![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Caltrain_map.svg/350px-Caltrain_map.svg.png)
Caltrain is a commuter rail transit system that serves the San Francisco Peninsula and the Santa Clara Valley in the U.S. state of California. It is operated under contract by TransitAmerica Services and funded jointly by the City and County of San Francisco, San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) through the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB). The system's average mid-weekday ridership is 65,095 as of February 2018.[1][2]
The original railroad between San Francisco and San Jose (known as the Peninsula Commute) was built by the San Francisco and San Jose Rail Road in 1863.[3][4] In 1870 the railroad was acquired by Southern Pacific.[3] Southern Pacific double tracked the line in 1904. In 1958 the railroad had record ridership, 7.5 million passengers.[5] The popularity of the railroad began to decline and in 1977 Southern Pacific petitioned to the state government to discontinue Peninsula Commute.[3][4] After months of negotiation, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reached an agreement with the three counties of which the Peninsula Commute ran through to continue rail operation.[3] Under the agreement, the system was renamed Caltrain and operation responsibilities were shared by Caltrans, Southern Pacific and the three counties.[3] The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board was formed in 1987, and it bought the right of way of Caltrain from Southern Pacific in late 1991 for $220 million.[3][4][5] The PCJPB formally took over the operation of Caltrain in 1992 and contracted Amtrak to operate the system. In the same year, Caltrain extended to Gilroy.[6] Amtrak's contract with PCJPB was renewed in 2001.[3]
The system has 31 stations. 28 stations are served daily, one (Broadway) is served on weekends only, one (College Park) is served during Bellarmine College Preparatory's commute times on weekdays only, and one (Stanford) is served on Stanford University's football game days only. San Francisco 4th and King Street is the northern terminus of the system, while Gilroy is the southern terminus. The five southernmost stations—Capitol, Blossom Hill, Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy—are served only on weekdays during commute times, by select trains.[7] Twelve stations are served by the express train service known as Baby Bullet, inaugurated in 2004.[6] Seven stations (Millbrae,[a] Burlingame, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and San Jose Diridon) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]
Of the 31 stations in the system, 27 are accessible. The four that are not are, in order from north to south, 22nd Street, Broadway, Stanford, and College Park.[10] The weekend-only Broadway station is planned to be completely rebuilt; upon completion, it would be ADA-compliant.[11] The non-accessible Atherton station was closed on December 13, 2020.[12] Of the four non-accessible stations in the system, only 22nd Street sees regular service. A plan to add ADA-compliant ramps to the station is being considered.[13]
Stations
[edit]† | Terminals |
^(no.) | L3/L4/L5 Limited-stop stations[14][15] |
• | B7 Baby Bullet stops[14][15] |
![]() |
Transfer stations with other rail systems |
Station | Stations with services limited to commute hours, weekends, or special events[7] |
![]() |
Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act[10] |
Fare zone[b] |
Mile[c] | Location | Station | Abb.[d] | Weekday ridership[e] |
Connections/Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0.2 | San Francisco | San Francisco•^(3|4|5)†![]() ![]() |
SFK | 15,427 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|
1.9 | 22nd Street•^(4|5)[f] | TWE | 1,977 | ![]() | |||
5.2 | San Francisco / Brisbane |
Bayshore ![]() |
BAY | 247 | |||
9.3 | South San Francisco | South San Francisco ![]() |
SSF | 468 | ![]() | ||
11.6 | San Bruno | San Bruno^(4) ![]() |
SBR | 695 | |||
2 | 13.7 | Millbrae | Millbrae•^(3|4|5)![]() ![]() |
MIL | 3,340 | ![]() |
|
15.2 | Burlingame | Broadway[g] | BWY | 114 (Sat & Sun) | weekend service only | ||
16.3 | Burlingame^(4) ![]() |
BUR | 1,104 | ||||
17.9 | San Mateo | San Mateo^(4|5) ![]() |
SMT | 2,291 | |||
19.1 | Hayward Park ![]() |
HPK | 583 | ![]() | |||
20.3 | Hillsdale•^(3|5) ![]() |
HIL | 3,229 | ![]() | |||
21.9 | Belmont | Belmont^(3) ![]() |
BEL | 780 | ![]() | ||
23.2 | San Carlos | San Carlos^(4) ![]() |
SCS | 1,331 | |||
25.4 | Redwood City | Redwood City•^(3|4|5) ![]() |
RWC | 4,212 | |||
3 | 28.9 | Menlo Park | Menlo Park^(3|5) ![]() |
MPK | 1,728 | ![]() | |
