[13s_is300]

any one take caltrain. i am going from san jose to hillsdale. does any one know if this would be worth it. i am sick of all of the accidents and stupid drivers on 101. thanks

 

[al7ezza]

I concur.... Now I ususally park my car in the covered Millbrae Bart Station and take the Caltrain to work.

Save the wear and tear on my IS....plus the gas money. It takes a bit longer than usual by you can relax in the train

 

[armus]

It'll be more worthwhile when they start the "baby bullet" service this spring. I wish they'd pick a less misleading name -- the train won't travel any faster, the *only* change is fewer stops. Anyway, with this service you can catch the train in Hillsdale, and the only stops before San Jose are Palo Alto and Mountain View.

The hardest part about Caltrian is getting from the stations to where you really need to go. In my case neither work nor home is convenient, but if this isn't a problem for you then Caltain sounds like a good fit. I've usually used the train on weekends (a service they haven't offered for ~1.5 years), so I don't know what the commute hours are like.

 

[al7ezza]

Yeah armus, Baby Bullet is really a misleading.... I guess it is a Marketing kind of thing in place.

Well, some of the new train includes a power outlet, which is kind of cool so that I could plug in my laptop and work on my stuff on the way to work or home.

 

[bartkat]

Having a power outlet sounds great. You could even watch DVD's without draining your battery.

 

[al7ezza]

Having a power outlet sounds great. You could even watch DVD's without draining your battery.

But I am afraid you can't finish the whole movie... :lol:

 

[13s_is300]

but have you been on those traind they are comfortable as hell.

 

[armus]

but have you been on those traind they are comfortable as hell.

It depends on what you compare it to. Compared to Amtrak (e.g., San Jose to Sacramento line or Oakland to Bakersfield line), Caltrain is relatively noisy (suspension springs, and clacks from short tracks) and bounces quite a lot. However, the rail replacement and car replacement should address both of these (if they haven't already).

The "new" Caltrain cars have actually been around awhile (the other Bay Area service that's using them is the Ace Train). The seating on Ace isn't quite suited for long trips (e.g., can't recline seats, and the padding could be more plush), but Caltrain is likely using a different interior (and even if they aren't Caltrain's trips are much shorter) -- I actually haven't been in a new Caltrain car yet.