Saying "Hi!" from Sam Mateo County! Have been looking forward to seeing these beautiful vehicles and passenger cars for quite a while, and given how long it takes for any forward looking projects to actually happen, that means waiting for years. No more of the clanging, hooting, stinking diesel behemoths. Thank you for covering this event.
As a European (Austrian), it is a great joy to see that a train built by Stadler is taking the Californian railway to the next level. Congratulations to those responsible for this decision.
This is the first real transit benefit from investing in the CAHSR project. The CAHSR paid about 2/3 of the cost for the electrification of this line. California is leading the way for the rest of the USA once again. Thanks for the cool video.
Nicely done! The rails have seen it all over the last 146 years: steam, diesel electric, and now full electric. It makes me proud to be a Peninsula native!
Me too. Every half month or so me and my friends take the caltrain up to the city. The old ones were good, but honestly some of the older pre 2010 ones needed replacing.
@@brentfoster9138 it looked like 2 on this video but I could be mistaken if not they could buy an ACS-64 from Amtrak when they go to replace them soon. Just feels like it would make sense to keep some non kiss sets around in case of a bad day
@@darryldworak6356I’m sure if the need was there Caltrain could dig deep and tack on to an order of whatever Amtrak would be buying new. Ontario Northland Railway where I live is doing the same by piggybacking 3 extra trains on Via Rail’s Siemens order.
@@tomasdionnet812 the line to Gilroy will be electrified and have tracks added when California HSR connects to the bay, so it is just a temporary measure. The Battery Trains could still be useful on connecting branch line services, like to Salinas
Well as someone who lives in San Jose and occasionally goes up to The City, I'm not sad to see the old trains go. The new trains look lovely, and I look forward to riding them.
I've never understood the american obsession with train bells. Would americans swarm out onto the tracks when a train approaches (sort of like corpulent lemmings) if there were no bells? Other countries don't have bells on trains, yet I haven't noticed mass die-offs whenever trains approach stations there. Weird.
@@icenijohn2 Considering the frequency which Amtrak, Brightline and freight trains hit cars and trucks driven onto tracks it seems even loud annoying bells aren't enough of a hint of an approaching train for some Americans.
California resident of France here: YAY California! Please give the example to the rest of the U..S. (π) ... After having ridden trains here for over 30 years I can tell you with 1000% certainty that train travel beats all the other options, hands down. The great "horizontal elevator": You step on, enjoy the ride, arrive, and step off (in the City Centr without additional "transfers"!). During the trip, you can walk around, pee-pee, have a coffee at will (compare *that* to a plane or a bus!) •••• (π)Lastly, it has seemed pretty obvious to me for years that an extensive train network in the U.S. is the missing solution to *several* issues at once... but I'll keep this short in just repeating my "bravo"!
@@flinch622 No. I don't believe that meth addiction is a particularly a big problem here, at least not to the same extent as in the U.S. Anyway, France -as in many European countries - has extensive social care programs and a different public attitude that seems to deal very well in that domain.
@@marcelmoulin3335 Espérons-le. A mon avis, c'est une idée gagnant-gagnant, quel que soit le camp politique ou le niveau social et économique. Je crois que ce mouvement a historiquement été freiné par les industries de l'automobile, de l'essence et des pneus [
Glad you're back on this side of the pond! I like what Caltrain is handling this new era on the west coast. Now we see Justin doing it. Still a great video! And, you HAVE to visit back yourself sometime soon! 😉 I hope this technology will make its way to Florida and all their commuter trains! So, how come a state known for earthquakes, can they electrify a train line and NOT in Florida? And hurricanes can do as much damage as an earthquake!
San Francisco finally electrified their busy commuter corridor to San Jose/Diridon. No more diesel exhaust, faster acceleration and quieter. Thanks Justin for filming. Thanks Thibault for the review😀👍👌
I commuted (with my bike) for several years from SF to Mountain View on those MISERABLE gallery cars. Sooooooo glad to see them FINALLY replaced. Good by, Diesel!! *waves happily to them receding into the distance* The "only one toilet" thing though.....
Completely agree with you on the gallery cars. Now if we can get the other skinflint commuter rail companies around the U.S, to get on board we might have a chance to inch our abysmal rail service in the United States to the 1990s.
Caltrain has 23 7 trains coming and 1 "4" car battery KISS which only has 3 cars for passengers. They might still have options to move to 24 8 car sets. Caltrain is keeping 9 diesel engines and the 41 octogons. 920-928 have been rebuilt in the past 5 years so they'll be good for another 10-15 years. Right now they need 4 sets to run their peak 4RT along with 1-2 spares for upkeep. Service is looking to be extended to Salinas with 2 peak RT near term. The word is the 1 AEM-7 that was fixed up got killed at some point. Someone will buy the gallery cars, thankfully Metra doesn't want them. There has been rumors metrolink might want them for the 2028 games to add capacity before disposing of them.
