As shelter-in-place (SIP) orders begin to relax, more riders are returning to Caltrain. Caltrain’s estimates show that its ridership has more than doubled from its lowest point of 1,500 riders per day to 3,200 riders per day.
Caltrain has also increased the number of trains it operates to 70 per weekday, after reducing service down to 42 trains following SIP. Caltrain is continuing to monitor ridership to ensure that enough capacity exists to allow riders to maintain a healthy distance from each other.
Caltrain has also been working to provide a safe and clean service in the face of COVID-19. All riders and staff are required to wear a face-covering while on board or at stations. Caltrain is currently cleaning and sanitizing its trains daily with CDC-recommended disinfectant products. Station touchpoints are wiped down multiple times each day and cleaning crews use spray foggers to disinfect the trains both every night and midday at the San Francisco Station.
Caltrain staff is working closely with the region’s transit systems to develop a public health on transit plan that will include a set of guidelines for riders and employees that is based on local, national, and international best practices for protecting riders and workers.
At this time, no employees that work on board or in a maintenance capacity have been infected with COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, Caltrain’s average weekday ridership was 65,000 passengers.
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Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with commute service to Gilroy. 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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