I used to ride the train every day from Hillsdale station to Palo Alto station for school. Going home, on the days that the train would come within 5 to 10 minutes of waiting, I'd give Caltrain a 4 star rating, but a lot of times I'd miss the train by a few minutes and have to wait another half hour for another train to come. The trains are usually pretty clean and even in the morning around 8 or 9, you can still grab a seat in one of the cars. The conductors are nice, especially if you're a regular. read more

You eat and drink, work, and sleep! Gets me to the city in 30 minutes, and is safer than BART, what more can I say? read more

EASY.. FUN.. EFFICIENT... ENVIRONMENTALLY FORWARD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION... dammit me like trains. And I grew up hearing this one from my window.... waving a vocal hello in the dead of night, wrapping the foghorn and train horn around my head creating a constant feeling of calm in knowing things were still happening as they should throughout the world, even if I had to take a break and rest. It reminds me of peace, and knowing that things are still together... and the sun will be there when I wake up. read more

I have been riding Caltrain for 3 years I am really fed up with jerk-off conductors who: 1. treat the PA as their personal soap box and sing in the morning 2. are such dumbasses that they repeatedly announce the wrong station stop 3. harass riders based on race 4. give me attitude when I find them and ask for a validation because their validator wasn't working - HEY JACKASS, I'M DOING YOU A FAVOR BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO LAZY TO DO YOUR JOB! 5. don't do their f-in job and instead sit around talking to passengers or each other Can you really justify the fare hikes to me? I'm really sick of paying more for less. BTW they DO give out citations but (true story) black man in court for a Caltrain citation fined $500+, young white woman in court for a Caltrain citation fined less than $150 read more

Pretty darn good for public transportation. It would be perfect if they ran later at night--midnight is a bit too early to shut down. The trains are clean and the conductors are generally friendly. It's kind of pricey to ride, but if you commute a monthly pass is a great deal. SF Depot at 4th and King has bathrooms they keep nice and tidy. I've been here around midnight at the latest, and 4:30 am at the earliest, so it provides good late/early options when you don't want to join the crowds who just pee on the sidewalks in this neighborhood. AND, there are bathrooms on all the trains. Now, they're not very nice, but i am not picky in this department. my bladder is equal opportnity. read more

Be Green... or purple, or orange, or yellow... Caltrain is an everyday addition to my life that I promote! The context in which I use this service is for my daily commute. I firmly believe that Caltrain not only has positive contributions to the environment, but it definitely has positive contributions to ones life! Please feel free to get a sneak peek on how I benefit from Caltrain... MORNING PREP. I am guilty! You can find me doing my make-up on the train, which allows some extra "ZzzzZzz's" to enter my sleep. I'm normally done by the second stop though so I don't have to bother too many people with cosmetics hangin' around. I think... TRAFFIC What is traffic? That word has been eliminated from my life by almost 80%. Now THAT is something worth converting over to the tracks for. My use of profanity has decreased by quite a bit and I find myself more smiley in the morning! =) PEOPLE As I am sure you can all agree... people are great! BUT all people? 80% of Caltrain riders are GREAT! They hop on respect your space and focus on the mission at hand. However, there are SOME that can get pretty loud, obnoxious, and rude to you or your neighbors around. In addition, some could use a little ~**CoUgH DEODORANT CoUgH**~ something. TIME Bullet Train please! I am a bullet rider and that's the only way I travel in the morning. From San Jose to Palo Alto it takes 23 minutes... 23 minutes of relaxation might I add! PRICE Depending on your "zone" prices may vary! $$(Always wanted to say that!)$$ I normally get a monthly pass, but you have to consider the money you are saving in time, gas, and health! HEALTH Being chauffeured around in a mass, bulky sort of way is definitely good on that ticker of yours. No rise in blood pressure while on the 101 @ 8am. No premature loss of hair while flipping you car mate off. I think I've covered most of the topics I have come across while on the choo choo! Feel free to add more... read more

Caltrain drives me crazy. On the good days it is faster than driving during traffic plus the benefits of letting me read/work/sleep and being better for the environment. Ahh... but the bad days. Caltrains frequently hit people, cars, and break down. I dont really blame Caltrain for this, it isnt really their fault that people like to use them as an effective means of suicide. What I do blame Caltrain for is how they handle these various complications. Caltrain seems to think that a train going out of service or delays of half an hour are no big deal and fail to inform all the people waiting patiently for that train to show. Delays of over an hour tend to happen every week or two. I still take Caltrain every day, but other riders beware. If you ever have a critical appointment that you absolutely cannot be late for, find another way of getting there. "Caltrain, sure makes you appreciate BART" read more