As I see with pleasure you also like trains from Switzerland 🇨🇭. Imagine in Switzerland 🇨🇭 and in other european countries there really run a lot of this trains day by day. Greetings from good old Europe! 👍
@@hans-jorg-io1is They are. Someone from the netherlands said their stadler trains have the same seats. The old seats were much better even though the train itself is better
@@hans-jorg-io1is Unfortunately, they are the same seats and they do not measure up to regular American rail seats. In the US, the train seat standard is just a lot higher than in Europe. Amtrak was desperately trying to compete with the airlines in the 70s-80s and they got insanely comfortable seats to get an edge over air travel. So now rail passengers in the US expect a lot more from train seats than in other countries. Amtrak coach seats on regular daytime intercity trains (short and medium distance) are now expected to be better than business class seats on planes! It's a weird quirk of American rail travel - the seats are wildly comfortable.
The US MUST get its passenger railroads back, at least with major trains serving between nearby major cities. It is almost a moral obligation to honor all those old railroads (and their staff) that helped make the country the most important in the world.
Especially since the notion of America being "too big" for trains is ridiculous given that most American live in densely populated metropolitan areas. There is only one single reason that rail service is so bad in America, and it's corruption.
@@lalakersproMany Americans are also over 70 years old. Or severely underweight. Or multi millionaires. Doesn't change the fact that most aren't. I can't believe that I have to explain such a basic concept to an adult.
@williamduke1756 america is bigger than europe area wise and has half the people. Many areas are not dense, we have good trains in dense areas like nyc and sf
@@lalakerspro Most commuter rail services in America are dogshit. Overpriced, old, dirty, unreliable and mostly not even electrified. Long-distance rail service is even worse (look at Amtrak reviews). I've traveled third world countries that had cleaner, more modern and more efficient rail service than America. And again, the "America is big" argument is a bad one. 80% of the country mass is just desert. There is a reason we call it "flyover country". It's a shame because the potential is huge, but corrupt politicians keep taking bribes from the automobile lobby and throw more and more and more taxpayer money into building 10 lane freeways.
A welcome relief from the old diesels. The trainsets are quiet, smooth and it is a pleasure to be able to look out of a window again without a decade or so of grime. Do have to disagree with your rating of the seats though. The backs are ramrod straight with no armrests and pitch you slightly forward, with a shorter seat pan that offers much less support. No way to relax into the seat for an hour plus commute like mine. I find myself going for the little fold down seats near my bike because it is easier to get comfortable. That said, it is overall a fantastic improvement, in the direction more transit should be going.
It's interesting that they use those "grab and pull" emergency exists, when most (all?) trains like that "back home" have the breakaway windows where you grab a pointy little hammer from the wall and just shatter selected windows.
It's always a little bit 'shocking' when the USA gets public transport right. You can't help but be really happy for the Americans - they are often a bit of a punching bag when it comes to PT discussions (often unfairly so).
In all fairness, Amtrak is switching its entire fleet to essentially the same Siemens trains that SBB is using on Railjet (Vectron/Charger + Viaggio/Venture cars), the Acela is getting new Alstom TGV-M/Avelia trains, and a bunch of commuter services are getting Stadler KISS/FLIRT trains (Arrow, ACE, etc.) So there is a lot of rail modernization going on in the US right now. In about 10 years many rail services will have state of the art world class trains.
I hope TRE in the DFW area eventually catches up with the rest of the area's commuter rail lines and orders nice modern Stadlers too! I love the TexRail trains.
What is depressing is it takes so long with such a very complicated and expensive process that [some] other places around the world seem to get done so much more efficiently. We cannot seem to get out of our own way, (California HSR).
@@pgchase4578043026 true but those places have methods of building that lets just say arent very ethical (like having people build for free if you know what i mean)
The new Stadler KISSes are truly going to be a game changer for CalTrain! Def I'll be excited when Stadler sends their hydrogen trainset for Arrow down in SoCal and eventually for Amtrak California service.
I always enjoy seeing nice shiny new trains, though I do wonder how well those white interiors will hold up over time. I don't get the intense hate for the gallery cars, but I'm a lifelong resident of Chicagoland and those are my "normal." I'm not sure when/how Metra will be able to go electric as they run a lot of trains on freight lines and it's hard to get cooperation from the freight rail companies.
Bring it on and by the way there is a concept art for the battery electric version of the train because Boston and San Francisco will order them at the same time yet one of them has the both door operation enabled Boston MBTA. In Europe Northeastern United States it has to be Shrunk down from the SF Caltrain version. Since you are from France I wonder if there are manufacturers over there that can rival this one made in Switzerland shell although finished inside Salt Lake City Utah. 5:11 really needed and much better than USB
These trains are good but not perfect. There is only one restroom, which causes people to walk through the whole train looking for it. The seats are uncomfortable, the interior is dull, and the door-closing signal is noisy. But in any case, this is a huge step forward for the U.S.; in Moscow, such trains have been running since 2015.
Vraiment impressionnant ! Peux-tu tester à l’avenir les Stadler Flirt et les Alstom Coradia Polyvalent que nous avons en Algérie ? Nous avons un superbe réseau électrifié en 25 000 volts.
