Celebrating Caltrain Electrification, an early California High-Speed Rail Investment

[@tbagger99]

Love it, keep it up. We need more transit options in the USA.

[@KanameGaming]

nice to see the USA getting more electrified lines and here's hoping to more electrified commuter services

[@benandolga]

We need it in San Diego

[@The_Vaporizer]

Are you stupid or just never been to San Diego? 😂

[@jossdeiboss]

These new trains are beautiful. Well done!

[@leonwilson1405]

I visited Columbus , Ohio in 1960 and saw overhead electric catenary wires that powered the buses in that city. A few years later the catenary was removed and the electric buses were replaced by gasoline powered buses. The city went from clean air to polluted air. Today more cities have returned to clean electric railcars. My tour in west Germany, there buses but more electric light rail cars transverse the Frankfurt Germany streets. The old rail cars were replaced by new ones that ride like autos.

[@firstlast1932]

De-electrification may have been extremely stupid, but mass transit is rarely main source of pollution.

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

I'm glad that California is catching up to us. Now time for a wide, electrified commuter network with more then two tracks and with departures every ten minutes!

[@Yvonne-Bella]

The amount of haters hatin is weird

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@Yvonne-Bella there’s always gonna be haters. The Golden Gate Bridge had its critics, as did the first Shinkansen in Japan. I’m sure even the Interstates had their fair share of skeptics when those were being built. Basically any new idea, regardless of how popular it might be, will have its doubters, especially when it’s one on the scale of HSR (or even just new electric trains on an existing corridor) that’s ambitious and a major shift in the way things are. Some people are very resistant to change, despite the fact that things are the way they are now because of change. Adapting, modernizing, improving. That’s how we keep moving forward as a society.

[@arxligion]

128 billion is a lot of taxpayer money

[@TheLIRRFrenchie...]

@@arxligion hmmmm, I hope you have this same comment for pentagon spending, particularly what the can't account for..... You tax dollars will ALWAYS be used for things you don't like, get over it.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@arxligion so is the roughly $20 billion CA spends on freeways every year. Compare that to the $12-13 billion spent in total on CAHSR since 2008. To build the equivalent freeway and airport capacity that HSR will provide would cost a projected 1.5 times more (up to $253 billion), and would only perpetuate more driving and flying between NorCal and SoCal while doing nothing for the inherent pitfalls of those options, which would only get worse. We need a competitive third option, and that’s been proven across the world to be high speed rail. HSR, coupled with good regional and local transit, will help relieve some of the congestion on roads and at airports for travel between the Bay Area, Central Valley and SoCal.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

And before you say something like “freeways already exist,” that hasn’t always been the case. We had to build those too, and we’ve spent decades and tens (if not hundreds) of billions of dollars widening them despite conclusive proof that doing so makes traffic worse in the long run.

[@jackheris687]

Fast acceleration. And smooth ride.

[@osmanhossain676]

I always want California High-Speed Rail in California and I always love California High-Speed Rail in California.😮

[@carisi2k11]

Now to grade separate.

[@mrmaniac3]

The trajectory of progress is reminding me a little of Tokyo. While Shinkansen is entirely separated, many JR lines have historically been at grade, and they are still working on removing level crossings. It's better to grade separate, but it's important to keep perfect from being the enemy of progress. We're extremely weak with rail infrastructure in post-industrial America but we can still get there if we do what we can.

[@Mike__B]

@@mrmaniac3 Yup, up the game on crossing signals to make it literally impossible for cars to drive around them because they don't want to wait a minute, and remove idiotic traffic light designs that get people stuck on the tracks because no one knows how to program a light signal to automatically turn green if a train is coming, looking at you Burlingame!

[@TysonIke]

@@mrmaniac3I think Caltrain needs to take a one crossing project at a time approach. Start with Redwood City, Burlingame, Sunnyvale, South SF, and Mountain View. Than go to the more problematic cities like Menlo, SF, SM, and Palo Alto, but do it one at a time

[@IowaTrainGay]

So amazing!

[@andreirachko]

Music to my ears! If my taxes go to projects like these, I’ll happily pay!

