Caltrain to test electric trains, potential late-night noise

Published on March 04, 2024

Caltrain's new electric trains are nearing deployment along the San Francisco to San Jose route, expected in September 2024. New, modern trains will allow 40-year old diesel train sets to be retired, yielding many benefits to riders and residents along the corridor. The benefits for Menlo Park include more weekday trains during peak hours, shorter travel times and less pollution and noise from electric trains.

In order to prepare the service, 23 train sets will need to test for 1,000 miles as part of their burn-in. Four train sets have already completed their burn-in, the remaining 19 will begin testing throughout the San Francisco-San Jose corridor beginning in March 2024 and continuing through fall 2024. These tests will be conducted intermittently on weeknights between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. When trains are testing, only one to two are expected to pass through Menlo Park during those hours. Residents may hear both gates closing and train horns. Federal Railroad Administration regulations require trains to sound their horns as they pass through crossings, such as those at Watkins, Encinal, Glenwood, Oak Grove and Ravenswood Avenues.

Caltrain will be hosting a virtual community meeting on Tuesday, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom to discuss the upcoming testing schedule and activities. For meeting details and information, visit the meeting website. For questions, please email Caltrain at calmod@caltrain.com.

Due to tests from the new train sets, weekend service will have modified service on Saturday and Sunday, March 9 and 10. To accommodate late-night testing, early morning and late-night train service will be replaced by bus service. Learn more about the modified service here. 

For more information, please visit Caltrain’s electrified train service website, March 5 virtual meeting website, or March 9-10 weekend service impacts website.