First... $10.50 in the USA. Not $10,50. The latter could be misinterpreted as ten-thousand-five-hundred. A bit pricey for a ticket. LOL. Second... A TOASTER! The old AEM 7 from the NE Corridor. Nice to see a couple made it to the West after their retirement. They used the Toasters to test the new electrical system during conversion. Searching through the TH-cams doesn't reveal any of these Toasters moving under wire, but rumor has it CalTrain may keep them for MOW movements. In San Mateo you show the knockouts for doors that I understand will be installed later when high platforms are built somewhere along the line. Do you or anybody know where those high platforms will be at?
You’d have to be an idiot to interpret $10,50 as meaning the ticket costs $1,050 for a 60 minute commuter rail ride. That or someone like Bill gates who never goes outside or shops for themselves and who thinks tide costs $500.
30 fps, 30 fps, 30 fps... bad, bad, bad... still behind, but it's good that America is catching up with the electrification of its tracks. but it's still a very long run... so hopefully she'll make it. the only meaningful voltage is 25kV, enough power for everything in the future as well. 🙃
This is awesome! I may not have to drive down to SJ as much (unless I'm buying a lot of crap). I do hope that the trains and seats stay clean for a long time. When BART got their new trains, it only took a matter of days before it got really disgusting; I'm afraid I might contract some kind of skin disease if/when I sit on BART seats. lol
@@TohaBgood2 You're lucky or you haven't seen the horrors I've seen on those seats. I'm not a germaphobe, but I always try not to touch anything inside a BART train car.
Am I hearing what sounds like a wheel flat at 9:39? If a wheel needs to be turned already on a new EMU, that doesn't bode well. Don't KISS units have ABS, so how could a wheel even get a flat? Strange.
One step into the direction of becoming a first world country. Now keep improving the railway based on this and brightline and then the next step is healthcare / properly trained cops.
Basically a train that has its own Motors are called "Multiple Units". And here it's an EMU because it's Electric. If it was Diesel-Powered it would be a DMU. There is also the BMU which is the "Bi-Mode Multiple Unit", often being Diesel and Electric, being able to switch Power Source. And there is the BEMU, which is the "Battery-Electric Multiple Unit" These are just EMU's with batteries onboard. I am not sure about the Hydrogen-Powered trains but that's another thing to worry about.
The security announcements are a bit much, though. Is this because litigation works a bit differently in the USA than in (continental) Europe, or are there other reasons? I expect this sort of thing when taking a flight, not when taking a train. Especially not a commuter train.
@@lalakerspro I'm talking about the announcements, like 'make sure that you don't fall flat on your face because we're slowing down', that sort of thing.
@SeverityOne These trains have quicker acceleration than the old trains, so they are simply giving them a heads up to be careful. I'm sure any kind of legal liability issues would be covered when you first agree to buy a ticket.
I was really hoping they would be quieter. This ear deafening horn blowing, bell dinging, I hoped this would be a thing of a past. Some cities fight for a "quiet zone" around Caltrain track.
Such cities want the quiet zone but refuse to cooperate in grade separation projects and don’t pitch in any funds. Such cities will demand changes in laws until someone gets hurt then they will blame transit and say we must keep building more lanes
@@sgt.eclair I thought that much: Public transport is rare in the US, and this a country of Endless and Many Law Suits after all. In Europe even if it is an accident, even a causality, they move everything aside as fast as it is possible, and the transport moves on.
@@f-86zoomer37 Understood! The new trains are a progress, for sure. I use Caltrain for over 10 years. I still have the old 10 and later 8-rides tickets in a box, aeons of time before the Clipper card.
Never is a long time. It's in the process of recovery as is the case in many cities in the USA. Even NYC ridership is not back to pre-pandemic numbers. The same is true with LA Metro, but they keep improving every month.
Does anyone have info regarding the configuration of BEMU Caltrain on order? Is it a 4 passenger cars with battery on each car or 4 passenger cars with additional battery / catenary power car?
Those are nice Swiss built trains, that have been ruined by having vinyl seats fitted. Why were vinyl seats installed? Its gonna be unhygienic on a hot day with those seats. They should have ordered cloth seat covers instead.
You do know freight railroads use this line as well, it isn't just for passenger trains... You know, the freight that moves the goods around America coast to coast?
Excuse my french but the inside of that thing looks like the fucking dental office. I know it's such a small thing but couldn't caltrain have done at least something that would make the interior look a bit more pleasant to look at? Besides that though, I'm happy that the US seems to slowly get more proper trains.
Yep, all electric trains. Going to be good when the grid crashes again, from taking all the traditional power sources off line, shutting down the remaining nuclear plants, destroying the power generation dams, mandating all electric homes and cars. yep, that's a recipe for running a reliable all electric train system!
Very Beautiful New Electric Trains The big "Test" is going to be these "Rolling Black Outs" and a "Earthquake" to see how well, going "All Electric" will do over "Diesel and Gas"... to see who performs better? God"s Holy Blessings of Natural Fuel or mans-made Electricity... 🤔💭?
