Beginning June 16, 2025, Tamien Station Electric Train Service Temporarily Suspended. Info: caltrain.com/status
By Mike Meader, Caltrain Chief Safety Officer
Safety is Caltrain's primary Core Value. Every decision in my job as Chief Safety Officer—from the technology we install at our crossings to the way we communicate about incidents—aims to reduce risk to employees, riders and our communities alike. That commitment is why we are accelerating both proven and innovative measures to keep people out of harm’s way.
Last month, Caltrain installed RailSentry at Palo Alto’s Churchill Avenue crossing. Using LiDAR and high-definition cameras, this AI system can distinguish between a brief pause from a stalled car or person lingering on the tracks. If danger persists, it alerts our train control staff within seconds, so that appropriate direction can be given to train crews and Transit Police. A similar installation at Burlingame’s Broadway crossing—a location considered the highest-risk crossings in the state by the California Public Utilities Commission—has gone six months without a single incident since RailSentry went live.
Technology is only part of the solution. Across the corridor we are refining the physical environment, so drivers, cyclists and pedestrians have clearer cues on how to proceed. Solar-powered roadway markers now trace safer paths over the rails. We are replacing worn ties and concrete panels for a smoother crossing, refreshing pavement striping, relocating stop bars, installing brighter signage, and adding flexible delineators that safely direct vehicles through the grade crossing. These near-term upgrades matter because grade separations and full crossing closures—the long-term gold standard—take years of engineering, funding and construction.
We are also changing how we talk about tragedy. After consulting suicide-prevention experts and local mental health organizations last spring, Caltrain adopted a restrained approach to publicizing fatalities that is based in best practices developed by other agencies that have effectively reduced instances of suicide. The reality is that extensive coverage can unintentionally encourage copy-cat acts.
In the 12 months before changing our practice on reporting instances, 22 people died on our tracks. In the 12 months since, the number has fallen to 13. One year of data does not make a definitive case, but the trend is encouraging, and we will keep evaluating it with outside specialists.
None of this work happens in isolation. We meet regularly with the San Mateo County Suicide Prevention Committee, Project Safety Net, the Santa Clara County Suicide Prevention Communications Workgroup, and other mental-health leaders whose insights shaped the new safety signage debuting throughout the corridor this summer. Their counsel reminds us that railroad engineering, local upstream mental health and crisis intervention are essential parts of a single public-health effort.
Caltrain will continue investing in technology, infrastructure, and partnerships that give people another chance to step back from danger—and give families one less reason to grieve. If you or someone you know is struggling with emotional distress or thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 any time, day or night. Help is always within reach.