Caltrain Electrification Project cost increases, but still on schedule for 2024

The Caltrain Electrification Project remains on track for a September 2024 completion date, but the cost to deliver the project has increased to $2.44 billion.

The updated project cost is $462 million above the initial project cost and $129 million above the Federal Transit Administration’s estimate earlier this year. The increase reflects a detailed budget update, as well as a settlement with the project’s contractor, Balfour Beatty.

“The electrification of Caltrain is of great importance not only to the region, but also the state and country. The project will help address climate change by replacing our aging diesel fleet with high-performance electric trains and creates jobs from California to Utah to Pennsylvania,” said Caltrain Board Chair Dev Davis. “While it hasn’t gone as smoothly as we had hoped, we are confident that we are on track towards electrified service in 2024 that will transform how people commute throughout the Bay Area.”

New contract agreement

The detailed overall project budget update reflects COVID-19 related delays, utilities and real estate work, among other items. The $347-million agreement with Balfour Beatty resolves commercial issues and additional costs associated with the project’s delay to 2024, which was announced in June. The agreement also establishes a shared risk pool to manage future potential issues and provide new incentives for early completion of certain milestones, such as revenue service.

Balfour Beatty says the agreement is the result of “partnering to find the most efficient and cost-effective solutions to deliver the rail service’s 25kv AC Overhead Catenary System (OCS).” The company says the agreement also “solidifies the joint commitment to finish the project” by 2024.

Caltrain notes both the settlement and budget update were reviewed by outside experts with the goal of setting up the project to achieve cost and project schedule certainty.

Caltrain explains the civil work on the project is nearly complete with 95 percent of the more than 3,000 foundations that are required for the project installed. The OCS will be installed by summer 2022 and the 10 traction power facilities will be completed in early 2022. The next phase of project construction will be on signal and system integration work. An electric locomotive will be testing the new catenary system in 2022 and the first cars of the new electric fleet will arrive in spring 2022.

“This is an inflection point in the project. The civil work is nearly complete and Caltrain and its partners will be focused on completing the signal, system integration and testing. The Bay Area deserves a modern rail service and that is what we intend to deliver,” said Caltrain Acting Executive Director Michelle Bouchard. “With this agreement in place, that includes a mix of incentives and rewards for meeting the 2024 date, we are better positioned to complete this critical project.”

Balfour Beatty says its design-build team members will continue to work along 52 miles of dual track alignment to electrify the remaining sections of the Caltrain corridor. Construction activities include locating underground utilities, testing soil conditions, inspecting signal/communication equipment, pruning/removing trees and installing foundations to prepare for the installation and operation of the OCS.

“The execution of this agreement is a testament of Balfour Beatty’s committed partnership with Caltrain and our promise in providing a realistic, cost-effective, quality and timely solution that we can all mutually deliver upon,” said Balfour Beaty US CEO Leon Blondin. “We will continue to work safely and sustainably to electrify and upgrade the service, capacity and reliability of the transit system on behalf of commuters in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.”

Bridging the funding gap

Caltrain says it is working with its funding partners, as well as its federal and state legislative delegations to fill the funding gap. Caltrain and the Federal Transit Administration executed a $647-million Full Funding Grant Agreement for the project in May 2017. To date, Caltrain has received an additional $52.4 million from the federal government; has access to $150 million financing credit; and $60 million in Measure RR capital reserve towards the funding gap. The agency points to both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the upcoming State Transportation budget as potential sources of additional funding.