Beginning November 14, Caltrain, the provider of commuter rail service along the San Francisco Peninsula, will be adding an extra car to three of its rail lines during rush hour to increase carrying capacity. The cars will be added to trains #220, #272, and #278, allowing Caltrain to carry approximately 200 additional passengers on those trips. The lines currently operate with five-car consists but will now have six-car consists for each trip.
The extra trains will be Gallery cars, the “more-traditional” trains on the Caltrain system, featuring two passenger levels and a box design.
Ridership on Caltrain has increased significantly, with average weekday counts rising to more than 60,000 passengers this year. Average weekday ridership in 2010 was just over 36,000.
Caltrain has addressed its capacity issues in several manners. Earlier this year, Caltrain replaced some five-car Gallery train sets with six-car Bombardier train sets. The Bombardier trains contain three different passenger seating levels.
Caltrain is set to electrify its system in late 2020 or early 2021. 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.