[@osmanhossain676]

Yes 100%😮

[@lalodaniels1388]

I'm glad that the rich people in the Bay area have a fast electric train. Please hurry up the one in the Central Valley, and please connect it to the Bay area soon. Us poor people in the Central Valley need it now.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

They’re working on it! First segment in the Central Valley to open in 2030-33, connecting in Merced with both ACE Rail and Amtrak San Joaquins to the Bay Area (and Sacramento), as well as with buses in Bakersfield to SoCal. When HSR reaches SF ultimately comes down to how quickly that segment gets funded (just as it does for reaching LA).

[@lalodaniels1388]

@@ChrisJones-gx7fc That's what I'm talking about. What is the hold-up with funding the Bay Area to Central Valley portion? I see the government waste money on stupid things that don't help the people, so why not do something that will improve our state's economy, improve our air quality, and help poor people get better jobs that are further away, not to mention help the workers in the Bay Area buy an affordable home? I'd rather they do that than give more weapons to foreign countries like Ukraine or Israel, or put an extra two lanes on Highway 99 like they're proposing. We need better leaders who are not corrupt, and I say this because I am 39 years old now, and I remember being a young boy and listening to Pete Wilson on the news proposing the High-Speed Rail. Imagine if we had invested the Iraq war money into High-Speed Rail instead of a pointless war?

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@lalodaniels1388 I feel you. Best things you can do are vote for candidates, both at the state and federal level, who support the project and getting it more funding, and keep voicing your support for the project. I firmly believe there are more supporters than opponents (as seen in the 2022 UC Berkeley poll that shows 56% of Californians continue to support the project), but the opposition is much more vocal, especially when behind the animosity of a screen.

[@mrmaniac3]

We gotta see intercity electric rail come to fruition from the ghost of Sacramento's Northern interurban network. Upgrades to Capitol Corridor (grade separation, electrification, speed and frequency), and a new line from Sacramento north to each city in the valley. Connect California north to south and maybe we'd become the 4th largest economy in the world

[@mrmaniac3]

Now we gotta vote for better housing policy to make that corridor affordable to live in. Pokemon go to the polls 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@MaxSnowDude]

I wish cali hsr was 100% ROW.

[@Atyomommahouse-p2m]

Worked years on the electrification project. Not a single worker was interviewed. Not a single worker was even thanked tbh. As soon as it’s done the cameras and officials show up.

[@hehel5163]

Thanks for your services, here’s my hard earned money in the form of taxes. 😂You’re acting like they did it for free. 🤡

[@hotrail8295]

Thank you and to all of your hardworking coworkers who worked long hours and worked through all the challenges to make this happen. We appreciate what you have done! Thank YOU!

[@liemduong6729]

Bro, those guys get paid from the BILLIONS of taxes that the TAX PAYERS approved to give to fund these projects. Chill tf out.

[@Perich29]

Congratulations on the new train.

[@AnirbanDas21989]

It almost sounds sarcastic seeing California bragging about electrifying a stretch of rail line. Hope the nation gets more trains.

[@mkho0505]

I await the day when public transit will be more appealing than driving. keep it up

[@hotrail8295]

It already is.. Take Caltrain.. and someday, CAHSR!

[@samh628]

That's how it should be built for the CHSR's first phase, San Francisco - St Jose, and From San Diego - LA and Rancho Cucamonga. Open to public and use that income to help fund other phases.

[@osmanhossain676]

Yes and yeah of course California High-Speed Rail in California.😮

[@hotrail8295]

Bring it ON!! Let's GO CAHSR!!

[@JuanN64Projects]

Metrolink is next.

[@hotrail8295]

only if they wake up..

[@Mike__B]

Absolutely love the electrification efforts. Now lets hope for more ridership so it can be more self sufficient and rely less on punishing people who don't use it... I'm looking at your Senator Wiener

[@teuast]

1:00 yo is that guy wearing a fuckin beabadoobee shirt??? based 🤘🤘🤘

[@meliaguilar1694]

They need to hurry finish the California high speed rail system going to Vegas

[@danieljk826]

That's not CAHSR. That's Brightline West, which is a private company that is funded in large part by the government.

[@benandolga]

How to explain poor USSR had electric trains in big cities about 60 years ago except distant places amongst mountains were lived small farmers? However we live in 21st century in super state, super progressive with biggest cities like LA and San Diego with big cash tourist locations but we still have local stubborn politicians who loves archaic monster noisy diesel locomotives!!

