[bryananderson]

Yes, unfortunately, but the freight traffic (which will needlessly stay diesel) is small, just a couple trains per day. It’s not the 1940s anymore when huge amounts of freight came ashore in San Francisco and propagated down the Southern Pacific line. There are only a couple freight customers left on the Peninsula. Caltrain actually owns the line and previously had the right to kick Union Pacific freight off, but at some point (the 90s?) this right was given up.

Regardless, there’s no excuse for the remaining freight (which operates in off-peak hours) to use diesel. Electric freight locomotives are perfectly common in countries where railroading isn’t still stuck in the 1800s.

[iggldiggl]

> Electric freight locomotives are perfectly common in countries where railroading isn’t still stuck in the 1800s.

But in those countries electrification is widespread enough that intermodal trains can run on electric traction all the way from terminal to terminal. (And bulk trains at the very least from the nearest marshalling yard, or maybe even the freight terminal itself, too.)

[bryananderson]

Yes but as I understand it the very limited freight service on the peninsula just runs to a nearby UP yard. These are not big long-distance freight trains