It was a little too cold on the train during the heat wave, and I felt that it taking me 3 hours to get to San Jose in total commute time was not worht it; it normally takes me 1 hour driving. The convenience is the WiFI and the fact that you're not driving, which means you can do other things. I do like the view from the 2nd floor though! Oh, and also - if you're waiting in the depot for the train to arrive, take note that they don't open the glass doors until a few minutes before departure. read more

My family and I wanted to take VTA light train from the Mountain View station to the Levi's Stadium. Since it was our first time, we accidently purchased CalTrain tickets not realizing both VTA Light Rail and CalTrain shared this station. We purchased four CalTrain tickets and then ended up buying the VTA tickets as well. I called CalTrain to see if I could get refund for unused tickets. Before I could even finish my story, the lady on the other end rudely interrupted me saying "there's no refunds". I told her I would like to talk to her supervisor and she told me to fill out an online form for refunds. I filled out a very detailed form but I never heard back from them. I won't be taking this over priced "public transportation service" in the future. read more

Thanks to Caltrain I moved out of geriatric snoozeville and into the city. Now I can commute to the farm while doing my reading for class (wishful thinking) or more likely, napping. And I don't even have to spend $3+ a gallon for gas to fight traffic! What a deal. read more

"Welcome to Cal Train Number 312, your baby bullet to San Jose"...(Miss Caramello Voice, Cal Train Conductor) welcomes us with those words every Monday thru Friday. If it weren't for this great train...I would probably have been arrested for road rage because of all the slow sucky drivers in the Bay Area....now I am always on time for work (no more my car was acting up) which is okay...but I would like to have a good excuse now and again. Simply saying I missed my regular train doesn't seem to wash. Cal Train is annoyingly on time...its me who is late!!!! Now I can walk from my lofty-pad at a brisk exercise pace humming along with my Ipod..board the train with 5 minutes to spare (I like to live life at the edge-man) and leisurely apply my maquillage. Though I have to apply my eyeliner before 22nd street! Girls, remember, the eyeliner and mascara HAVE to go on before 22nd street because beyond that station if you dare apply....the train speeds up and you are thrust to and fro-ultimately you will end up looking like Robert Smith at 50 by the end of the ride (wait! he is 50 now-isn't he?) The train is relatively clean, except for some suspicious stains on the seats (beware of those). Everyone seems to engage in good hygiene all around, and the cars are teeming with cutsey techy boys and hot attorneys. Cal Train flirting is encouraged. Make sure you are equipped appropriately (just pretend you are riding the underground) hands clasped firmly on very latest intellectual read, cross legs sexily, flip hair repeatedly and always have fantastically fashionable laptop case (this is a good opening line for some cute programmer who is casting envious eyes on your case). read more

Even though Caltrain decided to drop service on weekdays on Broadway in Burlingame, they're still in my top 2 as far as public trans is concerned. BART is just way too noisy through the tunnels...the screeching sounds just send me through the roof. I've also had my share of encountering the "crazies" during the early morning commute. Since the kid has commandeered the car, pub trans on Saturday has become my transportation of choice. I could purchase an auto, but why contribute to global warming for a couple of hours of errand running or pleasure shopping? We all need to check ourselves and be part of the solution and not part of the problem. The ride is very pleasant and stress-free. Why not five stars? Some of the seats are stained and conjure up all sorts of images... read more

Beats the crap out of BART. Why? Clean cars (and yet they allow food and drink, go figure!), comfortable ride, a toilet on board, no homeless people making the train car their own private territory, bullet trains, conductors, and a transit system where the employees seem to be there to help as opposed to being there for ... what do the BART people do? No one is sitting behind glass partitions yelling at people via microphones here, they're out there working with people. They are occasionally late but I don't expect perfection but when things go wrong they try and make things right. read more