[@tonyburzio4107]

The line to San Diego is in it's last decade, if it's not moved soon it will fall into the ocean, so says Amtrak.

[@benandolga]

@@tonyburzio4107 Why not to move further from the cliff? I don’t like Amtrak ! Useless company! Has to be sold to private owners! It is too expensive, very outdated, too complicated to use, too slow, too old ! Even Acela they have is not what supposed to be! Only Brightline doing good! I would be happy if Brightline would buy Amtrak and replace with their new trains! And in addition Stadler would be cool too!

[@benandolga]

@@tonyburzio4107 The problem is with Amtrak

[@MatthiasWiesmann]

Well, these train-sets are of type Stadler KISS, the wide gauge variant of these runs around Moscow since 2013, in Azerbaijan since 2015, and 2016 in Georgia…

[@The_Vaporizer]

Russian cars suck There's your answer 😂😂😂

[@RagingBull-go7lo]

Just give the California High-Speed Rail the money and finish the damn project.

[@benandolga]

Cool train! Nice color of the train! It is very attractive

[@strangehobbyist]

🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈🎈

[@FLORIDIANMILLIONAIRE]

I am sure train has batteries and it has regenerative braking

[@AroyalOfficalYT]

Califronia high speed rail steam program should be a thing

[@mikeglenn3333]

Not the first time. Market Street railway had a line that went to San Mateo and terminated around 3rd st until the mid 30's or 40's, So the presenter is only half right.

[@MaximillionK]

If we had started doing this decades ago we’d be on the same level of Europe’s trains system. We need to stop being relying on cars and this stupid car obsessed culture. As someone who lives in Houston, I’m sick of seeing car dealerships popping up everywhere instead of diversifying the way we travel and move around.

[@sinistercitizen3061]

With this new administration, I’m afraid we’re going to grow even further away from this ideal.

[@Namen59]

I thought it was a trollie from history

[@MM-kk8uh]

Why does everything have to be a party with you people, life is not always a party.

[@k6usy]

annnnnd where does the power come from…

[@liemduong6729]

lol this isnt really about environmentalism, its about convinence. It’s pathetic that the only way you can rly go anywhere is with a car, where you sit in traffic, paying for gas that cost 50-60 a stop on top of maintenance and insurance and other expenses. It’s such backwards thinking that literally no developed country relies on, except America because roads wasn’t based on engineering or proficient city planning, it was based on politics and business interest for car manufacturers. And frankly, rail would omit less emissions than our current rate with cars, so that’s the plus.

[@The_Vaporizer]

We're burning coal and oil to generate electricity for these trains congratulations everyone😂😂😂

[@derklausi2095]

They like electrification I like Taco Bell

[@BJHolloway1]

Breaking News - The Swiss railways empolyed electirfication "the future" way back in the 1900s, However politicians will have their way.

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

C'mon, man, better late than never!

[@barryrobbins7694]

San Francisco had electric rail starting in 1926 (cable cars).

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@barryrobbins7694 electric railroads in the US date back to the late 1800s. Both the Bay Area and SoCal had streetcars and interurbans, as did much of the country.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@ChrisJones-gx7fc I was trying to pick something right on the Caltrain route.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@barryrobbins7694 well, it’s not cable cars. Those don’t run on electricity (or any kind of onboard power source for that matter). How they function is in their name. They grip onto an underground cable that runs throughout the city, which safely tows them up and down hills. San Francisco is currently the only city with them still operating, but in the (hopefully) not too distant future another city, Dunedin, New Zealand, will have its own restored cable car line.

[@cleenlivin]

No more railroad engineers but we’ve now entered the era of “train driver’s”. ☹️

[@rileyburnett720]

I’m assuming the be called operators officially the no one in practice will call them that. Just like public transit bus drivers are technically coach operators but everyone says bus drivers

[@pedromorgan99]

Now take the silly horns out and make speed 100mph plus.. then u got Eu Railways ;-) Yipee.. (sticks dummy in fat politicians baby)

[@pedromorgan99]

Comparable in Japan: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqHGi6Oaf92shNE

[@TohaBgood2]

Yeah, I don't remember any European commuter rail going over 80 mph (130 km/h). In fact the vast majority of S-bahns and RER trains like Caltrain run at only 110 km/h or 70 mph. And after Caltrain upgrades the crossings to 110 mph, these trains will be quite a bit faster than almost any commuter/regional rail in Europe.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Passengers don't give a shit about a horn.

