Caltrain releases first-ever sustainability report

Caltrain has released a report to summarize and highlight its sustainability achievements between fiscal years 2010 and 2016. It’s the first time the commuter railroad has issued a sustainability report.

Over the past several years, the railroad has experienced "unprecedented ridership growth," which helps keep vehicles off the road and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the San Francisco Bay area, Caltrain officials said in a press release.

In FY2016, the average passenger helped eliminate 3.2 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions with each trip, according to the report.

And as a result of increased operational efficiencies and higher train occupancy rates, Caltrain has reduced its own emissions, energy usage and water use per passenger.

In response to California's drought, the railroad has implemented a number of water-saving conservation measures, such as reducing landscape irrigation and installing high-efficiency faucet aerators and shower heads in customer and staff restrooms.

The report also notes that Caltrain's Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project will reduce criteria air pollutant emissions by up to 97 percent. That project, which involves converting Caltrain's diesel operations to an electric system, also will help eliminate more than 176,000 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions along the corridor each year.