>>1527025>Any idea what the extended service to Salinas in the next few years is gonna look like? Given all the shit that just went down with SFMTA, if the new tax passes Caltrain will have to spend more money down there than they originally expected. This accelerates the gradual shift of the Bay Area's economy from SF/Oakland to SJ. Meanwhile the state government is figuring out how to thread in CAHSR.
In terms of construction Caltrain has two major things they need to accomplish: a new electrified track to Gilroy and passing tracks north of Santa Clara. Depending on the new tax passing and grants from the state or Federal government, the "ideal" buildout would be a minimum 4 electrified tracks between Gilroy and Palo Alto or two tracks with station turnouts between Taimen and Gilroy which is achievable. It's unlikely Caltrain would go to Salinas as the Capitol Corridor is better suited for it, who would probably have to do so on the remaining non-electrified UP track until the state government figures out a solution. That "solution" will be modernization, plausibly electrification, which would be a huge project in it's own right. It's worth noting that it'd be the same scope as the Valley Link/Valley Rail projects in the Central Valley, which only got financed as part of a political deal.
