First Day of Electric Caltrain EMUs

[@timectrl]

The non-electric footage was added as a comparison. Also, no politics please 🙏

[@arevolvingdoor3836]

Yeah I think I still like the old train horn better, upon comparison. But very excited and ready for the new trainsets!

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@arevolvingdoor3836 it'd be cool if they could fit the new EMUs with the same type of horn the diesels use, if that's possible. Sort of a best of both worlds kind of thing. Some diesels will continue between San Jose and Gilroy, at least until CAHSR eventually reaches San Jose via Gilroy from Pacheco Pass, and all of Caltrain goes electric, which will probably not be for another decade or so, depending on when it gets funded.

[@calvingrondahl1011]

My son built this train in Stadler’s SLC plant.

[@timectrl]

@@calvingrondahl1011 that’s cool! Thanks for watching the video

[@NithinJune]

woahhhh

[@AaronBurt-gh6yb]

That's awesome! We need more rail transit options in the US!

[@caltrain906railfan]

Nice vid!

[@isaacrogers4174]

So did I!

[@brentsummers7377]

It's quite amazing how much of SF and the Bay Area can be seen by using Caltrain, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, BART, Ferries, and buses. I know Los Angeles is getting better but SF's public transport is light years ahead.

[@Photobuffeddy1314]

I believe that as well

[@sychvoid3015]

It’s the NYC of the west, despite LA being so big

[@MatecaCorp]

An incredible milestone in North American transport history! The shot of the EMU passing the heavyweight car is really clever. A century of progress! (Granted, the majority of that progress was in the last ten years, but still)

[@Alexriga]

Sure, India electrified 40 000 km in the same time. One decent suburban line is very small progress for big country. Also the most corrupted because everything is so expensive and slow. It is also outdated already - no high platform so people in wheechair will not be able to board the train without help. The trains at least are good and acceleration will reduce the time.

[@portcybertryx222]

⁠@@Alexrigadude you just can’t compare a country where people rely so heavily on rail that it was nothing if not a necessity to a country where car ownership is so high that rail improvements are seen as an afterthought. Also you must be blind to not notice the bilevel boarding for wheelchair accessibility and stations are also getting revamped to accommodate this. This change is the catalyst that will slowly start progress in the right direction. India sucks at maintaining things cause they don’t factor in the cost of that in projects whereas here that is done so costs seem exceedingly high not to mention the labor costs and stuff. And please let’s not compare corruption to just cases of poor management which sucks but yeah. There is long long road ahead for US rail to catch up to the rest of the world but it’s finally happening with more hsr coming online on the horizon and other lines getting electrified and sped up.

[@Alexriga]

@@portcybertryx222 Well, I have 2 cars but I take train like 3 times per week or more to avoid jams. In Europe we have different mentality, we need 1/5 months of vacation, 1+ year paid leave to take care of children, safe and frequent public transport, free medicine and education. :D And 30% lower salary because of taxes but in the end we own more.

[@lalakerspro]

@@Alexriga Europeans always need time off, seems like a poor work ethic

[@AL5520]

It is great you can finally get a far better level of service but although not as common as it should be there are quite a few services that usses EMU's in the US, mostly in the northeast, like SEPTA regional rail, Patco, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) or the Metro-North Railroad and outside the notheast you have the Metra Electric District in Chicago and the Denver RDT commuter rail service. All are electrified (a few have non elecrified sections) and use EMU's for years. There might be others I forgot but I believe those are the main ones.

[@Urbanhandyman]

It's great to FINALLY see the arrival of electricity to Caltrain. The biggest weakness in the system isn't the diesel locomotives but rather the 71 at-grade crossings which always raise the risk of collisions with people and/or vehicles. That is why the trains, diesel or electric, have to constantly sound a horn, disturbing the neighborhood. It's beyond belief to me that when California High Speed Rail arrives sometime in the 2040s, those trains will be using the same at-grade crossings. Eliminate as many of the at-grade crossings as soon as possible over the next ten to twenty years. Not doing so will prove to be Caltrain's and CAHSR's Achilles' heel.

[@StefanWithTrains]

I read that by the time California rail will come to the Silicon Valley, there will only be 1/4th of all current grade crossings left.

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

Happy too see some modern state of the art EMUs in the US. The US is often so far behind when it comes to rolling stock. I think Caltrain is the first electrification of an existing service since the turn of the millennium (but I’m probably wrong) and I happy to see it worked onto well.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

The CT Rail Shore Line East began electric operations in May 2022. Most of the infrastructure was pre-existing but they did need to add overhead wires to an additional platform at New London

[@timectrl]

@@OntarioTrafficManthat doesn’t count

[@yaush_]

@@timectrlwhy doesn’t it count lmao

[@rogertemple7193]

This was an awesome debut very nice.🚂🚃🚃🇺🇲

[@Starship2050mars]

Like the stallders EMUs fleet sets so beautifully ❤

[@Xetairex]

Awesome to see electric traction finally in Caltrain! 😍

[@ronclark9724]

What happens when California starts having rotating blackouts due to a faulty power grid?

