Caltrain digs into AI tech

“This legislation explores a promising, cost-effective interim measure to reduce rail-related accidents, which is especially helpful for communities that aren’t yet able to complete a full grade separation,” the release said.

Caltrain has been working on several ways to minimize collisions and fatalities over the past year. The agency has already seen two fatalities so far this year, with 11 occurring last year and 20 in 2024.

At the end of 2024, the transit agency partnered with RailSentry — which uses cameras, light detection and ranging, as well as machine learning technology — to mitigate collisions at some of the crossings. The first crossing the system monitored was Broadway, which tends to see a high rate of vehicle collisions, as two closely situated traffic signals on either side of the tracks are in many cases insufficiently timed. The second installation was at a Churchill Avenue crossing in Palo Alto. The technology uses machine learning to learn what the behavior of vehicles, individuals and pedestrians should look like at a particular intersection. Once a change is detected — usually by Caltrain-developed settings — RailSentry’s monitoring center is alerted, which then notifies Caltrain dispatch.

Transit agencies have been more frequently discussing their AI adoption approaches, not just for safety but also administratively and operationally.

Last year, SamTrans began using a tool called GovAI, used by many other government agencies, which are built on large language models similar to ChatGPT but with added security and compliance layers designed for public agencies. For instance, the platform allows employees to analyze documents, but it does not allow ChatGPT or other LLM-building companies to use their data. SamTrans’ current use of AI is mostly administrative — drafting presentations, summarizing emails, conducting research, analyzing text and transcribing meetings. But it could eventually be used to help with operational efficiency, including forecasting or equipment monitoring.

Devon Ryan, Government and Community Affairs officer, said the bill could help rail agencies access more resources to expand such projects.

“This fits with Caltrain’s safety goals and even though this is a study bill it could lead to grant funds in the future and we think it’s an important topic,” Ryan said.

The board voted to support the bill unanimously during its meeting Feb. 5.