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

Keep the horns! They remind me of Russia.

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

@@TohaBgood2 Russian in-home built commuter trains are dimensioned for 160 and soon 200 km/h with great acceleration/deceleration characteristics to keep the average line speed up as well.

[@DemPilafian]

Look at the way those two guys are sitting: 1:01

[@barryrobbins7694]

It looks like a mother and her sons.👍

[@caffeinated_boi]

We should thank Elaine Chao and Donald Trump for approving this investment funding.

[@mathieufaltys]

What investment by the Trump administration? The CHSR Authority predates Trump. I was reading through the history of the project and found a glaring absence of any federal investment while Trump was in office. He kept saying his infrastructure plan was coming, but it never did. It was just like how he always said his healthcare plan was going to be released in two weeks, and just kept repeating that lie for four years.

[@garywilson1688]

This project couldn’t be built on time or on budget. Not even close. The Feds should claw back all the funding they gave to it so far as the rest of the country shouldn’t be forced to pay for our absolutely terrible project management.

[@darthmaul216]

That’s highways

[@theblueblazer999]

For every over budget, behind schedule rail project in the US, there are at least 5 highway projects that are worse. But people don’t seem to complain about those.

[@liemduong6729]

Brother we waste hundreds of billions on fucking highways that don’t solve jackshit and makes a city looks tenfold more ugly 😝, you just realize now that the government are horrible a city planning, 🤯. By comparison, Rail doesn’t even get a tenth of the funding that highways recieve. If I’m wasting money on transit, rather be a railroad someone can use than a highway where every gets stuck on for half the day 😂

[@tonyburzio4107]

Groundwork. That's too funny. CHSR had absolutely nothing to do with this.

[@darthmaul216]

They paid for it

[@danieljk826]

What do you mean? CAHSR will literally use this corridor and those wires.

[@osuave7811]

The ticket cost? will determined if this is a form of transportation a regular commuter could utilized on a daily, monthly or yearly as a form of affordable transportation.

[@Yvonne-Bella]

I dont think that's changed since... you know... the service is old af.

[@mgbroncos]

Cost is $10 one way for the full route or $239 for a monthly pass for unlimited use. www.caltrain.com/fares Given the average annual cost of owning a car is around $12,000 or $1000 per month, you're looking at a 76% savings per month. archive.ph/20230924024553/www.nytimes.com/2023/09/22/your-money/car-ownership-costs-increase.html Even if we eliminate the cost of maintenance, tax, insurance, and assuming that your car is fully paid off, with an average gas mileage of 30, you would still be paying $15.23 round trip each day with an average gallon in San Jose costing $4.73 as of yesterday. There are 23 business days in the month of October for a total of $350, so you would save $111 in October from fuel alone.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Why would it be different than before? It's the same corridor, just different trains.

[@burgerman101]

@@TheRailwayDroneMaybe saved fuel costs? Unless electricity is more expensive than diesel.

[@Yvonne-Bella]

@burgerman101 Electricity is cheaper when 1000+ use it daily

[@MatthewChang-rq1bu]

Seats needs to recline on the train just like an airplane

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

It's a commuter train, it's not meant for long periods of sitting down.

[@Yvonne-Bella]

@MatthewChang-rq1bu it's a 2-3 hour trip, not a 10 hr flight

[@danieljk826]

​@@Yvonne-Bella 2-3 hour? Caltrain local is 1h17m for the whole line. Caltrain is a regional service. CAHSR will use different trains and those will obviously have reclining seats.

[@mathieufaltys]

Recline "just like an airplane"

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

@@mathieufaltys That's quite a mood yeah! Though from what I've noticed the train seats recline quite a bit more when they do recline. Plus the butt part slides forward.

[@la5984]

Ticket cost

[@barryrobbins7694]

The monthly passes for adults are about $75-$350 depending on how far one has to go. It is based on 6 zones. The prices are effective September 1, 2024. There are step discounts if one qualifies.

[@508555info]

Cape Cod needs to wake up!