[@railwaystuff]

@@ronclark9724 well then you are a 3rd world country lol

[@ciso]

I am jealous of you guys, your version of the KISS EMUs has so much more space (especially on the upper floor) than the european version. I wish we had a similarly large loading gauge over here. (at least its not as small as in the UK ;)

[@MrJimheeren]

Yeah the American loading gage is enormous. Isn’t it the biggest in the world. The UK is weirdly small though. You can’t even fit double deckers on it

[@ciso]

@@MrJimheeren No I think the loading gauges used on Russian gauge tracks are a bit larger.

[@phlatlander]

Thanks for the footage. They look awesome!

[@RaisedLetter]

Doors already closed: Stadler: Caution. The doors are about to close.

[@OliversElevators]

Sounds like they need to reprogram the onboard announcement computer to play that announcement before the doors start to close. Not a big deal though as the doors already beep as they’re closing (and opening).

[@max40726]

In other Stadler Trains the doors always close after some seconds to help the ac. Maybe the Caution-Announcement means „Caution, we will depart now. Last chance to board.“ Or it‘s about the ADA doors which stay open until the departure

[@natesmainlinevids]

@@OliversElevators Perhaps it could be simple with something like "Please stand clear of the doors. This train is ready to leave.".

[@predarek]

In Montreal’s new automated metro (called the REM) we had a month of: « next station [station we just departed] ». All the kinks have been ironed out since then and it’s been working really well!

[@nolantherailfan5048]

I think other commuter railroads need to start taking notes

[@TohaBgood2]

These trains look awesome! LFG!

That madly excessive horn-blowing and those annoying bells would drive me mad if I had to live in the US

[@ThisisGabe120]

Great work.

[@rikkichunn8856]

Certainly seems nice and quiet!

[@williamhuang8309]

In some of the clips it looks like the train isn't being driven at full power. In the latter half of the video the acceleration is closer to what I was expecting EMU trains take off really fast if full power is applied. The fastest accelerating EMUs can clear a full 6 carriage train in the time it takes for a loco service to clear one coach. Although the Stadler KISS isn't the fastest accelerating it's still very fast for a double decker train and could easily accelerate faster than what the first few clips would seem to suggest. Anyways it's nice to see modern EMUs finally in service

[@gerwin030]

Probably because they are still running mixed with the old diesel stock.

[@aeroelectro9981]

The old horns sound so much nicer it's not funny Other than that the electric trains are stellar

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

and the door chime is obnoxious

[@J3scribe]

Not the first, nor the second, electric passenger service west of the Mississippi to be used by the public to commute to work or elsewhere. That honor likely belongs to one of the myriad electric interurban lines once popular in Iowa. California's central valley had a few electric railroads used by commuters decades before this Caltrain operation, or the RTD, come to that. Still and all, it's cool that it's finally in revenue service. Nice video.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

I'm gonna fly out there just to ride this train.

[@teviblekhman1628]

I get to ride that train whenever I want because I live in Silicon Valley

[@TheRailwayDrone]

@@teviblekhman1628 #jealous

[@dankrobin4965]

@@teviblekhman1628I got to ride that train for 20 years, because I live in Switzerland😎

[@rogertemple7193]

That is a nice looking electric Caltrain thanks.🇺🇲🚈🚋🚋🇺🇲

[@juanmontull8550]

Amazing video, the only "bad" thing are that stupid and dangerous low-level platforms, but at least Caltrain can be compared to our commuter trains now (I'm from Spain), congrats to the Bay Aerea!✌

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

The line is planned to be raised to high level platforms, which is why there are (currently unused) doors at the mezzanine level

[@StefanWithTrains]

​@OntarioTrafficMan I am sorry to inform you that this will probably never happen as all new station plans (like Milbrae) show that California HSR will get their own high-level platforms, and Caltrain get their own low level platforms.

[@casualjrailfan]

They’re finally here 😁

[@liuxiangxi]

Watching this in an SBB KISS 😂

[@alesh-cz]

that obsessive honking is crazy. Coming from Europe where the electric commuter trains have been around for decades, this is a new thing to me. Ours do honk every now and then but not so much.

[@railifornia]

Yeah it’s because we still have a lot of grade crossings

[@alesh-cz]

@@railifornia so do we, but there are crossing barriers and semaphores, so just a short honk or two should be enough. Perhaps it’s some mandatory stuff, but living nearby must be hell.

