As we first reported last year, while the projected Revenue Service Date (RSD) for Caltrain’s electrification and modernization project hadn’t been moved from December of 2021, the projected timeline to complete the first eight miles of electrified track and begin testing was running six (6) months behind schedule.
And based on the latest progress report for the project, the expected Revenue Service Date has just been officially pushed back from December 2021 to May of 2022, not including any leeway for potential project risk factors or troubleshooting, and the milestone previously known as “Pre-Revenue Testing” has been renamed “Phased Revenue Service” to maintain an official “service” date by the end of 2021.
Keep in mind that the aforementioned progress report, and schedule above, was prepared prior to California’s High Speed Rail (HSR) kerfuffle and potential knock on effects. We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
The 25th St Grade Separation and South SF Station construction projects are due to complete in mid to late 2020, and since both require significant track relocations, they might be the long pole for the full PCEP project. Although with the new schedule, seems like there’s plenty of contingency time now.
Let’s be honest here, it’s more like a century late: even then traffic was at a massive level ~10M/year and it’s unfortunate the SP didn’t electrify its Peninsula line as it did w/ its Eastbay ones; presumably the deleterious effect on the catenary of steam exhaust (from the remaining SF>LA service) convinced them not to.
Ah, but for the road not taken…earlier.
On the good side, some of that electric infrastructure is downright ugly, and sometimes with obscure electrical standards that would make most rail fans cringe.
That said, I do wonder why of the 4 tunnels near SF, only #2 is 4-tracked. It doesn’t seem like there’s much of anything on either side of it to warrant the extra tracks. 4-tracks at tunnel 1 would be a significant game changer in reducing delays for trains approaching SF where schedule drift is more likely to cause problems.
Central Subway is a few years off schedule.
BART extension to Warm Springs was late.
BART extension to Milpitas is running late.
Bayshore Caltrain/Muni connection non existant.
DTX decades behind schedule.
Van Ness BRT behind schedule.
Etc.
Who cares if it a “master schedule” This area cant build or do anything on time. This schedule might as be made up. Its nothing worth analyzing in terms to trying to plan one’s life around or even have filler conservation over
Can somebody explain why it matters that Caltrain electrifies? Seems to work fine on diesel.
What you probably don’t realize is that the diesel engines in the current trains don’t actually turn the wheels, they turn an electrical generator via driveshaft(s). The generator then sends electrical power to a traction motor at each axle, which powers the wheels. So essentially, diesel locomotives are hybrid already.
The replacement trains will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality by not burning diesel. And fully electric trains, which pull directly from a power grid as they drive, are several times more efficient than burning any kind of onboard fuel to produce energy.
I think what ‘James B’ is alluding to is not whether it makes sense from an engineering POV, but a financial one: w/ Caltrain’s ridership still (catastrophically) reduced it seems fare…er fair to ask if the assumptions made pre-Pandemic need to be revisited.
UPDATE: Budget for Caltrain Electrification Hits $2.44 Billion, completion date extended to late 2024.