Caltrain to purchase surplus rail cars, solicit public input on future electric trains

Caltrain will purchase 16 surplus Metrolink rail cars to extend trainsets and provide more capacity for peak-hour trains, Caltrain officials announced late last week.

The Bombardier bi-level Generation 2 cars will be purchased from the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, which operates Metrolink. The cars have been phased out of Metrolink's system, but are similar to the Bombardier vehicles that Caltrain uses, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

The total cost of purchasing and renovating the equipment is $15 million. The majority of funding will be covered by a farebox revenue bond, while Caltrain will cover the remaining funds by reinvesting surplus firebox revenue into the rail-car purchase. Nearly four straight years of record-setting ridership growth also has resulted in record-setting farebox returns, allowing the agency to set some of that funding aside to help address the capacity issues, Caltrain officials said.

Meanwhile, Caltrain is soliciting public comments online or at meetings starting tonight on the design of the agency's future fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains. The EMU trains will replace about 75 percent of the current diesel fleet and operate between San Francisco and San Jose when the railway is electrified as part of Caltrain's modernization program.

In May, Caltrain's board issued a request for information for the electric train procurement. The meetings will focus on how the trains will be built to manage capacity. After the car builder is selected, future public outreach efforts will focus on amenities that could be part of the train design.

The public can offer input through an online survey, comment on the electric train presentation on Caltrain's website or attend one of the public meetings to be held throughout September, starting tonight in San Carlos, Calif.