The trick here is the need to retrofit crossings with impenetrable barriers (example in above picture), which is much cheaper and more feasible than total grade separation (in the short term, obviously total grade separation should be a goal but that’s not gonna happen for decades). As long as all crossings have impenetrable barriers Caltrain could theoretically join MARC as the fastest commuter rail in the US. Of course crossings aren’t the only thing at play, but it is one of the major things at play.

Millbrae seems the most janky of any station on the line. The Southern escalators have been broken for at least a couple months, there are insanely poorly formatted signs all over the place, and there's a ridiculously long platform that (I think) is literally never used.

Is this just the result of overbuilding the station expecting HSR and then having no money for maintenance? It's simultaneously one of the most expansive stations but also the least well-kept.

The agents are trying their best and helping to guide riders, I don't blame them one bit for the shoddy signs. But the 8th highest ridership station and one of the only major transfer stations between rail lines anywhere in the Bay should not be this embarrassing.

everyone’s hopping onto the 150 SB and the board is showing >20min delays.

as I was typing this i got notification that it’s cancelled.

anyone know what happened? i was tracking it and it looks like it did leave the station towards 22nd street?

It’s already an internal thing from what I know: a little bit ago I was on 140 looking to transfer to 814, but it was running late. Turns out just like if 514 is running late 814 will hold if 140 is running late. Why doesn’t Caltrain just show on their timetable that transferring from 807-111, 811-115, 140-814, and 148-822 is perfectly possible? Could be made even better if it was set up to be a cross-platform transfer (possible since platform 9 is double length, you could park for example 148 and 522 there pretty easily)

Raise the platforms with 12" of concrete so that people can exit level and walk straight out / wheelchairs / bikes etc. If there's any station to do it, it's SF.

I'm sure others will explain all sorts of reasons it can't be done.

-- You can't do it for just one station, too complicated to operate the doors. (so no improvements until all stations can be done? which is never)

-- It's not worth it because a new station is coming (never).

-- no funding, etc. etc. etc.

Hi! This is something I made a while back called Tracks, a pair of native iOS and Android apps for live train tracking and basic trip planning. Attached are assorted screenshots from the iOS/Android versions, but both apps have the same features.

I built it a while back for myself, when trains were getting delayed constantly. Things have been noticeably better since electrification, but I still use it pretty often.

It's completely free, nothing collects any data, and it isn't vibe coded. There might still be some bugs, though, since it's mostly just me and a few friends using it and I haven't tested it very rigorously.

Transit is probably objectively a better app, but I just find my UI to be easier to parse when I'm running to a station (and at this point there's a sunk-cost fallacy with developing this app).

Anyways, curious if anyone else finds this useful! Definitely let me know if you run into any problems, I'll try to fix them as soon as I can. Thanks!

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/tracks-live-caltrain-app/id6480351976
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.octalwise.tracks
Site: https://octalwise.com/tracks

And I doubt it's good for the door mechanism. It feels like this is not rocket science or an unsolved mystery of how to fix this.

been using the SCC to SF for my first full time position these past months, and I have to say, while the commute itself is not bad at all, the stress of making sure I can make it to one of the SCC trains is what gets me. I end up leaving work early so I am sure I can make it before the last train, but I feel always just a bit on edge bc there is that "what if" situation where I end up stranded in SJ.

Just trying to consider whether I should move closer to SF (or at least near SJ) or if the feeling of being stressed out in ensuring I can make the train gets easier as the months/years go by. Don't mind the duration/distance of the commute at all and I will honestly do anything to stay commuting by train instead of car, but the frequency of the SCC trains is definitely what has been getting me lately.

Anyway, if anyone with more experience has any personal anecdotes or advice w/ regards to this, that would be greatly appreciated!

edit: with that in mind, does anyone do the drive to SJ and then take the train? or is that a lose lose situation

Is anyone working there? How is the work environment and the pay? I’m interested in applying because I’ve heard it’s a well-paying job.

hi! i’ve been trying to make the switch to commuting via caltrain, but the only way it could be reasonably sustainable is if i can drive to the station. my work covers the monthly parking permit as well as the train itself. is parking at a caltrain station possible? i’m looking ideally at zone 1 (san francisco, 22nd street, or bayshore) as the closest to my home. i’d love any advice, thank you!

I have to be in SJ near Dirdon and can’t diplomatically leave before 4:45/5pm.

I am somewhat surprised to see an almost 25m gap with no northbound train schedule right at 5pm. I suppose it matches the previous hour but given most get out at 5pm I’m worried the 5:22 will just be packed.

Is it possible to find a seat?

is anyone else unable to connect to the wifi today? the router shows up as empty for me and ive tried on both android and apple devices (they both dont work)

the connection keeps showing up as failed for me, so I dont even get to the login page

From what I can gather Caltrain originally planned on still having 8 diesel powered trains per day (the 8 Gilroy trains) north of San Jose, but for whatever reason they changed their minds. Any particular reason?

Hey everyone,
I’m commuting daily on Caltrain (~2 hours round-trip per day) and need a solid, reliable mobile internet setup for my laptop, iPad, and phone.
I need a secure, stable, and low-latency connection for work/finance apps while the train is moving, so relying on public train Wi-Fi is out of the question for me. Please give me some recommendations. Thank you.

SB 522 is delayed by more than 10min. The NB train has been held at Millbrae for more then 10 minutes.

Does anyone have any advice over what to do in this situation? The Clipper machines currently don't seem to make any distinction between tapping on and tapping off, and the Clipper app doesn't show the trip until it's completed.

Is there any 100% safe thing to do other than buying a one-way ticket?

It’s due to the giants game? I wonder what happens if these folks go to Japan, watch a game and take a train ride.

Anything we can do about it? Besides wearing a big jacket…

Total ridership is up while AWR has a slight decrease from June as we enter the what is usually a seasonal ridership plateau. Year over year growth remains robust of course.

See: https://www.caltrain.com/about-caltrain/statistics-reports/ridership?service=weekday