USDOT Officials Ride New Caltrain EMU

Pictured on Nov. 5 with Caltrain’s Stadler-built KISS trainset are John Putnam, USDOT Deputy General Counsel; Cindy Terwilliger, Federal Transit Administration Region 8 Regional Administrator; Michelle Bouchard, acting Executive Director of Caltrain; Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler US; Kari Gonzales, President and CEO of TTCI; and other industry professionals.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation recently had a test ride of Caltrain’s Stadler-built KISS EMU (electric multiple-unit), which is now in the final stages of testing at Transportation Technology Center, Inc. in Pueblo, Colo.

USDOT Deputy General Counsel John Putnam joined Cindy Terwilliger, Federal Transit Administration Region 8 Regional Administrator; Michelle Bouchard, acting Executive Director of Caltrain; Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler US; Kari Gonzales, President and CEO of TTCI; and other industry professionals for the Nov. 5 event. Caltrain and Stadler also gave a presentation on the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project (PCEP), which is upgrading and electrifying Caltrain’s 51-mile doubletrack commuter rail system from the 4th and King Caltrain Station in San Francisco, Calif., to the Tamien Station in San Jose, Calif.

Trainset No. 1 arrived at TTCI earlier this year to undergo a comprehensive set of instrumented operational tests, at velocities exceeding maximum operating speed, on the AC-catenary-electrified RTT (Railroad Test Track), which is capable of supporting speeds up to 170 mph.

Stadler is building 19 seven-car trainsets for the Caltrain project. Assembly is taking place at its Salt Lake City, Utah, manufacturing plant. 

“These new electric trains will bring a new standard of excellence to the Caltrain corridor,” said Caltrain’s Bouchard. “Cleaner, greener, quieter, more comfortable, and more efficient, these trains will deliver an across-the-board improved riding experience with features such as Wi-Fi, improved passenger information displays, additional storage, and power sources at every seat, benefiting the communities we serve for decades to come.”

In June, Caltrain announced that the $2.3 billion electrified service project’s launch would be delayed two years, until late 2024, due to “complications in the installation of signal systems, unforeseen conditions under Caltrain’s tracks, and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which severely disrupted supply chains necessary to the project.”