Caltrain Guide: San Francisco to San Jose, Fares & Bikes

Last verified Oct 17, 2026

Caltrain runs from San Francisco (station at 700 4th St.) down the Peninsula to San Jose Diridon and Tamien, with weekday South County trains to Gilroy. Trains have been electric since September 21, 2024; the South County trains to Gilroy still use diesel trains as far as San Jose Diridon.

Types of trains

Service	Train numbers	What to know
Local	1XX	Weekday local service.
Limited	4XX	Limited-stop service: check which stations it serves.
Express	5XX	San Francisco to San Jose in under an hour.
Weekend Local	6XX	Local service on weekends.
South County Connector	8XX	Four weekday round trips between Gilroy and San Jose.

Fares

Caltrain has 6 fare zones; San Francisco is Zone 1. An adult one-way ticket costs $4.00 for one zone, plus $2.25 for each additional zone (up to $15.25 for six zones), the same price on Clipper or at the ticket machine. You can also tap a contactless bank card or Clipper in your phone wallet on the station validators: tap on and tap off. Youth 18 and under pay $1.00 for any trip. New fares take effect on January 1, 2027. Full table on our fares page.

Bikes on Caltrain

Electric trains have two bike cars with 36 bike spaces each (72 bikes per train); the diesel South County trains have one bike car.
Bikes ride at no extra charge. Folding bikes no wider than 32 inches are allowed in any car.

Connections

Millbrae: change to BART for SFO, downtown San Francisco and the East Bay.
San Francisco: the N Judah Muni Metro line stops at 4th & King, next to the station.
Plan a trip across Caltrain, BART and Muni with the trip planner.

Caltrain stations (north to south)

Caltrain service alerts are not connected to this site yet: check caltrain.com before you travel.