Help kick off the effort to STOP devastating cuts to transit in the Bay Area on 1/23. We need to gather 200,000 signatures to get Connect Bay Area, the regional transit funding measure, on the ballot. This is an all hands on deck moment w/ events through the Bay. Details> luma.com/le1g7slf?tk=...

Missed yesterday's webinar? Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIka... @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social

Daily reminder that the primary benefit of railway electrification is not to reduce railway emissions. It is to enable faster acceleration which reduces travel time and thereby increases frequency without adding operating cost. That then attracts more riders and thereby more revenue.

In 2024 the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program covered an average of 10% of the total need for the funded projects. And many projects don't get funded! We need to invest more in transit, but this program as structured is not getting projects to the finish line. calsta.ca.gov/-/media/cals...

Metrolink next!

⚡FULL ELECTRIFICATION ⚡ @governor.ca.gov shouts out Caltrain electrification in his State of the State speech.

It turns out that transit ridership increases when service is faster and more frequent 🤯

Starting now!

It would be nice if rolling stock funding/financing were optimized so operators didn’t need 12 different capital partners to deliver new trainsets.

Tomorrow! Don't forget to RSVP.

“UPRR indicated that there could be no further concessions and would not agree to further reducing capital improvement requirements.”

You see this again and again. JPA management, limited staff capacity, patchwork grant programs -> budget overruns, longer timelines descoping, less service for riders in rapidly-growing areas. This time for Valley Rail in the Central Valley. Will 2026 be the year we take action?

While 2025 was a tough year for many, last year we saw electric rail continue to move forward, with lots of good news for the future. Here's a look at some of what we accomplished last year: 🧵https://calelectricrail.org/2025-year-in-review/

Coming up this Thursday!

Happy New Year! Start the year off right with our webinar on how to better fund transit infrastructure for quicker, more cost-effective projects, next Thursday at 1 PM PST. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social @publicenterprise.bsky.social actionnetwork.org/events/trans...

Happening in one week! RSVP today!

Want to reduce US reliance on oil? Fund transit and electrify our trains!

"Missing middle" regional rail is the missing link for car-free living. When nonresidents don't need to drive to access the city, there are less opponents of safe streets and more local transit riders. Electrification + through-running allow the same train to serve local and regional riders.

Happy New Year! Start the year off right with our webinar on how to better fund transit infrastructure for quicker, more cost-effective projects, next Thursday at 1 PM PST. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social @publicenterprise.bsky.social actionnetwork.org/events/trans...

California High-Speed Rail has received *30* offers from private investors to help finance the project. Trump can't stop this train! www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

Rail electrification!!

Integrated, accessible, through-running electrified regional rail could transform Southern California and move high-speed rail forward. Join us on January 12th for a webinar from 5-6 pm to learn why this is so important and how we make it happen. actionnetwork.org/events/elect...

If this is an argument for CAHSR or CalTrans to consolidate publicly owned or utilized ROW into a single body that can actually drive an upgrade agenda, you’ll hear no argument from me. CA’s addiction to Joint Powers boards operating assets owned/maintained by counties is worst of all worlds

State Grant Will Pay for Better Diesel Trains, Not Zero-Emission Trains, for Metrolink A mea-culpa by @damientypes.bsky.social s Thanks for the heads up from @calelectricrail.org and Metrolink cal.streetsblog.org/2025/12/15/s...

Small scale and local control over transit is the status quo in much of the state, especially Southern California, and has led to: - OCTA's neglect closing the Surfliner for over a year - the SBCTA hydrogen train - Incremental improvements like the Serra siding stalled & SCORE behind schedule

Caltrain Named America’s Fastest-Growing Transit Agency in APTA’s 2025 Transit Wrapped, read more: https://www.caltrain.com/news/caltrain-named-americas-fastest-growing-transit-agency-aptas-2025-transit-wrapped .

