Bay Area train is red-hot with riders, but trouble lies ahead

[mahatmakanejeeves]

TRAVEL
Bay Area train is red-hot with riders, but trouble lies ahead

By Silas Valentino,
Travel Editor
May 15, 2025


An aerial view of Caltrain's Palo Alto Station in 2024.
Michael Vi/Getty Images

A couple of words starting with the letter D define Caltrain at the moment. The Bay Area transit agency is still in the first calendar year since electrifying its fleet, offering smoother, faster rides while modernizing the entire system by replacing its diesel trains.

Diesel is the first D word because the transition to electrification is starting to look like a huge win for Caltrain, with ridership numbers soaring since the trains started rolling last fall. According to new numbers provided to SFGATE, in April 2025, ridership jumped 60% compared with the same month a year prior. That follows a similar spike in ridership in October, when Caltrain reported its weekday ridership grew 54% compared with the same month in 2023.

However, the other word puts a bit of a damper on things. That’s due to the ballooning budget deficit that the agency projects will top $600 million in the next decade.

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[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. I used the old one whenever I could (not for commuting) when I was there. Would love to use it these days. . . . nt