Silicon Valley riders all in on Caltrain electrification

Caltrain’s electrification has lured people back to riding the rails.

Transit advocates and officials said Caltrain’s electric fleet, which launched last September, helped drive an increase in year-over-year ridership to 39% as of December 2024 — with electric trains delivering on promises of more service and smoother rides.

The agency has been touting the benefits of electric service for years and promising faster, quieter trips, increased service and less greenhouse gas emissions. But even transit officials are surprised by the bump in ridership.

Palo Alto Councilmember Pat Burt said he’s heard more good feedback from riders than he expected. Burt, who sits on the Caltrain board of directors and chairs the agency’s Local Policy Maker Group, said the rider base has changed to more weekend leisure travelers than weekday riders, with commuter traffic decreasing post-COVID.

“What we’ve heard from the public anecdotally is just a lot of enthusiasm over the electrification, people virtually giddy over it,” Burt told San José Spotlight. “We’ll see how that translates into ridership recovery.”

Last December, Caltrain ridership jumped to 588,328 riders, compared to 416,190 in the previous year. Still, there’s a long way to go before Caltrain returns to pre-COVID levels. In December 2019, Caltrain had 1.4 million riders.

Monica Mallon, a public transit advocate and San José Spotlight columnist, said the electric trains are noticeably faster and have so far provided better service. She said better service means more riders, especially as word spreads.

“It’s a bit of a gamble if you say all that,” Mallon told San José Spotlight. “I think they’ve been able to accomplish a lot of what they promised and that’s really important. If you want people to invest in transit in the future, you have to deliver on what you’re promising.”

Burt said Caltrain and other local transit agencies are pushing to improve other parts of the rider experience, especially at stations. For example, he said the board has looked into opening more retail spaces in stations so riders can grab drinks and snacks. Some stations serve multiple transit networks, and Burt said transit agencies across the region have been working to improve connection points.

In Sunnyvale, electric trains have meant more stops. Councilmember Richard Mehlinger, whose district touches Lawrence Station, said the station is busier because of that.
Lawrence Station, located near the borders of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, saw ridership increase by nearly 55% from December 2023 to last December. The Sunnyvale Station, located near the city’s downtown, saw a ridership increase from 21,679 in December 2023 to 31,554 as of last December, a roughly 46% increase.

“It’s proof that if you build it, they will come,” Mehlinger told San José Spotlight.

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.