[@JonathanChan212]

​@alesh-cz whenever a train is crossing a railway crossing, they have to do _ _ . _ horn unless in quiet zone or light rails

[@yaush_]

Ok guys trains in the US don’t honk because somehow they are inferior or the grade crossings are less safe. They honk because it’s a federal law. And also European trains do make sounds but just not honking sounds.

[@Veritaserum90]

80 years behind rest of the planet. Well done.

[@edmann2970]

Metra has EMUs, but they’re older than Caltrain’s EMUs, Metra’s were built in 2005, and Metra’s EMUs are on the Electric District only which leaves from Millenium station, but Metra’s EMUs are gallery bi level cars.

[@wstuart]

I was on the SB train. I walked to RWC in hopes of getting lucky and catching one. I caught the 228 which I think is in your video. I saw a lot of enthusiasts out today.

[@natesmainlinevids]

I'd be fascinated if I got another on the current weekday timetable before the real launch. Also what was the reason behind the Bombardier Bi-Level set that didn't stop at Menlo Park?

[@timectrl]

It might’ve been because it needed to go pick up giants from SF

[@peterelvery]

So many bells and horns blasting. How does anyone relax on the train or sleep at night with trains going past?

[@Geotpf]

It's mandated by Federal law because Americans are morons and get squished by trains too often. There is a program called a "Quiet Zone" that allows a community to reduce the horns if they put crossing arms on both sides of the street and speakers at the crossing and extra safety signs.

[@onetwothreeabc]

They just don't. There are reasons why American people don't like trains.

[@NeonNion]

You are a European too, aren't you? As a Finn I just can't understand the amount of bells, horns and announcements. A bit too much, and definitely too much for persons with sensory defensiveness.

[@onetwothreeabc]

@@NeonNion I live in the US. Have been to Europe. US horns/bells are there because many people don't pay attention to level crossing. Federal regulation requires trains to horn long-long-short-long when passing a level crossing. It's possible to make a "quiet zone", but the requirement is much higher than a regular level crossing. America has much more roads and cars than Europe in my opinion. Without horns and bells the number of crossing accident will definitely go up.

[@peterelvery]

@@onetwothreeabc Level crossings are problematic. We're lucky here, there are only 2 in the entire greater Sydney area and accidents are extremely rare because drivers stop when the lights flash and the gates come down. No bells on trains and only horns in an emergency.

[@trainvideos4988]

Finally catching up to Europe!

[@Photobuffeddy1314]

Good video ‘

[@yaush_]

49% of the comments: wow lovely new train for California ❤ 51% of the comments: European nationalists gloating about the fact that their countries trains… honk less?

[@dpmoos3225]

to be honest it is just silly to watch. Here in europe the trains drive through densly populated areas and many crossings also and there is no honking. Why? Because people know where there are tracks they have to expect a train and have to watch out for it. It's just funny how you americans seems to need a warning for nearly everything. Please be careful when you come to europe, you might die soon :-)

[@ivanoffw]

I bet that as the diesel locomotives are phased out, those who live and work near the tracks will have improved lives. A lot less exhaust in the air, and a lot quieter. CalTrain is doing electrification correct by having lightweight rollingstock instead of locomotives filled with heavy batteries that have a tendency to burn hot for a very long time. I wonder how much heavier the old diesel sets are compared to the EMU's.

[@R262SubwayTrain]

Not the Newer One Tho

[@Trainsaregreat365]

In Brisbane Australia where i live the oldest trains that still run on the city train network are called EMUS

[@Victorsword123]

Wow

[@larailfan1714]

Could you please make a video showing us the location of the horn and bell on the EMUs?

[@timeforbeans]

Great video!

[@firstlast1932]

All those trains make so much noise whenever approaching the station.

[@Starship2050mars]

❤❤❤❤🎉 nice and cool Caltrain ELECTRIC ⚡️ ❤ awesome video of those new trains 🚆 love it so far enjoy your time railfanning my best KZbinr friend sincerely Steven G 🎉🎁☀️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍🚆🌎🏆

[@johncrest-r6n]

I ride it from 4th and Kings, there was a massive 30 minute delay. Also was on a cal train with two locomotives

[@sambergmann7465]

I can't wait to ride an emu

[@simonsv9449]

If the California HSR is going to use the line all the way down to Gilroy, they’re gonna need to electrify all the way down there. And if they extend to Salinas, hopefully they electrify there as well.

[@TamasKiss-bv9hz]

👍👍👍❤🤍💚 Tom from Hungary.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

That door squeal is a bit much LoL

[@jethrotaylor2614]

Commenting as an Australian, I'm surprised this railway is not grade separated as most Australian suburban trains are. All that bell ringing and horn blowing is very annoying.