I'm seriously sick of it. I'm taking it for one year now and I saw 2 significant fare increases for a very discutable service. I agree trains are confortables but: - increasing so much the price for zero improvements is just a joke - the tag in/out system is not working. It is the only train in the world were the customer is debited if he doesn't tag off and there is only one or two tag off station per station. Never saw it anywhere else - very often late / delayed / canceled with no time specified - schedule : seriously one train every hour during week days is not possible. I can accept to have 2 hours of commuting a day but this is often doubling because of trains late or just every X hour - time display: it is not so hard to display next train arrival time. Even Milbrae station which is the usual hub in between Bart and Caltrain doesn't display it at night any more. You can wait until 11:45pm wondering is the last train in 25min late or just cancelled. I'm really considering switching to a car now read more

i will preface this review by saying that i am not a regular caltrain rider. so if you are, and if you like it, don't take this the wrong way....BUT... caltrain...............is...................slow............ me and my friend were returning from big game last weekend and i thought that we would NEVER get back to the city. the best explanation we could come up with is that the train had no breaks and had to time the last impulse of power just right so that it could coast to a stop at the next station. now sure, my adrenaline was up after cal had DESTROYED stanfurd, i had a bit of a same-day hangover working, and i had a woman waiting for me in the city, so i might have been a bit impatient, but honestly... other complaints include the fact that there is no map of the stations in the trains and it is often difficult to tell what stop you are at from any of the signs outside the train. they tend to tell you which direction san jose is and which direction san francisco is (these are opposite directions by the way), but if you are looking for an intermediate station...good luck. all that said, i can see how caltrain serves an important function in bay area commutation, and i respect it for that. i have also heard that the baby bullet is quite nice, so don't take the two stars that seriously. read more

I've been commuting via Caltrain from the city to the peninsula and except for 2 instances of extreme slowness (both due to accidents on the tracks), Caltrain has been extrememly prompt. For all those people complaining about it being slow, I know on the weekdays they have great "baby bullet" service, which gets you from 4th & King St. to San Carlos in 35 min. It is a relaxing ride that beats sitting in traffic! read more

I made the mistake of using the bathroom. I made the further mistake of soaping my hands before realizing that the tap didn't work. At least the whole Caltrain system is a resounding failure, so I have lots of room to stretch out! read more

Caltrain is a joke ... It's a glorious shame, it's a blatant slap in the face to the Bay Area, it's the arch-enemy of all the groundbreaking technological advancements in the Silicon Valley, and it's the epitome of failure and embarrassment. Compare Caltrain to any other transport system in major cities around the globe (think New York, Europe, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc.), and it'll emerge as an unjustifiably expensive, technologically outdated and mechanically problematic system. But for those who are stuck with taking the Caltrain, I guess the joke is on us ... read more

Easy to use as long as you know the system (i.e. which trains stop at which stations, tagging on/off to pay only for the zones you cross) - more convenient than driving, and much faster than taking SamTrans buses. read more

For those of us with palm-ish type devices you might enjoy having the 'lectronic version of the caltrain schedule: http://www.wrafra.net/software/Caltrain/index.html -- Caltrain needs to become part of a fully integrated bay-area public transit system. A full set of tracks (4 tracks everywhere) would certainly help. read more

I've taken Caltrain a number of times. It's such a refreshing form of public transit after taking Muni and BART around the City. It's much cleaner, more relaxing, and you don't have to worry about eating/drinking on board. The price is so worth it over driving, given the cost of gas nowadays, and you just can't put a pricetag on stress-free travel. As for being slow, 90 minutes on Caltrain, beats 150 minutes on a bus. Like any form of public transportation, it's got its share of creepy passengers. For those who lack an automobile, it's an excellent travel option for getting to places along the Peninsula and South Bay. read more

I think Caltrain is way better than BART...I, for one, love sitting up top...so much privacy and what a nice view you get both on the inside and outside. I took this train from San Bruno to the Giants game at AT&T, and it was such a relaxing experience after the game. too bad it doesn't really go to the east bay.. read more

The bullet trains are awesome! I almost prefer caltrain to driving now. However, the regular trains and weekend trains are still very SLOW. I like that they have upgraded the trains and they seems to always be really clean. Very convenient... read more

i took caltrain everyday for nearly 5 years! great! i wonder whatever happened to the really cute guy in the business suit who'd catch it at the university avenue station? to you...the cute guy - i saw you there for a couple of years, and the last time you waived to me as i was exiting...it looked like you were beckoning me back to talk to you. i never saw you again. i asked about you once, to one of the guy's you worked with and he said you transferred to an office in the city. i think he said you were getting married too. drats! i should have talked to you sooner! you were totally attractive! =( read more

