No weekend service between Tamien and San Jose Diridon Stations on select weekends July–Sept. More info. Closure this Sat.–Sun., July 11–12.
It has been incorrectly reported that Caltrain issued a $1.4 million check for a single senior leader. We would like to take the opportunity to provide accurate information.
The $1.4 million figure was the maximum amount authorized in an amendment to an on-call contract for a consulting firm. It set a ceiling on what could be spent based on the total duration, and in fact, the work directive that was issued to implement the contract included a cap of $426,000. To date, Caltrain has paid only a quarter of the total amount authorized, and the contract is being closed out.
Over the last several years, Caltrain has advanced the most ambitious capital portfolio in its history. Caltrain electrified the corridor between San Francisco and San Jose, a $2.44 billion undertaking and the first conversion from diesel to electric service by a railroad in a generation. Caltrain is replacing critical rail bridges, advancing grade separations, and installing safety technology at crossings corridor wide.
Delivering work of that scale demands unique expertise. People who have managed multibillion-dollar rail construction programs are hard to find and recruit into the public sector. Similar to other agencies in the Bay Area and nationwide, Caltrain has supplemented agency staff with specialized consultant support.
With the support of a consultant, Caltrain finished the Electrification Project and advanced the Caltrain elements of the Downtown San Francisco Extension (Portal) project. The consultant stepped in to reset a critical bridge replacement project as well as serve as interim Chief of Design and Construction for a whole department when the prior Chief retired. The consultant’s hourly rates were in line with the industry and below executive norms, and the costs were paid from the Capital budget, not the Operating funds that run daily train service. Combining these roles under one person spared the agency the expense of hiring separate employees.
Specialized consultant support allowed the electrification project to be delivered on its amended budget and schedule and closed out with zero contractor claims, saving the public millions of dollars, a rarity on projects of this size. The Guadalupe River Bridge replacement is finishing in two construction seasons rather than three, avoiding an estimated $25 million in additional costs. Since electric service began, Caltrain has become the fastest-growing transit system in the US.
After an extensive, competitive recruitment process for a Deputy Executive Director position, Caltrain hired the consultant as a full-time employee. She brings three decades of experience delivering major rail projects and a proven track record. The new Deputy Executive Director position also consolidates two previous capital related executive-level positions into one, generating more than $400,000 in annual savings on top of reducing reliance on consultant services.
Caltrain has opened its books to independent review. This June, our Board adopted every early-action recommendation from the independent oversight committee established under Senate Bill 63 to scrutinize our finances. That committee's report recognized $76 million in savings from cost-cutting measures Caltrain has already implemented.
We are committed to a complete evaluation going forward as well. Caltrain’s largest cost is the operator contract, which covers services ranging from maintenance to conductors. We have reviewed the FY27 budget line by line and held the operator contract to previous spending levels. We have identified savings through crew scheduling, reduced professional services spending, strategic hiring freezes, and recouping costs by selling electricity to the grid through regenerative braking from our trains. We are pursuing new revenue from parking, fiber leases, real estate, and station retail so fares and taxes carry less of the load.
We know that we must use public resources carefully and articulate what benefit has been provided. What we delivered is a transformed railroad: electric, faster, quieter, greener, and carrying more riders every month and reducing traffic for everyone. We plan to continue to move forward with same level of intension in the future.