Beginning Monday, April 4, Caltrain will adjust its timetable to improve schedule reliability for customers. In addition, Caltrain also has plans to add a third bike car to the Bombardier train sets to accommodate its growing bicycle ridership.
Given the vast increase in ridership over the past few years, trains are stopping longer at many stations due to the growing number of customers and bicyclists boarding and alighting. Because schedule reliability is just as important as trip length, Caltrain will adjust its weekday schedule by several minutes per train to better reflect actual departure times at every station. The primary goal in adjusting the timetable is to provide our customers with increased confidence in the published schedule.
Although the new schedule will not be implemented until next month, the new timetable is already available to view online at www.caltrain.com/newtimetable.
For five years, Caltrain has enjoyed consecutive monthly ridership increases, surpassing more than 60,000 average weekday riders. Because of Caltrain’s popularity, trains are often operating at or beyond 100 percent of available capacity.
This has created a particular issue for bicyclists, who have been “bumped” or not allowed to bring their bike onboard the train due to overcrowding. To help improve the situation, Caltrain will be adding a third bike car to its Bombardier train sets, which will increase onboard bike capacity from 48 bikes to 72 bikes. For train configuration, CLICK HERE.
In recognition of the additional bike cars, Caltrain and its Bicycle Advisory Committee are planning a celebratory event to mark the occasion. The “Bikes on Bombardiers Event” is scheduled to take place at the San Francisco Caltrain Station Plaza on Monday, April 4, at 8 a.m. during the morning commute.
Representatives from the bicycle community and the general public will be invited to participate in the event, which will include a few short speeches from members of the Caltrain Bicycle Advisory Committee, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. There will also be an energizer station for bicyclists to pick up some goodies, as well as a ribbon-cutting.
In fall 2014, Caltrain purchased 16 used rail cars in response to the growth in demand on the railroad and significant overcrowding on many of its peak hour trains.
Most of Caltrain’s newer Bombardier equipment and Gallery trains are configured with five cars, which include two bike cars.
Caltrain recognizes that there is an urgent need for increased capacity throughout the system and is planning to add a sixth car to more trains, following the completion of rehabilitation work on its aging fleet. Caltrain also is considering whether customer requests for additional Bullet train service can be accommodated.
For more information about Caltrain schedules, call 1.800.660.4287 (TTY 650.508.6448) or visit www.caltrain.com/newtimetable.
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About Caltrain: Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with limited commute service to Gilroy. Caltrain has enjoyed five years of consecutive monthly ridership increases, surpassing more than 60,000 average weekday riders earlier this year. While the Joint Powers Board assumed operating responsibilities for the service in 1992, the railroad celebrated 150 years of continuous passenger service in 2014. Planning for the next 150 years of Peninsula rail service, Caltrain is on pace to electrify the corridor, reduce diesel emissions by 97 percent by 2040 and add more service to more stations.
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