Caltrain Adds Trains to Meet Growth in Ridership

In response to two years of growing ridership, Caltrain today added six trains to its regular weekday schedule between San Jose and San Francisco.

Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said this morning's commute with the added service went smoothly.

"Everything seems to be going well," Dunn said. "We're very pleased."

In June, Caltrain recorded an all-time high in ridership, with an average of 50,000 weekday passengers, Dunn said.

The gradual increase in passengers and the occasional overcrowded train car prompted the agency to add a total of four trains during the morning and afternoon commutes, and two trains in the off-peak hours.

Two of the six trains represent new service, and the other four are trains that were previously cut for budget reasons, according to Caltrain.

Also effective today, 12 limited-service trains have added stops at the Palo Alto and Sunnyvale stations, giving passengers a little more flexibility on where to board, Dunn said.

"It gives people a few more options," she said.

Caltrain will be keeping track of how many passengers are taking advantage of the additional service in the coming months, Dunn said.