Is Caltrain planning to electrify all the way to Gilroy? If not, then what will happen on the Gilroy segment?

The current plan is to electrify the segment between San Francisco and just south of Tamien Station, the corridor owned by Caltrain. Caltrain only runs 3 round trips south of Tamien and the track is owned by Union Pacific. Electrifying that segment would not be feasible nor cost effective.

If Caltrain is electrified between San Francisco and Tamien, there are a few possible scenarios for the Gilroy service:

  • Diesel trains from Gilroy continue north to San Francisco and run “under the wires.”
  • Timed transfer between diesel trains to electric trains in San Jose.
  • Amtrak trains from Gilroy (or Salinas) continue north to the East Bay via the Capitol Corridor. Passengers can transfer to Caltrain in San Jose.
  • If high speed rail is built south of San Jose (a very long term goal), Gilroy passengers could take high speed trains to San Jose and Francisco. Caltrain could also operate electric trains on high speed tracks (expanded blended service) to and from Gilroy.