Caltrain Celebrates U.S. Senate’s $10 Million for Electrification Project

Funding support part of Senate Appropriation Bill

Caltrain today applauded the release of the United State Senate’s FY 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Developments (THUD) bill, which includes $10 million in funding for the agency’s Electrification Project. The Senate THUD bill will eventually be conferenced with the House-passed version before being signed into law. 

“We want to thank Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla for their leadership and continued support of this project. We are incredibly grateful to have such committed champions advocating on our behalf,” said Caltrain Acting Executive Director Michelle Bouchard. “Federal allocations like these help Caltrain stay on track to be serving passengers on a modernized system that will not only provide improved service but helps fight climate change.”

Caltrain electrification currently faces a $410 million shortfall, making any funding contributions critical to helping Caltrain complete the project by 2024. In addition to the $10 million Federal support from the THUD bill, Caltrain is eligible for funding through California’s historic transportation package. Over the coming months, Caltrain will be allowed to apply to receive funding from that funding pot.

The electrification of the Caltrain system will deliver major benefits to the communities that it serves. Electrification will reduce Caltrain’s greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate the particulate matter by replacing caused by the aging diesel engines.

Service will become both more frequent and more comfortable, as state-of-the-art electric trains replace the 30-year-old diesel fleet. The project has also created thousands of jobs locally and throughout the country, both to electrify the corridor and to assemble the new trains. Electrified service will lay the foundation to meet Caltrain’s goal of tripling capacity by 2040, the equivalent of carrying 5.5 lanes to U.S. Highway 101.

The infrastructure that is being installed will be compatible with future high-speed rail on the corridor. The Caltrain Electrification Project is expected to be completed in 2024.

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About Caltrain: Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with commute service to Gilroy. Serving the region since 1863, Caltrain is the oldest continually operating rail system west of the Mississippi. Looking to the future, Caltrain is set to electrify the corridor by 2024, which will reduce diesel emissions and add more service to more stations while advancing the agency’s equity goals.

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Media Contact: Dan Lieberman, 650-622-2492