Passengers traveling to the Gilroy Garlic Festival this weekend can savor the sweet taste of roundtrip charter train service to the annual event in the South Bay.
On Saturday, July 30, and Sunday, July 31, a special “Garlic Train” will depart from the San Jose Diridon Station at 10 a.m. and arrive at the Gilroy Caltrain Station at 11 a.m. During the evening, the Garlic Train will depart from the Gilroy Caltrain Station at 5 p.m. and arrive at the San Jose Diridon Station at 6 p.m., allowing attendees to enjoy a full day of activities at the festival.
Passengers coming from the Peninsula who want to hop on the Garlic Train at San Jose should take southbound train #422 on Saturday and Sunday morning. That train is scheduled to arrive at the San Jose Diridon Station at 9:53 a.m. For the evening trip, Caltrain passengers can hop on northbound train #443, which is scheduled to depart from San Jose Diridon Station at 6 p.m. Details on Caltrain’s weekend schedule are available here.
Garlic Festival attendees can purchase a Caltrain day pass or one-way ticket for their trip to San Jose at ticket vending machines located at stations, or by using their Clipper card. Attendees will need to purchase a ticket for the charter service separately. Those tickets can be purchased at the event website here.
The charter train ticket includes shuttle service to and from the Gilroy station to the festival, and includes festival admission. Charter train tickets will not be sold the day of the event. There will be ambassadors aboard the Garlic Train that will help direct passengers to and from the shuttles.
This year’s festival will feature a cook-off competition between eight chefs who will vie for the coveted “Garlic Crown,” entertainment from country music stars like Brooke Eden and Drew Baldridge, and, of course, plenty of tasty food offerings.
For more Caltrain fare and schedule information, visit www.caltrain.com or call 1.800.660.4287 (TTY 650.508.6448.)
Parking at Caltrain stations cost $5.50 for the day, and permits can be purchased at station ticket machines. Paid parking rules are enforced throughout the day.
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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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