In my opinion the new seats are significantly less comfortable than either the Gallery or Bombardier seats. The bottom part is not as deep, and the backrest is far too upright. I would say that Caltrain now has the least comfortable seats of any Bay Area transit system, even worse than a local bus.
European commuter trains serve the heart of the city where commuters want to go whereas Caltrain station is more than a mile from the useless San Francisco Transit Center.
@@lalakerspro Amtrak’s Houston box is an abomination. When I passed through there in 2017 all the toilets were out of order forcing passengers to use stink outdoor portalets. Blame the city of Houston and the state of Texas which spends billions on highways and airports. Amtrak is not in competition with Caltrain. Both are underfunded and struggling to survive like all passenger rail services in the USA.
Saying "Hi!" from Sam Mateo County! Have been looking forward to seeing these beautiful vehicles and passenger cars for quite a while, and given how long it takes for any forward looking projects to actually happen, that means waiting for years. No more of the clanging, hooting, stinking diesel behemoths. Thank you for covering this event.
As a European (Austrian), it is a great joy to see that a train built by Stadler is taking the Californian railway to the next level. Congratulations to those responsible for this decision.
If we could only get Europe to spend enough money on defense then we would really be getting somewhere.
@@MostHigh777 seriously? What the hell is wrong with you. Take this crap elsewhere.
i hope this is a sign of things to come
Bankruptcy?
@@flinch622What??
@@leftbas65 More Comrails going Stadler
This is the first real transit benefit from investing in the CAHSR project. The CAHSR paid about 2/3 of the cost for the electrification of this line.
California is leading the way for the rest of the USA once again. Thanks for the cool video.
Nicely done! The rails have seen it all over the last 146 years: steam, diesel electric, and now full electric. It makes me proud to be a Peninsula native!
I was there for the last run of the legacy fleet. Sad to see them go, but I’m so excited to have the new trains and schedule!
Me too. Every half month or so me and my friends take the caltrain up to the city. The old ones were good, but honestly some of the older pre 2010 ones needed replacing.
Former Amtrak's AEM-7 were used for electrification tests before arrival of Stadler EMU'sm
They should use them to run with the Bombardiers in case of a break down, if there’s an issue with a KISS set the whole set is out of service
@@darryldworak6356They might, but don’t they just have the one?
@@brentfoster9138 it looked like 2 on this video but I could be mistaken if not they could buy an ACS-64 from Amtrak when they go to replace them soon. Just feels like it would make sense to keep some non kiss sets around in case of a bad day
@@darryldworak6356 wonder if ACS-64s being Siemens would get in the way of that. anyone know if they signed for exclusivity with Stadler?
@@darryldworak6356I’m sure if the need was there Caltrain could dig deep and tack on to an order of whatever Amtrak would be buying new.
Ontario Northland Railway where I live is doing the same by piggybacking 3 extra trains on Via Rail’s Siemens order.
Welcome back to the bay! Glad these units are finally in full service and I cant wait for the rail expansions in the Sac valley
This is the step in the right direction. No hydrogen or battery locomotives bs, just good old electrification
Amen
They are buying one battery train-set to trial on service to Gilroy
@@ryancolburn9654 well there goes my faith in american railroads. Is not that i have any to begin with
@@tomasdionnet812 the line to Gilroy will be electrified and have tracks added when California HSR connects to the bay, so it is just a temporary measure. The Battery Trains could still be useful on connecting branch line services, like to Salinas
@@ryancolburn9654 Or Hollister.
Well as someone who lives in San Jose and occasionally goes up to The City, I'm not sad to see the old trains go. The new trains look lovely, and I look forward to riding them.
Apart from the bells, they're great!
I've never understood the american obsession with train bells. Would americans swarm out onto the tracks when a train approaches (sort of like corpulent lemmings) if there were no bells? Other countries don't have bells on trains, yet I haven't noticed mass die-offs whenever trains approach stations there. Weird.
@@icenijohn2 Considering the frequency which Amtrak, Brightline and freight trains hit cars and trucks driven onto tracks it seems even loud annoying bells aren't enough of a hint of an approaching train for some Americans.
California resident of France here: YAY California! Please give the example to the rest of the U..S. (π) ... After having ridden trains here for over 30 years I can tell you with 1000% certainty that train travel beats all the other options, hands down. The great "horizontal elevator": You step on, enjoy the ride, arrive, and step off (in the City Centr without additional "transfers"!). During the trip, you can walk around, pee-pee, have a coffee at will (compare *that* to a plane or a bus!) •••• (π)Lastly, it has seemed pretty obvious to me for years that an extensive train network in the U.S. is the missing solution to *several* issues at once... but I'll keep this short in just repeating my "bravo"!
Vous avez raison! Peut-être que les Américains feront de grands efforts maintenant pour améliorer leur transport public.
Does France have metheads camped out near public transport too?
