Wanna see the future of Bay Area transportation? You’re in luck.

The transit agency has propped up about 2.6 million feet of electric wire -- enough to run alongside a third of the length of the Colorado River.

For decades, Bay Area transportation geeks have been waiting for this moment.

Caltrain’s new electric fleet — a project in the works since the early 1990s — will soon be open to the public for the very first time, with tours on July 29 allowing Bay Area residents to witness the first-ever transition from diesel locomotives in the American West, according to the transit agency.

What was once a fever dream turned into a reality nearly half a decade ago, when the Swiss-made red-and-white emblazoned trains were first revealed at their factory in Salt Lake City, offering a glimpse into one of the biggest makeovers to the region’s transportation system in years.

Set to come online for passengers in fall 2024, the trains are packed to the brim with sleek new features: dedicated Wi-Fi, an increased number of power outlets near seats, an upgraded system for announcing stops and a baby-changing station inside the bathrooms. Drab seat designs will be replaced with cleaner, futuristic-looking ones, and the interior lighting gives off a spaceship-like vibe with a new car smell. Electric service will run down the spine of Silicon Valley — 51 miles from San Francisco to San Jose’s Tamien Station. The trains are manufactured by Stadler.

On the non-gadget side of things? A shift from diesel to electric will bring less pollution, faster acceleration that could eventually equate to increased service frequency, and a regenerative power system — similar to a hybrid car — that shares energy with other trains when one of them is braking.

The transit agency has so far propped up about 2.6 million feet of electric wire for the new infrastructure, enough to run alongside a third of the length of the Colorado River.

Once the trains are up and running, passengers outside the platform will surely notice a difference in noise level. Numbers provided by Caltrain show that an idling diesel train reaches 64 decibels, about equal to the inside of a busy office. The electric trains idle at 56 decibels, about as noisy as a refrigerator.

“It’s not going to be very noticeable,” said Caltrain engineer Stephen Williams about the noise of the new motors, which zap up the seven-car trains weighing almost a million pounds with a whopping 10,600 horsepower, roughly equal to 10 of Tesla’s fastest cars combined.

Caltrain is also facing questions about how it will be able to keep service going as it faces ridership challenges in the post-pandemic era. Prior to the pandemic, the average weekday ridership was 67,728 people in April 2019. That number has dipped dramatically to 18,621 in April of this year, though it is an improvement from the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

“Our ridership is growing slowly, but surely,” said Dan Lieberman, a spokesperson for Caltrain. “We hope that the excitement over the new fleet will encourage new and returning riders to get back on board.”

Eventually, the goal is for the electric tracks to be shared with the state’s planned high-speed trains that may come in a few decades.

For the time being, Caltrain service headed down to Gilroy will continue to use diesel, since that area of southern Santa Clara County uses Union Pacific tracks. Lieberman said the transit agency is looking into powering some trains through a battery so the southern portion of the county is electrified.

Caltrain’s July 29 tours of its new trains will be held at San Jose’s Diridon Station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. RSVPs are recommended. The tour will include Caltrain giveaways, food trucks, and artwork from Eric Rewitzer, who was commissioned to create Caltrain-themed illustrations. San Francisco and San Mateo County will be hosting their own tours this year and in 2024, with dates to be announced.