Electrolink - electrification, level boarding, and through-running - would bring the Surfliner to 2.5 hours travel time. California deserves a train like the Northeast Corridor - let's make it happen! calelectricrail.org/electrolink-...

the people of this great republic yearn for locomotive transport

Would love to see the ridership modeling for LOSSAN Optimization Study - 1 TPH and 2.5 hour travel time (from 1/2 TPH and 3 hour travel time). I suspect Surfliner would be NEC levels of profitable. www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...

extremely good and cool job with @airresources.bsky.social running the Transportation division, come work on lowering the #1 source of GHGs in the state calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...

Building good transit requires building good systems to deliver it - planned networks; ridership models; engineered standards and cost/benefit analyses. The problem is precisely that we require each locality to reinvent what should be a well-understood wheel, discarding learning after each project.

Join us @icgee.bsky.social @publicenterprise.bsky.social and @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social for a webinar about how transit funding holds back ambitious investments like electric rail that we need for climate action & affordable transportation. January 8th, 1-2 PST. actionnetwork.org/events/trans...

The CTC's patchwork, small grant model incentivizes small but low ROI investments like new diesel locomotives over bigger sticker price but higher value investments like systemwide electrification. We need to fix funding to get Metrolink electrification off the ground. #AgainstPatchworkFunding

This isn't just climate damage, it's fiscally irresponsible. These new engines will lock Metrolink into decades of high fuel costs and will likely end in accelerated depreciation. Southern Californians can't afford this.

CA is investing $53m in new diesel locomotives that will last for decades. It's good that Metrolink can retire its dirtiest locomotives, but where is the plan to electrify? #ElectrifyMetrolink www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/08/g...

The State Rail Plan has over $100 B of projects across every major region of the state that will greatly improve transit access in car-dependent areas. But there is no plan to fund it - the state just expects local goverments to apply for small competitive grant programs with unrelated incentives.

Rail electrification reduces direct emissions *and* VMT by unlocking faster, more frequent service via faster acceleration, higher top speeds, and lower operating costs. Electric rail must be central to any VMT reduction strategy.

Caltrans' engineering resources overwhelmingly go to highways in spite of state goals to reduce driving, while transit projects rely on the slow process of hiring expensive consultants. We need a #JustTransitionForCaltrans to meet climate goals.

Bay Area transit farecard upgrade, which includes transfer discounts, starts this Wednesday 12/8! Cards will be upgraded in batches over the next 8-12 weeks. To transition your card faster, starting 12/8, log onto www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/ and request an upgrade. mtc.ca.gov/news/next-ge...

Union Pacific (modern descendant of Southern Pacific) today: electrification is impossible.

Ridership on the Bay Area's Caltrain continues to rise in the wake of the route's electrification, hitting a new post-COVID high last month Ridership through the first 10 months of 2025 is 45% higher than last year!

Environmental documents and preliminary designs for High-Speed Rail between Los Angeles and Anaheim are out. They call for electrifying two tracks owned by BNSF, proving freight railroads are no obstacle to a public agency with teeth. SoCal could chose to implement this early to #ElectrifyMetrolink

Today, the Authority released a video featuring the nearly 60 completed structures to date, with highlights including: ✅ 68% of guideway completed ✅ 91% of utilities relocated ✅ 99% of right-of-way purchased Watch: youtu.be/lMf3rnWBDbY?...

High-Speed rail is one step away from laying track and putting up overhead wires next year!

With the Tesla Tunnels officially canceled, the opportunity to invest in the SBL is here. Electrolink would transform San Bernardino County - let's make it happen!

SBCTA just voted unanimously to cancel this boondoggle. But it's still been 6 years and millions of public dollars that could have gone to real transit while VMT and GHGs keep going up - all because Elon Musk scammed the public.

Clipper 2 makes Caltrain transfers much more cost competitive for short trips. With electrification, frequent service, and now fare parity, the Bay Area is closer than ever to a modern, integrated urban-suburban rail system.

"With... continued high ridership of the Metrolink San Bernardino Line, future ridership with Brightline West, and continued population growth in the Inland Empire, the corridor would absolutely benefit from a direct rail connection." - @briannaje.bsky.social Bring electric rail to ONT!

It's hard to believe a "Tesla Tunnel" type project would still be on the books in 2025, but at least SBCTA is likely to kill the project tomorrow. cal.streetsblog.org/2025/12/02/s...