@@flinch622 No. I don't believe that meth addiction is a particularly a big problem here, at least not to the same extent as in the U.S. Anyway, France -as in many European countries - has extensive social care programs and a different public attitude that seems to deal very well in that domain.
@@marcelmoulin3335 Espérons-le. A mon avis, c'est une idée gagnant-gagnant, quel que soit le camp politique ou le niveau social et économique. Je crois que ce mouvement a historiquement été freiné par les industries de l'automobile, de l'essence et des pneus [
Thank you for riding!! What a great video. We at Caltrain appreciate it.
Glad you're back on this side of the pond! I like what Caltrain is handling this new era on the west coast.
Now we see Justin doing it. Still a great video! And, you HAVE to visit back yourself sometime soon! 😉
I hope this technology will make its way to Florida and all their commuter trains!
So, how come a state known for earthquakes, can they electrify a train line and NOT in Florida?
And hurricanes can do as much damage as an earthquake!
Oh I hope you come to So Cal, I'll wave hello!
Can't wait to try these trains when I visit the area in November!
yeah hope america will get more and more trains!
we have more trains than anywhere else, they are just freight instead
Very very exciting! 👍🏻👍🏻👏👏
San Francisco finally electrified their busy commuter corridor to San Jose/Diridon. No more diesel exhaust, faster acceleration and quieter. Thanks Justin for filming. Thanks Thibault for the review😀👍👌
Dunno If it IS quieter as a passenger actually, because the old service was loco-hauled
@@BigBlueMan118dude, it’s WAY quieter
@@OOFUS4103 not what I heard in the cabins, also the beeping for the doors closing ist vulgar
I will ride electric Caltrain to the CHASE CENTER next year with Tayjas Surey.
The New Generation of Caltrain is finally here...
I commuted (with my bike) for several years from SF to Mountain View on those MISERABLE gallery cars. Sooooooo glad to see them FINALLY replaced. Good by, Diesel!! *waves happily to them receding into the distance* The "only one toilet" thing though.....
We have Stadler Kiss in Serbia and they're very awesome trains!
12:45 Typical sound of the drive of Stadler trains!😎
I Saw my Self!!!!! I was Helping out with media yesterday!!
I'd give anything to have these in NY. On the LIRR or Metro North
I was there that same day but I took a train two hours after yours to San Jose 👍
Completely agree with you on the gallery cars. Now if we can get the other skinflint commuter rail companies around the U.S, to get on board we might have a chance to inch our abysmal rail service in the United States to the 1990s.
Caltrain has 23 7 trains coming and 1 "4" car battery KISS which only has 3 cars for passengers. They might still have options to move to 24 8 car sets.
Caltrain is keeping 9 diesel engines and the 41 octogons. 920-928 have been rebuilt in the past 5 years so they'll be good for another 10-15 years. Right now they need 4 sets to run their peak 4RT along with 1-2 spares for upkeep. Service is looking to be extended to Salinas with 2 peak RT near term.
The word is the 1 AEM-7 that was fixed up got killed at some point.
Someone will buy the gallery cars, thankfully Metra doesn't want them. There has been rumors metrolink might want them for the 2028 games to add capacity before disposing of them.
What are the electric locomotives for at Caltrain?
@@s125ish there are 2 AEM-7C. 1 was to be used for testing the other spare parts. They killed the testing one
As I see with pleasure you also like trains from Switzerland 🇨🇭. Imagine in Switzerland 🇨🇭 and in other european countries there really run a lot of this trains day by day. Greetings from good old Europe! 👍
These trains seats suck. American seats seemed more comfortable
@@lalakerspro But these are not the same seats like in Switzerland 🇨🇭 or other european countries. 😂👍
@@hans-jorg-io1is They are. Someone from the netherlands said their stadler trains have the same seats. The old seats were much better even though the train itself is better
@@hans-jorg-io1is Unfortunately, they are the same seats and they do not measure up to regular American rail seats. In the US, the train seat standard is just a lot higher than in Europe. Amtrak was desperately trying to compete with the airlines in the 70s-80s and they got insanely comfortable seats to get an edge over air travel. So now rail passengers in the US expect a lot more from train seats than in other countries.
Amtrak coach seats on regular daytime intercity trains (short and medium distance) are now expected to be better than business class seats on planes! It's a weird quirk of American rail travel - the seats are wildly comfortable.
@@lalakerspro the seats are choosen from the operating company. So it is not Stadler's fault if the seats are not the best one.
The US MUST get its passenger railroads back, at least with major trains serving between nearby major cities. It is almost a moral obligation to honor all those old railroads (and their staff) that helped make the country the most important in the world.
Especially since the notion of America being "too big" for trains is ridiculous given that most American live in densely populated metropolitan areas. There is only one single reason that rail service is so bad in America, and it's corruption.
@@williamduke1756 Many americans live in completely rural remote areas. Dont speak on something you have no idea on
@@lalakersproMany Americans are also over 70 years old. Or severely underweight. Or multi millionaires. Doesn't change the fact that most aren't. I can't believe that I have to explain such a basic concept to an adult.