A fresh perspective from a first time Caltrain rider! I rode Caltrain for the first time going to San Francisco to watch the MLB All Star game, and needless to say it was very convenient albeit uncomfortable. Going to the city from the southbay was very easy and it took us directly to AT&T Park. The ride was over an hour long with quite a few stops and was also shaky! This is definitely not BART but definitely a good alternative way to get to SF. The price depends on what zone your coming from and going to, but generally inexpensive. I will definitely use this again! read more

I've rode once because I left my car in Redwood City after a drunken night painting the town red. The train showed up only two mins late from the time posted on the wall. $2.50 was much better than the cash I woulda dropped for a taxi. read more

Pros: 1. Comfortable seats. Very comfortable...for the most part. 2. Entire car(s) devoted to bicycle placement, although I've never utilized this service. 3. Stops in the downtown areas of many peninsula suburbs. 4. Makes it easily accessible to SF, SJ, Stanford, Santa Clara University 5. Reliable schedule, trains usually on time or close 6. Clean stations 7. The agents never seem to check for possession of tickets during rush hours. I never take the risk and just buy a ticket, however. Cons: 1. During rush hour, sometimes you have to stand if there are no seats or some clueless idiot won't scoot over to the window to make room for you. 2. Train and central office staff, from my experience, can be curt or even rude. 3. They don't believe in coordination with BART for Millbrae train stops, apparently. Case in point: I took BART from Downtown SF to Millbrae one night and it arrived five minutes after the last Caltrain departure. I had to wait another 55 minutes to catch the next Caltrain to RWC. Totally sucks! 4. The upper seating levels can get really stuffy. Heat rises, you know. 5. If you're only able to sit in those seats in the corners that face each other, there is no concept of leg room whatsoever. 6. Why do people have to jump out on the tracks and kill themselves? Yes, it's an inconvenience for the riders, but it's also a sad (and brutal) way to die. 7. The more zones you travel, the more pricey tickets become. It ain't cheap. It could be better run as an agency overall, but I would almost certainly and gladly take it if I worked more than 20 miles away everyday. read more

Cal train is great. its easy to use. the only bad part is from 4:46 to 6 there is not a train at Lawrance when sucks!!!!!! And Some time the staff is rude! but other then that its easy to use and good always on time and leaves on time from what i see. read more

I absolutely love caltrain. Since my car recently crapped out on me I have been using Caltrain for the past few months and I have no complaints. I get the monthly pass for $74 a month, which allows for unlimited travel anywhere in zone 2. This is perfect as work and home are both in zone 2 for me, so for 75 bucks i really couldn't ask for a better deal. Trains are ALWAYS very very clean and usually on time within a couple of minutes. Even when I get a car again I will still use caltrain as its much cheaper than gas and more convenient than driving as I can do some work or nap while riding it. I highly suggest Caltrain to anyone. Even if you drive you will be surprised how much money the train can save you. No traffic is also a huge plus! =) read more

I've been a Caltrain user for 6 years. I've mostly had great experiences. My only complaint is I wish they would add a few more late night trains. I once missed the train my literally 10 seconds at night because I was late getting off work. On super bowl sunday I had a great experience with two conductors named Chuck and Gary. I was heading home from work when I received a phone call from some of my friends beckoning me to come to San Francisco. There was just one problem I only paid to travel between zone 2. I notified the conductors and they said I could stay on the train until Millbrae where I would have time to buy an upgrade. I really appreciated them helping me out and rewarding me for my honesty. Thanks! read more

caltrain is the best option for public transportation that exists to me--but it needs a lot of improvement. it is cleaner, less-smelly than BART and is on time most of the time (as opposed to MUNI which sucks). the only issue with timeliness is when someone decides to "kiss the train" and that really isn't the trains fault--right? caltrain is great in the morning. getting to the city is easy. it is the getting home that sucks. menlo park is not part of the "chosen cities" on the caltrain bullet line, but fortunately passed for the express trains. That means between 5-7 I have 2 fast trains that can take me home. My secret weapon is to take the bullet to Palo Alto and then the northbound train 4 minutes later to MP. It works for almost all trains. The only time this doesn't pay off is when the train is delayed and then I get off in RWC and wait for a local (up to 20 minutes!) I love the conductors on my regular trains. Price is not an issue since my company pays for all my public transportation commuting costs! read more

Anything that can get my driving impaired ass out of the city is fine by me.I really like the single seats up at the top level; I imagined if I had to take caltrain on a regular basis, I would appreciate those a lot. read more

