On March 22, the Transportation Authority joined Caltrain, members of our Board, and other elected officials from the Bay Area community at an electric train dedication event to honor Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as she completes her decades of service in Congress. Caltrain Director and Transportation Authority Board Member Shamann Walton (District 10) and Transportation Authority Chair Myrna Melgar (District 7) thanked Speaker Emerita Pelosi for her leadership on public transportation, infrastructure, and economic access on behalf of our region and the nation.
Speaker Emerita Pelosi’s leadership was instrumental to the Bay Area securing more than $1 billion in federal funding to electrify Caltrain. The Caltrain Electrification and Modernization Program, which opened to riders in September 2024, has helped improve connectivity in the Bay Area, delivering faster, more reliable, and cleaner transportation to the many San Franciscans and Bay Area residents who travel along the Peninsula corridor.
“Speaker Emerita Pelosi is a true transit champion – her vision and leadership for Caltrain and all of our transit systems have been instrumental in realizing the promise of a better-connected, sustainably-powered, and economically vibrant region,” said Transportation Authority Board Chair and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “The Transportation Authority is proud to help honor and continue the work of Speaker Pelosi to build clean, safe, and affordable transit, connecting and strengthening our nation and community.”
“Speaker Emerita Pelosi has long recognized that public transit is essential to the backbone of San Francisco and communities across this country,” said Caltrain Board Director and District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. “Her leadership in securing federal investment for Caltrain electrification and other critical infrastructure has brought real, tangible benefits to our neighborhoods like shorter commutes, cleaner air, and access to good-paying jobs. This is a well-deserved and earned honor.”
The successful electrification of Caltrain enables future operation of The Portal project (also known as the Downtown Rail Extension) below ground via a new subway tunnel that will bring rail service to the heart of downtown San Francisco at Salesforce Transit Center. In 2010, Speaker Emerita Pelosi led efforts to secure $400 million in federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to construct the underground trainbox at Salesforce Transit Center, which will also serve as the northern terminus of California High Speed Rail in the future
The Transportation Authority contributed $41 million in funding for the Caltrain Electrification and Modernization Program from San Francisco's half-cent sales tax for transportation and the One Bay Area Grant program. Combined with an additional $39 million from the SFMTA, San Francisco contributed over $80 million toward the Caltrain Modernization Program.
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