30.1 | Palo Alto | Palo Alto•^(3|4|5) ![]() |
PAL | 7,764 | ![]() | ||
30.8 | Stanford | STF | — | Stanford football games | |||
31.8 | California Avenue^(3) ![]() |
CAL | 1,693 | ![]() | |||
34.1 | Mountain View | San Antonio^(3) ![]() |
SAT | 943 | |||
36.1 | Mountain View•^(3|4|5)![]() ![]() |
MVW | 4,810 | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | ||
38.8 | Sunnyvale | Sunnyvale^(3|4|5) ![]() |
SUN | 3,364 | |||
4 | 40.8 Caltrain | Lawrence^(3) ![]() |
LAW | 949 | ![]() | ||
44.7 | Santa Clara | Santa Clara^(4|5) ![]() ![]() |
SCL | 1,097 | ![]() ![]() |
||
46.3 | San Jose | College Park^(3|4)[g] | CPK | 108 | Bellarmine commute times only | ![]() | |
47.5 | San Jose Diridon•^(3|4|5)†![]() ![]() |
SJD | 4,876 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|||
49.1 | Tamien^(3|4|5)†![]() ![]() |
TAM | 1,286 | ![]() ![]() |
|||
5 | 52.4 UPRR | Capitol^(3|4) ![]() |
CAP | 78 | weekday commute times only | ||
55.7 UPRR | Blossom Hill^(3|4) ![]() |
BHL | 146 | weekday commute times only | |||
6 | 67.5 UPRR | Morgan Hill | Morgan Hill^(3|4) ![]() |
MHL | 237 | weekday commute times only | |
71.2 UPRR | San Martin | San Martin^(3|4) ![]() |
SMR | 87 | weekday commute times only | ||
77.4 UPRR | Gilroy | Gilroy†^(3|4) ![]() |
GIL | 252 | weekday commute times only |
Stop patterns
[edit]Legend:
● | All trains stop |
---|---|
▲ | Some trains stop |
Miles | Zone | Station | L1 1xx Local[A] |
L2 2xx Weekend & Modified Local[B][C] |
L3 3xx Limited 3[D] |
L4 4xx Limited 4[E] |
L5 5xx Limited 5[F] |
6xx Modified / Temporary |
B7 7xx Baby Bullet[G] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
L2[H] | L6-A[I] | L6-B[J] | L6-C[K] | |||||||||
0.0 | 1 | San Francisco | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
1.9 | 22nd Street | ● | ● | ▲[L] | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ▲[L] | |
5.2 | Bayshore | ● | ● | — | — | — | ● | ● | — | — | — | |
9.3 | South San Francisco | ● | ● | ● | — | — | ● | ● | — | — | — | |
11.6 | San Bruno | ● | ● | — | ● | — | ● | ● | — | — | — | |
13.7 | 2 | Millbrae | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
15.2 | Broadway[M] | — | ● | — | — | — | ● | — | — | — | — | |
16.3 | Burlingame | ● | ● | — | ● | — | ● | ● | — | — | — | |
17.9 | San Mateo | ● | ● | — | ● | ● | ● | ● | — | ● | — | |
18.9 | Hayward Park | ● | ● | — | — | — | ● | ● | — | — | — | |
20.3 | Hillsdale | ● | ● | ● | — | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
21.9 | Belmont | ● | ● | ● | — | — | ● | ● | ● | — | — | |
23.2 | San Carlos | ● | ● | — | ● | — | ● | — | ● | ● | — | |
25.4 | Redwood City | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
28.9 | 3 | Menlo Park | ● | ● | ● | — | ● | ● | — | ● | ● | — |
30.1 | Palo Alto | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
30.8 | Stanford[N] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
31.8 | California Avenue | ● | ● | ● | — | — | ● | — | ● | ● | — | |
34.0 | San Antonio | ● | ● | ● | — | — | ● | — | ● | — | — | |
36.1 | Mountain View | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
38.8 | Sunnyvale | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | — | |
40.8 | 4 | Lawrence | ● | ● | ● | — | — | ● | — | ● | ● | — |
44.3 | Santa Clara | ● | ● | — | ● | ● | ● | — | ● | — | — | |
45.7 | College Park[O] | ▲[P] | — | ▲[Q] | ▲[R] | — | — | — | ▲[S] | — | — | |
46.9 | San Jose | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
48.9 | Tamien | ▲[T] | ▲[U][V] | ▲[W] | ▲[X] | ▲[Y] | ▲[V] | — | ● | — | — | |
52.2 | 5 | Capitol | — | — | ▲[Z] | ▲[AA] | — | ▲[AB] | ▲[AC] | ▲[AD] | — | — |
55.5 | Blossom Hill | — | — | ▲[Z] | ▲[AA] | — | ▲[AB] | ▲[AC] | ▲[AD] | — | — | |
67.3 | 6 | Morgan Hill | — | — | ▲[Z] | ▲[AA] | — | ▲[AB] | ▲[AC] | ▲[AD] | — | — |
71.0 | San Martin | — | — | ▲[Z] | ▲[AA] | — | ▲[AB] | ▲[AC] | ▲[AD] | — | — | |
77.2 | Gilroy | — | — | ▲[Z] | ▲[AA] | — | ▲[AB] | ▲[AC] | ▲[AD] | — | — | |
Notes
|
Closed stations
[edit]Mile[c] | Station | Closed | Fare zone [b] | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.1 | Paul Avenue | 2005 | 1 | San Francisco | Closed due to low ridership[20] |
8.6 | Butler Road | 1983 | 1 | South San Francisco | |
20.0 | Bay Meadows | 2005 | 2 | San Mateo | Consolidated with Hillsdale station[21] |
27.8 | Atherton | 2020 | 3 | Atherton | Closed due to low ridership and the hold-out rule[22] |
34.9 | Castro | 2000 | 3 | Mountain View | Replaced by San Antonio station[23] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Millbrae station's original depot and platforms were closed in 2003 when Caltrain relocated to the new Millbrae Intermodal Terminal just to the north. The depot now houses the Millbrae Train Museum.[8]
