Caltrain begins construction in San Mateo

Caltrain has started electrification-related work in San Mateo near the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

The project involves pole and wire installation as well as construction of a power station, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported.

The $2-billion modernization program is expected to replace 75 percent of Caltrain’s current diesel fleet with electric trains traveling between San Jose and San Francisco by 2022.

Digging is underway and will take two to three months followed by another two to three months of foundation construction, which entails excavation and the installation rebar cages underground, according to the published report.

Starting in the winter, crews will install poles and the overhead contact system, which will supply power to the electric trains. That work will last four to five months and then construction on the power station — called a paralleling station — will commence early next year. The project will take four to six months.

The San Mateo paralleling station is one of 10 that will be constructed along Caltrain tracks between San Jose and San Francisco.

Caltrain will install a total of 3,000 poles to electrify the corridor.