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Proposals for electrifying the line began as early as 1992 when the [[California Department of Transportation]] conducted an early feasibility study. For two decades, the project lay dormant due to lack of funding until Caltrain agreed to share its tracks with the [[California High-Speed Rail|California High-Speed Rail Authority]] (CHSRA), which was looking for a route for the legally mandated San Jose–San Francisco segment. The Authority agreed to partially fund the electrification project in exchange for rights to share the track. Construction contracts for electrification were awarded in July 2016 and [[groundbreaking]] was expected to occur in March 2017, but was delayed when the new [[United States Secretary of Transportation]] [[Elaine Chao]] indefinitely deferred federal funding just before construction was about to begin. That same month, Caltrain removed the contractor responsible for implementing PTC for failure to perform on budget and schedule. In May 2017, the [[Federal Transit Administration]] (FTA) announced its intention to sign the grant and reversed Secretary Chao's deferment. Construction formally began two months later.
With its completion, CalMod electrified {{convert|51|mi|km}} of tracks between [[San Francisco 4th and King Street Station|4th and King station]] and [[Tamien station]] and installed a PTC management system along the tracks. PTC is designed to fulfill federal safety mandates for passenger rail and is part of the [[Federal Railroad Administration]] (FRA) waiver to use EMUs on tracks shared with freight traffic. Funding for the project came from various federal, state, and local sources, including from the CHSRA. Stadler KISS units began delivery in March 2022, and system testing started in June 2023. The electrification of the line was completed in April 2024.<ref name="april2024">{{cite news |title=Caltrain fully energizes electrified corridor |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/caltrain-fully-energizes-electrified-corridor/ |access-date=April 10, 2024 |work=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |publisher=[[Kalmbach Media]] |date=April 10, 2024}}</ref> Caltrain began public operation of its electrified trainsets on August 11, 2024, with two trainsets, adding more each week until the full rollout of electric service on September 21. Some of the diesel locomotives and conventional passenger coaches will be retained for service south of Tamien.
==History==
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