@williamduke1756 america is bigger than europe area wise and has half the people. Many areas are not dense, we have good trains in dense areas like nyc and sf
@@lalakerspro Most commuter rail services in America are dogshit. Overpriced, old, dirty, unreliable and mostly not even electrified. Long-distance rail service is even worse (look at Amtrak reviews).
I've traveled third world countries that had cleaner, more modern and more efficient rail service than America.
And again, the "America is big" argument is a bad one. 80% of the country mass is just desert. There is a reason we call it "flyover country".
It's a shame because the potential is huge, but corrupt politicians keep taking bribes from the automobile lobby and throw more and more and more taxpayer money into building 10 lane freeways.
Definitely going to miss the old reliable fleet 😢 They gave us almost 40 years of excellent service
The new trains are perfect (the horn not my best) but I heard the Caltrain is still running their baby bullet service with the mo36ph-3c
no, thats only between gilroy and sj
Passenger trains are improving in the US, now Europe needs to improve its archaic freight network
A welcome relief from the old diesels. The trainsets are quiet, smooth and it is a pleasure to be able to look out of a window again without a decade or so of grime. Do have to disagree with your rating of the seats though. The backs are ramrod straight with no armrests and pitch you slightly forward, with a shorter seat pan that offers much less support. No way to relax into the seat for an hour plus commute like mine. I find myself going for the little fold down seats near my bike because it is easier to get comfortable. That said, it is overall a fantastic improvement, in the direction more transit should be going.
seeing how Stadler is building trainsets In Utah ,UTA Front runner needs electrification and these nice trains.
It's interesting that they use those "grab and pull" emergency exists, when most (all?) trains like that "back home" have the breakaway windows where you grab a pointy little hammer from the wall and just shatter selected windows.
Don’t want shards puncturing your face
Have you seen american teenagers?
FINALLY!
It's always a little bit 'shocking' when the USA gets public transport right. You can't help but be really happy for the Americans - they are often a bit of a punching bag when it comes to PT discussions (often unfairly so).
Quite surreal to see Swiss trains in America. It's like seeing a giant Amtrak monstrosity riding in the middle of Europe.
In all fairness, Amtrak is switching its entire fleet to essentially the same Siemens trains that SBB is using on Railjet (Vectron/Charger + Viaggio/Venture cars), the Acela is getting new Alstom TGV-M/Avelia trains, and a bunch of commuter services are getting Stadler KISS/FLIRT trains (Arrow, ACE, etc.)
So there is a lot of rail modernization going on in the US right now. In about 10 years many rail services will have state of the art world class trains.
@@TohaBgood2 That's awesome. Definitely late to the game but great nonetheless.
I think is the best time for me to get my visa some use, Brightline and now this are getting very interesting for me to visit America.
Front runner is likely the next ComRail to go Stadler
Metra/MBTA too. But there are not EMU
I hope TRE in the DFW area eventually catches up with the rest of the area's commuter rail lines and orders nice modern Stadlers too! I love the TexRail trains.
As a european, I have only one question! Why this ringbell still needed in the USA for a modern train?
BEYOND STUPID rule going back decades by the rail regulators in the U.S.
What is depressing is it takes so long with such a very complicated and expensive process that [some] other places around the world seem to get done so much more efficiently. We cannot seem to get out of our own way, (California HSR).
@@pgchase4578043026 true but those places have methods of building that lets just say arent very ethical (like having people build for free if you know what i mean)
The new Stadler KISSes are truly going to be a game changer for CalTrain! Def I'll be excited when Stadler sends their hydrogen trainset for Arrow down in SoCal and eventually for Amtrak California service.
I join you in hoping other states "get on board"!!! I am going to start planning to ride this train! (First, I've got to get to SF).
I like this train
I always enjoy seeing nice shiny new trains, though I do wonder how well those white interiors will hold up over time. I don't get the intense hate for the gallery cars, but I'm a lifelong resident of Chicagoland and those are my "normal." I'm not sure when/how Metra will be able to go electric as they run a lot of trains on freight lines and it's hard to get cooperation from the freight rail companies.
Well well finally interesting in staff in west usa
Caltrain commuter rail, it's ELECTRIC, 25kV 60Hz on constant tension catenary, WOOOOOO!!!🚉⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡💯
Great trip. Feels like the KISS looks bigger than usual, maybe because it's build in US?
Sounds weird to hear the clanging of a railroad crossing coming from the train itself.
! Nice video, likes from me !
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
They don't even have headrests in the driver cockpit
Sehr schöner Zug aber ein großer Minus punkt gibt es, nur Leder Sitze. Ich mag keine Lederstize weil man nur rumrutscht und im Sommer sehr heiß ist
Bring it on and by the way there is a concept art for the battery electric version of the train because Boston and San Francisco will order them at the same time yet one of them has the both door operation enabled Boston MBTA. In Europe Northeastern United States it has to be Shrunk down from the SF Caltrain version. Since you are from France I wonder if there are manufacturers over there that can rival this one made in Switzerland shell although finished inside Salt Lake City Utah. 5:11 really needed and much better than USB
This is like a better german s-bahn
カリフォルニアにしてはずいぶんバリアフリーとかけ離れてるなぁと思ったら、これ2階建て車両で1階が全部バリアフリー構造なのか！
(日本とは使える大きさが違うとは言え、豪快だ)
I wish 101 traffic get so bad like pre-pandemic, so that people use more Caltrain.