- ^ a b Caltrain charges zone-based fares. Fares are based on the number of 13-mile zones the passenger travels in.[16]
- ^ a b Station mileposts are based on track distance from the former 3rd and Townsend Southern Pacific Depot 0.2 miles northeast of the current San Francisco station. Actual station distances south of Lawrence station no longer match the given mileposts (e.g. current track distance from San Francisco to the San Jose station is 46.8 miles).
- ^ Three-letter station abbreviation.[17]
- ^ Ridership counts the average number of mid-weekday boardings at the listed station in January & February 2018.[1][2]
- ^ Bullet service limited to reverse commute (northbound trains in AM, southbound trains in PM)
- ^ a b At this station, Caltrain applies a "hold-out rule": a train cannot enter the station when a train on the other track is stopped at the station for passengers.
References
[edit]- General
- "Caltrain Stations". Caltrain. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- Specific
- ^ a b "Caltrain 2018 Annual Passenger Count: Key Findings" (PDF). Caltrain. February 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Prior to 2018, Caltrain counted "average weekday ridership" by counting riders on all weekday (Monday through Friday) trains for one week and computing the average as the sum of all riders over one week divided by five. In 2018, Caltrain shifted to counting "average mid-weekday ridership" by counting riders on trains on two of the three mid-weekday days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday) for two weeks and computing the average as the sum of all riders on the four mid-week days divided by four. An examination of mid-weekday ridership data from 2013 through 2017 showed ridership on these three mid-weekday days is approximately equal. Since Monday (-1% compared to mid-weekday ridership) and Friday (-9%) trains tend to have lower ridership than mid-weekday trains, the pre-2018 "average weekday ridership" results in a count approximately 2% less than the 2018+ "average mid-weekday ridership" methodology. Details from 2018 Ridership Report Archived 2020-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g "Caltrain — San Francisco to Gilroy". Caltrain. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c "History, Caltrain Milestones". Caltrain. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ a b Pimentel, Benjamin (June 30, 1997). "A New Look for Caltrain — Critics want better service instead of cosmetic changes". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ a b Van Hattem, Matt (July 5, 2006). "Caltrain". Trains Magazine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ a b "Caltrain System Map". Caltrain. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Somers, Janets (February 4, 2005). "All aboard for train buffs". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ "Caltrain Facilities and Statistics". Caltrain. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ a b "Accessibility". www.caltrain.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- ^ "Burlingame Broadway Grade Separation Project". www.caltrain.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- ^ "Proposed Closure of Atherton Caltrain Station". www.caltrain.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- ^ "22nd St Station ADA Access Improvement Feasibility Study: SFCTA Update" (PDF). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. October 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
- ^ a b c "Weekday Timetable" (PDF). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. August 30, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Weekend Timetable" (PDF). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. August 30, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Fare Chart". Caltrain. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ @Caltrain (July 28, 2017). "Caltrain 101: Zones/Stations/Abbreviations" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Modified Schedule". Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "Temporary Schedule, Effective March 14 to April 1, 2022" (PDF). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Murphy, Dave (August 1, 2005). "Baby Bullet service expands". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
- ^ "Key Findings-February 2010 Caltrain Annual Passenger Counts" (PDF). Caltrain. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
- ^ "Proposed Closure of Atherton Caltrain Station". www.caltrain.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ Pence, Angelica (December 3, 1999). "Little-Used Mountain View Station Closing". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved November 5, 2008.