r/caltrain

been using the SCC to SF for my first full time position these past months, and I have to say, while the commute itself is not bad at all, the stress of making sure I can make it to one of the SCC trains is what gets me. I end up leaving work early so I am sure I can make it before the last train, but I feel always just a bit on edge bc there is that "what if" situation where I end up stranded in SJ.

Just trying to consider whether I should move closer to SF (or at least near SJ) or if the feeling of being stressed out in ensuring I can make the train gets easier as the months/years go by. Don't mind the duration/distance of the commute at all and I will honestly do anything to stay commuting by train instead of car, but the frequency of the SCC trains is definitely what has been getting me lately.

Anyway, if anyone with more experience has any personal anecdotes or advice w/ regards to this, that would be greatly appreciated!

edit: with that in mind, does anyone do the drive to SJ and then take the train? or is that a lose lose situation

hi! i’ve been trying to make the switch to commuting via caltrain, but the only way it could be reasonably sustainable is if i can drive to the station. my work covers the monthly parking permit as well as the train itself. is parking at a caltrain station possible? i’m looking ideally at zone 1 (san francisco, 22nd street, or bayshore) as the closest to my home. i’d love any advice, thank you!

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I have to be in SJ near Dirdon and can’t diplomatically leave before 4:45/5pm.

I am somewhat surprised to see an almost 25m gap with no northbound train schedule right at 5pm. I suppose it matches the previous hour but given most get out at 5pm I’m worried the 5:22 will just be packed.

Is it possible to find a seat?

From what I can gather Caltrain originally planned on still having 8 diesel powered trains per day (the 8 Gilroy trains) north of San Jose, but for whatever reason they changed their minds. Any particular reason?

Hey everyone,
I’m commuting daily on Caltrain (~2 hours round-trip per day) and need a solid, reliable mobile internet setup for my laptop, iPad, and phone.
I need a secure, stable, and low-latency connection for work/finance apps while the train is moving, so relying on public train Wi-Fi is out of the question for me. Please give me some recommendations. Thank you.

SB 522 is delayed by more than 10min. The NB train has been held at Millbrae for more then 10 minutes.

Does anyone have any advice over what to do in this situation? The Clipper machines currently don't seem to make any distinction between tapping on and tapping off, and the Clipper app doesn't show the trip until it's completed.

Is there any 100% safe thing to do other than buying a one-way ticket?

It’s due to the giants game? I wonder what happens if these folks go to Japan, watch a game and take a train ride.

Anything we can do about it? Besides wearing a big jacket…

For the first time, my Internet didn't drop completely and get super glitchy through Atherton this morning. Did Caltrain finally fix the dead zone?

I am a monthly pass holder, and sometimes I flake.

I can’t remember if I tapped on or sometimes I forget to tap on and then when I tap off, it’s considered we tapped on, so then it charges me a full ride instead of my monthly pass.

When I check on the app, it doesn’t register unless I complete a ride.

I wish the card in my Apple wallet would change colors or something to indicate that I’ve tapped.

Am I missing something?

I’m a huge Caltrain rider and am very grateful for the service. that said, I feel like recently, Caltrain has been having so many delays and issues on many of the morning commute trains. While i understand they are really not able to control if an engine shuts down or if something happens on the tracks, every time there is an issue, i find it so surprising that the #1 solution is to keep everyone in the train until they fix it. And even if they let u out, there’s no chance you’ll see a train until a decent amt of time later.

i get it for odd cases (ex. ur in the middle of the tracks somewhere), but idk after years of history, I’m surprised there isn’t a better solution than to wait/find a bus if ur lucky.

obviously for ppl w shorter commutes, a 20 min delay isn’t a major deal but it adds up if ur doing a longer drive with multiple transfers. and that’s not Caltrains fault at that point, but it makes it slightly more frustrating to have the solution be to wait until all the trains start running again.

anyway, to be fair, I have no real idea what could be a better solution but i wish there could be bc it would make the service 100x better.