Caltrain to Increase Bike Capacity on Trains

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February 6, 2009

The Caltrain Board of Directors today took another incremental step toward improving its already industry-leading onboard bicycle program by approving a plan to increase overall capacity by 27 percent.

Under the plan, each train will have space designated for an additional eight bikes. Caltrain operates two types of train equipment: gallery and Bombardier. The gallery train sets will increase to 40 slots and the Bombardier will have 24 bike spaces.

The action came after Caltrain staff presented a number of options for increasing bike capacity while also taking into consideration the reliable operation of the train service that serves more than 41,000 riders each weekday. Bike riders make up approximately 2,400 of those customers.

The board also supported staff’s recommendation to continue the “active, engaging and passionate” dialogue with the bicycle community, which includes formalizing the role of the bicycle advisory committee.

It could be mid-spring before bike riders see additional capacity as Caltrain staff seeks funding for the estimated $200,000 project then commence with removing seats and installing the bike racks. In addition to the additional capacity, Caltrain also committed to strive to assign two bike cars on peak-period trains as operations allow.

Caltrain first welcomed bikes onboard trains in 1992 with a pilot program that allowed four bikes on a few trains. Over the years, the rail agency has made incremental improvements in capacity, resulting in the current standard of 16 bikes per Bombardier train and 32 per gallery set.