Caltrain Reaches Another Ridership Milestone

Another year, and it’s
another ridership record for Caltrain.

During the 2016 fiscal
year, which concluded on June 30, Caltrain recorded an average weekday
ridership of 60,219 passengers—an all-time high for the agency. The 2016 mark
represented a 3.2 percent increase from the year prior, which was itself a
record at the time.

For the entire year,
Caltrain carried some 19.2 million passengers, a 3.7 percent increase from the
previous record high set during the 2015 fiscal year. Caltrain has recorded
nearly six straight years of monthly ridership increases.

“As the Bay Area
economy continues to thrive, Caltrain is becoming more vital than ever for
regional commuters,” said Caltrain Executive Director Jim Hartnett. “We’re
honored by the loyalty of our customers, and we’re determined to make the steps
to ensure that Caltrain remains a reliable, safe and efficient transportation
option.”

While Caltrain is
proud to be the transportation option of choice for so many passengers, the
ever-increasing ridership numbers are putting a capacity strain on the system.

Caltrain has addressed
those issues with several near-term solutions. In 2015, Caltrain purchased 16
train cars from Metrolink in Los Angeles to add capacity to its regular fleet.
In July, the agency swapped out some older, gallery-style train equipment for
newer bi-level models, as a way to increase carrying capacity and devote more
resources to maintaining the older train cars.

The real answer for
Caltrain’s capacity issues will the electrification of the system, which is set
for 2020. Once the train network is electrified between San Francisco and San
Jose, Caltrain will be able to run more frequent service, allowing the system
to carry more passengers.

Electrification will
also reduce long-term environmental and noise impacts, improve regional air
quality and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. And it will allow the rail
corridor to be compatible with future high-speed rail service as part of the
blended system on the Peninsula.

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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 more
than 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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