Californians for Electric Rail
@calelectricrail.org
Bringing together transit riders, environmentalists, and union members for fast, clean, safe catenary electric regional, intercity, and freight rail in California. #CatenaryNow #ElectrifyMetrolink
Pinned
Funding is a major, underappreciated contributor to the high construction costs and long timelines that hold back electrification. In our new policy paper, Against Patchwork Funding, we propose a smarter way to fund rail: Multi-year Investment Frameworks. 🧵 calelectricrail.org/against-patc...
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
Caltrain is America’s fastest-growing transit agency! Since launching electric trains in 2024, ridership is up 57%, weekends doubled, and satisfaction hit 4.41/5. Faster, quieter, better.
blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/caltra...
blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/caltra...
Caltrain named America’s fastest-growing transit agency by APTA
Caltrain has been recognized by the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA’s) Transit Wrapped 2025 list as the fastest growing U.S. transit agency over the last year, the agency is reporting.
blog.bayareametro.gov
January 15, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Caltrain is America’s fastest-growing transit agency! Since launching electric trains in 2024, ridership is up 57%, weekends doubled, and satisfaction hit 4.41/5. Faster, quieter, better.
blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/caltra...
blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/caltra...
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
Any state or municipality DOT that intends to continue building infrastructure of any type should be hiring more in-house engineers. You can pay more to get talent and still come out on top since you don’t have a profit motive. It’s better for taxpayers and better for communities.
"Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents coastal North County, said... that California needs to employ more professional rail experts to reduce its reliance on consultants." #JustTransitionForCaltrans
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Rail advocates renew push for electric trains from San Diego to Los Angeles
Electric trains offer faster, quieter and cleaner service compared to diesel locomotives. But California's rail corridors continue to suffer from inaction.
www.kpbs.org
January 15, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Any state or municipality DOT that intends to continue building infrastructure of any type should be hiring more in-house engineers. You can pay more to get talent and still come out on top since you don’t have a profit motive. It’s better for taxpayers and better for communities.
We need to build transit faster so we can electrify our railways, take cars and trucks off the road, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change doesn't wait 3 years while you apply to 5 different grant programs or utilities ignore your requests for permits.
Climate change doesn't wait 3 years while you apply to 5 different grant programs or utilities ignore your requests for permits.
2025 was an exceptional year for the Earth's climate
⬆️ Warmest ocean heat content
⬆️ Tied as second warmest surface temps
⬆️ Second warmest troposphere
⬆️ Record high sea level and GHGs
⬇️ Record low winter Arctic ice
New State of the Climate over at Carbon Brief: www.carbonbrief.org/...
⬆️ Warmest ocean heat content
⬆️ Tied as second warmest surface temps
⬆️ Second warmest troposphere
⬆️ Record high sea level and GHGs
⬇️ Record low winter Arctic ice
New State of the Climate over at Carbon Brief: www.carbonbrief.org/...
January 14, 2026 at 8:14 PM
We need to build transit faster so we can electrify our railways, take cars and trucks off the road, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change doesn't wait 3 years while you apply to 5 different grant programs or utilities ignore your requests for permits.
Climate change doesn't wait 3 years while you apply to 5 different grant programs or utilities ignore your requests for permits.
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
More and more people are saying it: We need a Caltrans for trains!
"In California, we've really hollowed out our rail expertise," Blakespear said. "We don't have a Caltrans equivalent for rail, which would be great. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
"In California, we've really hollowed out our rail expertise," Blakespear said. "We don't have a Caltrans equivalent for rail, which would be great. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Rail advocates renew push for electric trains from San Diego to Los Angeles
Electric trains offer faster, quieter and cleaner service compared to diesel locomotives. But California's rail corridors continue to suffer from inaction.
www.kpbs.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:40 PM
More and more people are saying it: We need a Caltrans for trains!
"In California, we've really hollowed out our rail expertise," Blakespear said. "We don't have a Caltrans equivalent for rail, which would be great. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
"In California, we've really hollowed out our rail expertise," Blakespear said. "We don't have a Caltrans equivalent for rail, which would be great. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
We're going to build an electric regional rail system and fast and frequent urban metro systems.
"Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents coastal North County, said... that California needs to employ more professional rail experts to reduce its reliance on consultants." #JustTransitionForCaltrans
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Rail advocates renew push for electric trains from San Diego to Los Angeles
Electric trains offer faster, quieter and cleaner service compared to diesel locomotives. But California's rail corridors continue to suffer from inaction.
www.kpbs.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:37 PM
We're going to build an electric regional rail system and fast and frequent urban metro systems.
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
this may seem niche but smoothing the way to useable regional transit is really important work towards a liveable socal
"Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents coastal North County, said... that California needs to employ more professional rail experts to reduce its reliance on consultants." #JustTransitionForCaltrans
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Rail advocates renew push for electric trains from San Diego to Los Angeles
Electric trains offer faster, quieter and cleaner service compared to diesel locomotives. But California's rail corridors continue to suffer from inaction.
www.kpbs.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:34 PM
this may seem niche but smoothing the way to useable regional transit is really important work towards a liveable socal
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
The NorcalMLK Celebration Train returns on Monday, January 19, honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King.
RSVP for commemorative ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-caltrain-norcalmlk-celebration-train-registration-1979042772206?aff=oddtdtcreator .
RSVP for commemorative ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-caltrain-norcalmlk-celebration-train-registration-1979042772206?aff=oddtdtcreator .
2026 Caltrain NorcalMLK Celebration Train
Take the Caltrain NorcalMLK Celebration Train to MLK Celebration Events in San Francisco on Monday, January 19, and honor the life Dr. King.
www.eventbrite.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:24 PM
The NorcalMLK Celebration Train returns on Monday, January 19, honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King.
RSVP for commemorative ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-caltrain-norcalmlk-celebration-train-registration-1979042772206?aff=oddtdtcreator .
RSVP for commemorative ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-caltrain-norcalmlk-celebration-train-registration-1979042772206?aff=oddtdtcreator .
"Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents coastal North County, said... that California needs to employ more professional rail experts to reduce its reliance on consultants." #JustTransitionForCaltrans
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Rail advocates renew push for electric trains from San Diego to Los Angeles
Electric trains offer faster, quieter and cleaner service compared to diesel locomotives. But California's rail corridors continue to suffer from inaction.
www.kpbs.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:20 PM
"Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents coastal North County, said... that California needs to employ more professional rail experts to reduce its reliance on consultants." #JustTransitionForCaltrans
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Missed Monday's webinar? Check out the coverage here on KPBS!
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Funding is a major, underappreciated contributor to the high construction costs and long timelines that hold back electrification. In our new policy paper, Against Patchwork Funding, we propose a smarter way to fund rail: Multi-year Investment Frameworks. 🧵 calelectricrail.org/against-patc...
January 13, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Wait, so you can just fund design and engineering instead of running everything through competitive grant programs? 🤯
Which CA governor candidate will do this for regional rail electrification?
Which CA governor candidate will do this for regional rail electrification?
NY Governor Kathy Hochul that announces her executive budget would provide funding for design and preliminary engineering to advance tunneling for the Q Subway Train extension across 125th Street to Broadway, serving 240,000 daily riders.
Governor Hochul Unveils Plan to Reimagine Jamaica Station and Advance Second Avenue Subway Westward Expansion
Governor Hochul announced her plan to advance two significant transit projects to improve New Yorkers’ commutes as part of her 2026 State of the State.
www.governor.ny.gov
January 13, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Wait, so you can just fund design and engineering instead of running everything through competitive grant programs? 🤯
Which CA governor candidate will do this for regional rail electrification?
Which CA governor candidate will do this for regional rail electrification?
3. Local agencies need to hear your voice! They are already feeling the pressure - Metrolink took down a "why we can't electrify" video last year in response.
Sign up for our listhost or DM for an invite to our discord to get involved! calelectricrail.org/contact/
Sign up for our listhost or DM for an invite to our discord to get involved! calelectricrail.org/contact/
Contact Us – Californians for Electric Rail
calelectricrail.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:43 AM
3. Local agencies need to hear your voice! They are already feeling the pressure - Metrolink took down a "why we can't electrify" video last year in response.