I have commuted on this between San Francisco and San Jose a full year now, and have grown tired of it. Here are some of my observations: - Conductors are friendly and helpful (EDIT: Jan 2008. Some of the train conductor/staff are pretty cool, but I have met some with attitude problems. The worst was the guy who started checking for tickets, despite the fact that we were an hour late due to the train breaking down. Frankly, we all should have been given refunds for lost time.) - Single seats on the second-level of the train - Rush-hour service is reasonably quick - Room for your bike, but not always - On the newer Bombardier trains, you must stare at the person in the next row or into space, since the seats face each other - IMPORTANT: Outages are communicated poorly. For example, they knew an accident had occurred in RWC an hour prior but didn't bother to communicate it to passengers before the train left the SF station. - Too slow during off-peak hours. Would be nice to have 1 fast train per hour - Condition of some trains (smell the burning brakes, everyone!) makes you wonder how serious they are about maintenance - Can't work late in the city because trains become few and far-between after 6:30PM. I've had to take BART and cab the rest of the way home when that happens - Horrible "proof-of-payment" system with no option to buy on-board - Ticket validation machines that are often aloof - Rush-hour service is fast enough, given the circumstances, but ends too early in the evenings - Does not seem to be cleaned on a regular basis (do not go in bathroom unless you want to puke) - Fares rising very quickly, and no refunds - Many stations do not appear to be staffed, and the clerks they do have on hand can be rude and would leave you for dead if they could - People are eager to cut in front of you getting on and off the train read more

i waivered between 2 and 3 stars and decided on 3 b/c i think the reason i didn't like my experience was my own impatience and exhaustion. my husband and i took it back from san jose on a spare the air day when my friend didn't want to drive usback to the bart station, and i figured what the hell, it's free. oh ........ my ............ gawd. it took foooooooorever. and of course by the time i got back to the city regular buses had stopped running so we had to figure out the owl service. we did it, and it wasn't the end of the world. but i was so tired (only 3 hours of sleep in the last, like 30), and i just wanted to be home. bart runs close to my house and i can take it to dublin without stopping. and it's fast. peice of cake. read more

Pros: supporting public transit, not having to drive, covers entire Peninsula, comfortable seats including the antisocial upstairs level with single seats for jaded curmudgeons such as myself, pretty on-time (at least departures, when I've been left behind for arriving one minute late). Cons: getting expensive, bike cars get cramped (though I think they've added cars since I last commuted with my bike), the long wait between trains most of the day means ample time for weird people to strike up conversations with you and not leave you alone (or maybe it's just a sign I have on my forehead or something), it's slow compared to BART or driving, getting to and from the stations if you live anywhere away from downtown, Portrero Hill, or the Mission, is gravely annoying and adds 15-20 minutes to the commute. read more

Caltrains should close this station. Use Redwood City or San Mateo....such a drag stopping at this one on the full route

Caltrain is not doing a very good job of being on time . Not sure what has happened logistically in the last 2 months but my train is late easily 50% of the time. I pay good money for a pass and to be on time, get if together Caltrain! read more

If I had a nickel for every bad experience I've had on Caltrain over the last 20 years, I'd have a pocket full of nickels!!! Really though, it's kind of hard to review their service because there really isn't any comparable form of public transit that goes all the way from SF to Gilroy. That being said, I've taken many forms of public transportation over the years, and Caltrain is by far the worst of the bunch. Here are my gripes: 1. Would it kill the conductors to be nice every once in a while? The job is not hard, not at all, yet so many of them have attitude problems. "Tickets please?" Gee that's hard, isn't it? 2. Clean the goddamn windows! If you live in the Bay Area, your taxes pay for Caltrain whether you use it or not. Then when you actually use the service, you get to pay again and have crappy visibility! Joy. 3. Show up on time. Unless you are leaving from an end station, the train is often late, anywhere from 3-15 minutes. Stop holding the doors for last minute folks, it's not fair for the people who got there on time. read more

Brought the whole family on the train to watch the Sharks game. They were visiting from the UK. We all bought day passes. We caught the 6:24 from RWC due to get in to San Jose at 7:00. Game started at 7:30 but due to yet again a broken train we didn't get into the game until 8:00 - totally missing the first period. In future I'll just pay for the uber. read more

I like Caltrain because I don't have to drive, because traffic in the bay area sucks, and there are idiot drivers on the road. But with the pros, there are some cons....why must the trains be late? can't the complimentary shuttle drivers get in sync with the late trains? why can't people riding on the train be a little less obnoxious when talking on their cell phones? why don't people move their stupid purses,bags,and crap off the seats so people can sit??? read more