How fast can Caltrain go?

Fast, frequent, world-class This exciting project will create a transformative travel experience, with cruising speeds of 110 mph and departures every 15 minutes throughout the day. California's high-speed rail initiative has been essential to Caltrain improvements.



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Some people think that Caltrain is slower than BART. This perception was more common before Caltrain began running its “Baby Bullet” express service. In actuality, the average speeds of the two systems are about the same, about 34 mph (including stops), with BART slightly faster.

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The size of BART's fleet will be dynamic while new trains are put into service and old trains are retired. BART has 8 DMU train cars which each have a seating capacity of 104. 70 mph maximum; 35 mph average, including 20-second station stops. For BART to Antioch DMU trains, the maximum speed is 75 mph; 60 mph average.

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The Caltrain Express (CTX) project was implemented from 2002 to 2004 and led to the establishment of the Baby Bullet express service, which shortened the transit time between San Francisco and San Jose, and certain stations in between.

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BART requires separate tracks and infrastructure (because it runs on non-standard gauge tracks). To replace Caltrain with BART, all the Caltrain infrastructure would have to be removed and rail service would have to be shut down rail service for years during the construction period.

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The Eurostar travels through the Channel Tunnel at a speed of 100 miles per hour (160kph) although when the train is outside the tunnel it reaches speed of 186 miles per hour (300 kph).

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In addition, the tracks, signals, rail cars and software made in the U.S. are costlier than imports, largely because the government has not funded rail the way European and Asian countries have, experts say.

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The Glacier Express is the world's slowest train, taking more than eight hours to travel between Zermatt and St. Moritz in Switzerland at an average of 18mph. Along the way, it passes over nearly 300 bridges, travels through 91 tunnels and takes in endless stunning Alpine views.

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Capable of speeds of up to 225mph (360km/h), the fully electric trains will also run on the existing network to places such as Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and the North West.

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While most Shinkansen currently operate at a maximum of 300 kph (186 mph), the E5 “Bullet Trains” of Japan Railways East (JR East) run at up to 320 kph (200 mph) on the Tohoku Shinkansen, which runs north from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori.

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