Sign up for our listhost or DM for an invite to our discord to get involved! calelectricrail.org/contact/
Sign up for our listhost or DM for an invite to our discord to get involved! calelectricrail.org/contact/
2. Electrification is perceived as too expensive due to high overall construction costs. To fix this, need statewide legislation to reform project delivery. We already passed #AB2503 but many issues remain unfixed. More details on what we have planned for this year to come soon...
Blog – Californians for Electric Rail
calelectricrail.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:41 AM
2. Electrification is perceived as too expensive due to high overall construction costs. To fix this, need statewide legislation to reform project delivery. We already passed #AB2503 but many issues remain unfixed. More details on what we have planned for this year to come soon...
1. Southern California's fractured regional rail governance system discourages ambition and slows simple things like the SCORE program. We need statewide legislation to consolidate governance into an agency that can do things - hopefully forthcoming next month after the SB 1098 report is released.
January 13, 2026 at 2:37 AM
1. Southern California's fractured regional rail governance system discourages ambition and slows simple things like the SCORE program. We need statewide legislation to consolidate governance into an agency that can do things - hopefully forthcoming next month after the SB 1098 report is released.
Thanks to everyone who came today! We ran out of time to answer this great question from the webinar, so we'll answer it now: Why doesn't SoCal have plans for electrification and how can we change that?🧵
January 13, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Thanks to everyone who came today! We ran out of time to answer this great question from the webinar, so we'll answer it now: Why doesn't SoCal have plans for electrification and how can we change that?🧵
Happening right now!!
January 13, 2026 at 1:04 AM
Happening right now!!
Happening now!!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Happening now!!
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
Starting shortly!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 13, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Starting shortly!
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
Putting solar panels on land used for biofuels would produce enough electricity for all the world's cars + trucks to go electric.
"If we put PV panels on that land, we could produce 23x more than the energy currently produced in the form of all liquid biofuels."
ourworldindata.org/biofuel-land...
"If we put PV panels on that land, we could produce 23x more than the energy currently produced in the form of all liquid biofuels."
ourworldindata.org/biofuel-land...
January 12, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Putting solar panels on land used for biofuels would produce enough electricity for all the world's cars + trucks to go electric.
"If we put PV panels on that land, we could produce 23x more than the energy currently produced in the form of all liquid biofuels."
ourworldindata.org/biofuel-land...
"If we put PV panels on that land, we could produce 23x more than the energy currently produced in the form of all liquid biofuels."
ourworldindata.org/biofuel-land...
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
8pm for east coast programming!!!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:05 PM
8pm for east coast programming!!!
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
Tonight!!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 12, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Tonight!!
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
This was a good time! We put up posters at bus & BART stops getting the word out and seeking volunteers for the Bay Area's regional transit measure. Signature gathering starts January 23rd!
Sign up for volunteering opportunities:
tinyurl.com/savebayareatransit
Sign up for volunteering opportunities:
tinyurl.com/savebayareatransit
January 12, 2026 at 12:15 AM
This was a good time! We put up posters at bus & BART stops getting the word out and seeking volunteers for the Bay Area's regional transit measure. Signature gathering starts January 23rd!
Sign up for volunteering opportunities:
tinyurl.com/savebayareatransit
Sign up for volunteering opportunities:
tinyurl.com/savebayareatransit
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
We've got a star-studded cast for this webinar on some of the most impactful transit investments possible for Southern California tonight. Come through!!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 12, 2026 at 7:49 PM
We've got a star-studded cast for this webinar on some of the most impactful transit investments possible for Southern California tonight. Come through!!
Learn about why we need to modernize Metrolink, Surfliner, and Coaster, and how we get there. 5 pm TONIGHT!
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...
Electrolink Webinar
Southern California deserves a modern, green, and accessible rail system. In their new whitepaper, Electrolink, Californians for Electric Rail presents a vision for how to get there, through investmen...
actionnetwork.org
January 12, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Learn about why we need to modernize Metrolink, Surfliner, and Coaster, and how we get there. 5 pm TONIGHT!
Reposted by Californians for Electric Rail
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=...
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=...
Signature Gathering Kickoff for Connect Bay Area Transit · Luma
To avoid devastating Bay Area transit service cuts, we need to gather 200,000 signatures to get Connect Bay Area, the regional transit funding measure enabled…
luma.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
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=...
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
January 9, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Missed yesterday's webinar? Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIka... @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social