“Next stop: Palo Alto”

Hearing those words has become more familiar with time. As I moved to Stanford, home turned into hearing “Palo Alto” instead of hearing words in French or Portuguese. Coming from Wallonia, Belgium, I was used to hearing “Prochaine gare, Libramont” in French. But I also split my time in my first home Brazil, so growing up, I mainly heard “Próxima parada.” 

But now those words no longer rang true. It was all in English.  

It’s weird. Growing up in one of the world’s biggest cities, I got used to using the subway or the bus every day. Coming to Stanford, it has been an adjustment. When I sit on the Caltrain, I can’t help but reflect on how different the stations feel. The sprawling grandeur of Paris’s Gare du Nord or São Paulo’s Estação da Luz contrasts sharply with the smaller, quieter stops in California. 

I’m reminded of the past trains I have been on of everytime I use the Caltrain. Perhaps it’s time to write my own review of the Caltrain — through the lens of someone learning to find “home” in small but meaningful stops. 

Punctuality

“Run! If we don’t, we’ll have to wait 20 minutes for the next train!” my friend shouted. At that moment, I realized just how punctual the Caltrain is — easily the most reliable train system I’ve experienced, though I haven’t encountered many. I constantly worry about missing it after the long walk from the Main Quad to the station. When I say I’ll arrive in San Francisco at 1:55 p.m. after a long week, you can trust that I’ll be there at exactly that time — or maybe even five minutes early.

My main advice? Always leave campus early for the Palo Alto Transit Station. The timing is tricky, and missing your train is all too easy.

Safety 

The Caltrain earns high marks for safety, at least in my experience — though that might be because I grew up in or visited cities known for pickpocketing hotspots. Compared to Paris, São Paulo or Barcelona, the Caltrain feels remarkably secure; I’ve never encountered safety issues while riding it. That said, my heart still belongs to Vienna. There, I could board a train at any hour and feel completely safe as a solo female traveler — something I can’t say for the other cities I’ve mentioned.

While the Caltrain’s Palo Alto Transit Station feels safe overall, I don’t look forward to the half-hour walk from campus, especially after late-night returns after a long trip to San Francisco.

Pricing

Let’s agree — it would be amazing to have a student discount on the Caltrain. In Europe and Latin America, many countries offer discounts for students on trains and buses. But not the Caltrain. Here’s a pro tip for the Caltrain: follow Luxembourg’s example with free rides or at least give us a discount — we’re students, and we’re broke! 

Route coverage

While the Caltrain covers a lot of places within the Bay, it would be great if there was some type of easier connectivity between Palo Alto and Stanford. Many professors live in San Francisco, and many students would enjoy having a more easy way of getting out of our Stanford bubble. Sometimes all we need is to leave campus to feel fulfilled and alive again. And to do so, it would be great if we didn’t have to walk for half an hour or to be afraid of getting our bikes stolen in Palo Alto.

Going round and round around the world

Overall, the Caltrain reminds me of home. As I look out the window at the green California, I remind myself of the green Austrian pines. When I look at the water, I remember the nice views of Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. Looking at the big buildings when arriving in San Francisco, I remember the surroundings of Berlin’s central station. Every time I ride on the Caltrain I remind myself of home, with every up and down side of this system. 

Even though, in essence, the whole point of public transportation is to get people moving around from one place to another, I see it as a constant. The only thing that didn’t change in my life. But it’s still brand new and unique. They create moments of reflection, nostalgia and belonging. I met people on trains that changed the way I thought about life. I also went on trains where I met no one. Riding trains around the world taught me more than instructure, they taught me to be a free soul that can go round and round. It helped me to build impossible bridges among Belgium, Brazil, Spain – which I also lived before – and the United States. Regardless of how good or bad public transportation was, they were there. They became my constant, my diplomacy symbol. Using public transportation is a way of connecting with the past versions of myself from around the globe.