San Carlos, Calif. Caltrain’s newly electrified service has attracted new riders, as the agency reports its best ridership numbers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Caltrain had over 753,000 passengers last month, marking a 54% increase from October 2023. Average Weekday Ridership stood at nearly 27,000, a 38% increase from last October. 

Additionally, current weekend ridership has overtaken pre-COVID levels, with Saturdays seeing a 169% increase and Sundays a 142% increase from last October. 

Caltrain Ridership Electrified

Comparing August to October — the last month of primarily diesel service vs. the first month of all-electric — total ridership increased by 17%, with average weekend ridership growing by 38%. In a typical year, monthly ridership begins to decline after August; this year, it’s increased by more than 100,000 riders. 

“When we broke ground on the Electrification Project back in 2017, we set out to deliver a state-of-the-art modern rail system for the people we serve,” said Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain Executive Director. “It is immensely gratifying to see our riders embrace our new service on this scale."

Caltrain’s historic Electrification Project was the first undertaking in North America in a generation in which diesel trains and their infrastructure components are transitioned to an electrified system.  This year marks the 160th anniversary of San Francisco-San Jose rail service, which began during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.