sticks out to me in particular.

Re: Caltrain shows why every region should be moving toward regional rail

#50

Post by [deleted] »

baby wrote: post #22

The Caltrain sucks though because taking a car is so much more fast/practical. I must have taken it once in 5y because it's just so far out in the city and not easy to access (and then super slow). People in Europe take trains because it's a better alternative than driving! Make subways land right in the train station in SF, then make the train faster, then you have something useful. On the other hand I agree with th…

[deleted]
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