Go
These trains are good but not perfect. There is only one restroom, which causes people to walk through the whole train looking for it. The seats are uncomfortable, the interior is dull, and the door-closing signal is noisy. But in any case, this is a huge step forward for the U.S.; in Moscow, such trains have been running since 2015.
agreed, but the uncomfortable seats and interior are swiss. if these trains had american seats they would be much more confortable
@@lalakersproNo they're not. The interior and seat designs are chosen by the customer. Stadler KISS units elsewhere has different designs
Vraiment impressionnant ! Peux-tu tester à l’avenir les Stadler Flirt et les Alstom Coradia Polyvalent que nous avons en Algérie ? Nous avons un superbe réseau électrifié en 25 000 volts.
First... $10.50 in the USA. Not $10,50. The latter could be misinterpreted as ten-thousand-five-hundred. A bit pricey for a ticket. LOL. Second... A TOASTER! The old AEM 7 from the NE Corridor. Nice to see a couple made it to the West after their retirement. They used the Toasters to test the new electrical system during conversion. Searching through the TH-cams doesn't reveal any of these Toasters moving under wire, but rumor has it CalTrain may keep them for MOW movements. In San Mateo you show the knockouts for doors that I understand will be installed later when high platforms are built somewhere along the line. Do you or anybody know where those high platforms will be at?
@@joegladstone7739 they actually never used them to test, they scrapped that idea
You’d have to be an idiot to interpret $10,50 as meaning the ticket costs $1,050 for a 60 minute commuter rail ride. That or someone like Bill gates who never goes outside or shops for themselves and who thinks tide costs $500.
Is the ride smooth on those new concrete ties and welded rail?
I wonder why the last bit to Tamien is single track electrified...
that has half the amount of trains, the other track is for amtrak and union pacific. Sj to tamien is only a couple miles
Other track is owned by Union Pacific and they don’t want the wires over their track.
Huh. I was on that train at the same time you were on. Go fig.
Oh a broken door? That's the only thing I ever see wrong in KISSes. And even that verry seldom
does stadler not do basic tests on their doors?
I think the slide out steps are to blame for that. I'm guessing that they get jammed up with gunk from time to time. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
That door chime is horrible. Sounds like an emergency door alarm
Are the contact line masts from Furrer+Frey?
30 fps, 30 fps, 30 fps... bad, bad, bad... still behind, but it's good that America is catching up with the electrification of its tracks. but it's still a very long run... so hopefully she'll make it. the only meaningful voltage is 25kV, enough power for everything in the future as well. 🙃
Why between S. Jose and Tamien is there only an electrified track and not both?
This is awesome! I may not have to drive down to SJ as much (unless I'm buying a lot of crap). I do hope that the trains and seats stay clean for a long time. When BART got their new trains, it only took a matter of days before it got really disgusting; I'm afraid I might contract some kind of skin disease if/when I sit on BART seats. lol
I was on BARt the other day and the trains were spotless!
@@TohaBgood2 You're lucky or you haven't seen the horrors I've seen on those seats. I'm not a germaphobe, but I always try not to touch anything inside a BART train car.
Am I hearing what sounds like a wheel flat at 9:39? If a wheel needs to be turned already on a new EMU, that doesn't bode well. Don't KISS units have ABS, so how could a wheel even get a flat? Strange.
One step into the direction of becoming a first world country.
Now keep improving the railway based on this and brightline and then the next step is healthcare / properly trained cops.
This only 48 miles what about San Diego to San Francisco?
What is an EMU? I suppose its not the Emu the Bird?
EMU means electric multiple unit.
Basically a train that has its own Motors are called "Multiple Units". And here it's an EMU because it's Electric. If it was Diesel-Powered it would be a DMU. There is also the BMU which is the "Bi-Mode Multiple Unit", often being Diesel and Electric, being able to switch Power Source. And there is the BEMU, which is the "Battery-Electric Multiple Unit" These are just EMU's with batteries onboard. I am not sure about the Hydrogen-Powered trains but that's another thing to worry about.
Don‘t listen to the answers before it‘s actually a train that identifies as an emu.
It‘s transit.
Do they still always run two-people crews or is that just because it's a new type so everyone's low-experience?
FRA requires at least 2 people
The security announcements are a bit much, though. Is this because litigation works a bit differently in the USA than in (continental) Europe, or are there other reasons? I expect this sort of thing when taking a flight, not when taking a train. Especially not a commuter train.
there is no security, you just simply walk on the train
@@lalakerspro I'm talking about the announcements, like 'make sure that you don't fall flat on your face because we're slowing down', that sort of thing.