[@lalakerspro]

Ive noticed onlt europeans and Australians get annoyed. Its not a big deal, you guys complain about everything

[@StefanWithTrains]

​@@lalakersproMost Americans also complain about the horns. You will also realise that it is much more peaceful when you don't need to.

[@Ry_TSG]

@@lalakersproWell, the horns and noise may be annoying to some, but the actual problem is that at-grade crossings slow down the train a lot for safety reasons, and massively increase the risk for collisions with cars. If they eliminated the crossings, the train could go faster and not be at risk of hitting a car when some idiot driver tries to beat the train

[@lalakerspro]

@@StefanWithTrains Ill give you a pass because you seem to know a lot about bay area rail, but it seems like many other europeans comment without knowing quite how the system works

[@ronclark9724]

@@Ry_TSG Unfortunately the railroad tracks were there first before there were cities and city streets which chose to build around ten feet. around three meters, from the railroad tracks. Thus the many street crossings as it takes more than ten feet to build a grade above or below a railroad track...Keep in mind during the night freight trains llkely use this railroad track right of way to service industries and warehouses on this route...

[@PlasticBubbleCosplay]

Do the new EMUs start and stop more quickly? I believe that (if all or most of the wheels are powered) they can.

[@lalakerspro]

Way more quicker. I havent been in them but looking from the outside

[@casualjrailfan]

Do they still put the horn under?

[@ChrizKeyz]

Can we call this line the West Coast Corridor

[@timbrust9739]

That's a very chatty train lol

[@kevinb8881]

Caltrain diesel is running scared, lol!!

[@davidng2336]

Gilroy service will still use diesel trains

[@kevinb8881]

@@davidng2336 Yeah I heard the same too.

[@noisuf0]

Great video. Worst door chime ever!

[@goodmandesign1234]

I heard that starting today there will be 2 Stadler running in regular service. From you video there was run #221 NB from California Station at~7:48AM ? and #241 at 1:42PM? Will this be true going forward?

[@timectrl]

@@goodmandesign1234 probably not, different every day

[@petersavage5008]

Maybe Amtrak can replace it's double-deck cars with these. But of course, different engines

[@ronclark9724]

Amtrak may eventually replace their California Superliner with Stadler double deckers, but presently Amtrak is buying many Siemens Venture single level coaches for their nationwide regional day trains coast to coast replacing Amfleet I and Horizon coaches... Including the San Joaquin trains running in California's central valley.

[@af8312]

I'll miss the NS bilevels, but I know they've had their time. and there ain't no way metra isn't going to buy up half the fleet for spares or something anyways.

[@harrywohlfart]

Looks familiar to me as an European. The main difference is, our trains in the Rhine-Main and Rhine-Neckar-Region are built by Bombardier.

[@agntdrake]

California gets trains from Switzerland. Germany gets trains from Canada.

[@horizonoftheeast]

Stadler KISS and FLIRT are the new norms in Europe. For DB they already have some for intercity lines

[@Sams_Creations]

The bell is so annoying... Luckily not mandated here.

[@iidkwhatnameuse]

Awesome! So stupid that Southern California, which has 2x as many people, has nothing like this though... :(. If only there was more political will for projects like this.

[@onetwothreeabc]

Ask the ruling Democrats in California to fund it.

[@lalakerspro]

Socal is a lot bigger area wise

[@StefanWithTrains]

​@lalakerspro That isn't an excuse.

[@StefanWithTrains]

SoCal is looking into buying H²EMU's instead of using EMU's or BEMU's. This decision will result in far higher energy costs, much higher maintenance costs, and much higher purchasing costs.

[@onetwothreeabc]

@@StefanWithTrains ...but less initial installation cost that they don't have.

[@Starship2050mars]

I’ll miss the F40ph and gallery sets so sadly no 😢running in the future years is the best train in state history

[@archstanton5973]

*GROW UP. THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU STEAM TRAIN FOAMING.......*

[@OldSchool-px1xk]

you can hold a lot against San Francisco or the whole of California, how this state and city have been ruined by radical liberal politicians, but you have to admit the Bay area now has the most modern commuter rail in the country.

[@lalakerspro]

MARC is faster

[@surfliner456]

Sad day for CalTrain.

[@lalakerspro]

Sad day for foamers

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

@@lalakersproDepends on the foamer. I foam at the mouth looking at these electric beauties.

[@lalakerspro]

@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer Thats the good type of foamer

[@TrainSF]

F40s and MP36s are better!

[@agentrgwx8529]

💀

[@Scottish_Transport_Explorer]

As a transporter, definitely as nothing can really beat proper locomotives. However for the normal passengers who are just trying to get from A to B, the newer trains are better.

[@The53BILL]

I’m going to drive up to San Jose late Sept or early Oct and take the new train up to S F, do a bit of shopping via Uber, then return later and go home