Caltrain begins overnight track work to improve rail grinding

Caltrain is warning people who live near its tracks that they may hear noises in the weeks ahead. That's because a big rail-grinding project started Wednesday.

The work has to be done when there are no trains in service, to minimize the effects it has on passengers. But residents living near the tracks may have trouble sleeping through it.

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"At night there's going to be a large rail car going down the rails and sort of just scraping them down, keeping them smooth and making sure that people have a smooth, safe ride," said Dan Lieberman, a SamTrans spokesperson.

The rail grinding work happens every 5 to 6 years. The three-week project starts in San Francisco and heads south ending up in San Jose.

The work shouldn't take more than 2 nights at any location, according to officials.

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Residents still are not excited about the track work which will take place overnight from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. and it could be loud.

"I think it will be worth it in the long run. I don't know how much of an impact it will have on the street side facing. It might be kind of rough on them. But I don't see what other option they had," said Nicole Chontofalsky, a Belmont resident.

This entire project is expected to be completed by May 19th.