@SeverityOne true but people who ride often just drown out announcements. EMU's are a new thing here so people are getting used to it
Yes the US has a massive problem with over-litigation. It affects every area of life unfortunately.
@SeverityOne These trains have quicker acceleration than the old trains, so they are simply giving them a heads up to be careful.
I'm sure any kind of legal liability issues would be covered when you first agree to buy a ticket.
I was really hoping they would be quieter. This ear deafening horn blowing, bell dinging, I hoped this would be a thing of a past. Some cities fight for a "quiet zone" around Caltrain track.
legally, they have to sound the horn when crossing grade crossings. as long as drivers remain stupid and unaware, that will be the case.
Such cities want the quiet zone but refuse to cooperate in grade separation projects and don’t pitch in any funds. Such cities will demand changes in laws until someone gets hurt then they will blame transit and say we must keep building more lanes
@@sgt.eclair I thought that much: Public transport is rare in the US, and this a country of Endless and Many Law Suits after all. In Europe even if it is an accident, even a causality, they move everything aside as fast as it is possible, and the transport moves on.
@@f-86zoomer37 Understood! The new trains are a progress, for sure. I use Caltrain for over 10 years. I still have the old 10 and later 8-rides tickets in a box, aeons of time before the Clipper card.
Beautiful new trains! Unfortunately, ridership has never recovered from pre pandemic levels, and the financial district in SF is like a ghost town.
Well, California TAXED the lot so much, they LEFT the state...
Never is a long time. It's in the process of recovery as is the case in many cities in the USA. Even NYC ridership is not back to pre-pandemic numbers. The same is true with LA Metro, but they keep improving every month.
Does anyone have info regarding the configuration of BEMU Caltrain on order? Is it a 4 passenger cars with battery on each car or 4 passenger cars with additional battery / catenary power car?
Thompson Brian Miller Anthony Moore Melissa
Those are nice Swiss built trains, that have been ruined by having vinyl seats fitted. Why were vinyl seats installed? Its gonna be unhygienic on a hot day with those seats. They should have ordered cloth seat covers instead.
So I'm guessing it'll be called a "failed communist plot by California", or "something, something, homeless!" in...4...3...2
Those same people will defend the federal government’s interstate highway network to the death.
KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKTHIS IS THE BEST OF AMERICA IN RAIL???? MY GOD, SO PRÉ HSTORIC
Oh shut your pie hole, Stadler KISSes are modern and used by plenty of other countries.
You do know freight railroads use this line as well, it isn't just for passenger trains... You know, the freight that moves the goods around America coast to coast?
The Caltrain version looks quite bleak with these grey seats, the European companies have so many interesting designs
Such a shame it took so long to finally get rid of their environmental disaster, diesel locomotives electric, so much better
Wow, finally replacing third world trains - long overdue.
Why does every train has to look same these days?
It’s more like trolley than train
The old trains had more comfortable seats which were better for longer trips.
Are these faster ?
Indeed, but the more noticeable change is faster acceleration
I wonder how often they will sub in a diesel train when an electric train breaks down. It happens on CTRail every so often.
Well... all good until brownouts/blackouts. I hope the engineers are allowed to carry - CA has not even begun to recover.
Excuse my french but the inside of that thing looks like the fucking dental office. I know it's such a small thing but couldn't caltrain have done at least something that would make the interior look a bit more pleasant to look at? Besides that though, I'm happy that the US seems to slowly get more proper trains.
Look up the term "utility" or "utilitarian".
@@archstanton5973 again, it's a small thing, but all the white all over the place kinda hurts my eyes.
What is the platform height in America?
The standard if freight trains share the line is around 13 centimetres
Yep, all electric trains. Going to be good when the grid crashes again, from taking all the traditional power sources off line, shutting down the remaining nuclear plants, destroying the power generation dams, mandating all electric homes and cars. yep, that's a recipe for running a reliable all electric train system!
Very Beautiful New Electric Trains
The big "Test" is going to be these "Rolling Black Outs" and a "Earthquake" to see how well, going "All Electric" will do over "Diesel and Gas"... to see who performs better?
God"s Holy Blessings of Natural Fuel or mans-made Electricity...
🤔💭?
In my opinion the new seats are significantly less comfortable than either the Gallery or Bombardier seats. The bottom part is not as deep, and the backrest is far too upright. I would say that Caltrain now has the least comfortable seats of any Bay Area transit system, even worse than a local bus.
And loud horns? 😢😢😢
European commuter trains serve the heart of the city where commuters want to go whereas Caltrain station is more than a mile from the useless San Francisco Transit Center.
There will be an extension there soon. Better than amtrak that stops at absolute random places in the city (like houston)😂
@@lalakerspro Amtrak’s Houston box is an abomination. When I passed through there in 2017 all the toilets were out of order forcing passengers to use stink outdoor portalets. Blame the city of Houston and the state of Texas which spends billions on highways and airports.
Amtrak is not in competition with Caltrain. Both are underfunded and struggling to survive like all passenger rail services in the USA.