Burlingame's Weekend-Only Broadway Caltrain Stop Is Not in the Grade Separation Plan

"Caltrain is committed to restoring weekday service at Broadway station once the Broadway/Burlingame Grade Separation Project is completed."

Caltrain staff wrote that sentence in a December 5, 2024 reply to a Burlingame rider who had asked why the Broadway station sat empty all week. The reply laid out a simple sequence. First the tracks get rebuilt, then the platform gets fixed, and then weekday trains come back to Broadway.

That sequence is gone. Three months after the letter, the Burlingame City Council chose a cheaper version of the project that leaves out the Broadway station entirely. The project will still lift the tracks above Broadway. When it's finished, though, the stop at the crossing won't reopen in better shape. It won't exist. Until then, the weekend trains keep stopping, and how long that lasts depends on when construction starts.

How the Broadway Stop Works Right Now

Broadway is a weekend station. Under the weekend timetable that took effect January 31, 2026, it gets 33 scheduled trains in each direction on each weekend day.

That last train, just past midnight, is the reason the stop still matters on a Saturday night. You can head to the city for dinner or a game, ride home late, and walk back from Broadway instead of driving to a station with paid parking.

The weekday gap comes down to how the station is built. In the same 2024 letter, Caltrain explained that the station's configuration keeps two trains from being in the station at the same time, and that passengers using northbound trains have to cross the southbound tracks to reach them. Running weekday service under those conditions would cause significant delays across the system and keep the crossing gates down longer for cars on Broadway. The letter also named the weekday alternative: drive to the Burlingame Avenue station and pay to park.

At the time, Caltrain framed that layout as the problem the grade separation would fix. Under the current design, the layout goes away and no new platform takes its place.

The March 2025 Vote That Dropped the Station

By early 2024, updated estimates had pushed the cost of the original project up sharply. Caltrain, the City of Burlingame and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority went back and reconsidered the scope. In March 2025, the City Council looked at four options. The San Mateo Daily Journal reported their estimated prices:

• Plan at the time, with a rebuilt station: nearly $889 million
• First option that kept a station: $679 million
• Second option that kept a station: $638 million
• No station: $615 million, the least expensive of the four

The no-station option came in about $274 million below the plan the city had been carrying. It also trimmed more than the platform. Caltrain says the change let the project drop a set of temporary tracks, known as a shoofly, that would have carried trains around the work zone during construction.

The Daily Journal's coverage showed the debate was about more than cost. Some residents opposed the denser, low-parking zoning that tends to come with a station. Others wanted the station kept for the foot traffic it brings to Broadway businesses and for the chance to drive less. The council went with the no-station design. In May 2025 it unanimously agreed to put $3.8 million in city funds toward the redesign, after the redesign estimate was lowered from $19.9 million to $15.3 million, the Daily Journal reported.

In August 2025, the Caltrain board, SMCTA and the city approved an agreement to take that slimmer design to 65 percent completion. Staff finished that milestone in June 2026.

What the Crossing Gets Instead of a Platform

According to Caltrain's project page, the project will raise the railroad so trains and traffic no longer meet at street level on Broadway. The work also focuses on safety for cars and pedestrians at the nearby intersections with California Drive, Carolan Avenue and Rollins Road.

For people on foot or on bikes, the design keeps access along Broadway and adds two new pedestrian underpasses beneath the tracks, one at Cadillac Way and one at Sanchez Avenue, along with connected walking and biking improvements. Those underpasses survived the cost-cutting. An August 2025 value-engineering presentation had listed removing the pedestrian tunnels as one option under review. The current project description includes both.

There's a reason this crossing gets this much money and attention. The California Public Utilities Commission has named Broadway the highest-priority grade separation project in California. The same tracks also carry Union Pacific trains on the only freight rail link between San Jose and San Francisco. The project is about the crossing. The station was the part the budget couldn't cover.

The Funding That Sets the Clock

Caltrain now estimates the full project at $662 million, covering planning, design, environmental work, property, utilities, construction and oversight. It says construction could begin as soon as November 2028, subject to funding.

That $662 million is already higher than it was. In March 2025, Caltrain priced the no-station design at $615 million if construction started in 2026, and $653 million if it started in 2028. The station is gone, and the cost still went up, because waiting costs money. Caltrain says its goal is to start construction as soon as possible to avoid further cost increases from delay.

The funding has come in steps, and each one moves the start date closer or farther:

1. June 2026: SMCTA recommended $21.6 million in Measure A grade separation funds for 100 percent final design. It also set aside more Measure A and Measure W money for property and construction, on the condition that a federal award comes through and a realistic funding plan exists.
2. July 2026: Caltrain's project update listed up to $273.6 million for property and construction, contingent on the federal grant, plus a joint $90 million request to the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Crossing Elimination program and $3 million in federal Community Project Funding secured for fiscal year 2026.
3. August 2026: At the board's August 6 meeting, SMCTA's executive director reported that $70 million in state funding for the Broadway project had been restored, according to the draft minutes in the September 3 board packet.
4. September 23, 2026: A presentation to Caltrain's board committee confirmed the federal grant application had been submitted, the 65 percent redesign had been received and reviewed in July, and the team was beginning 100 percent design.

The $90 million federal request is the piece the construction money depends on. Most of the county's construction dollars are tied to it.

What the Next Few Years Look Like Around Broadway

As of November 2026, Broadway is still a weekend stop with the same timetable, and the crossing still works the way it always has, gates and all. The project is in final design, with no construction underway.

The milestone to watch is the construction start, which Caltrain puts no earlier than November 2028. The no-station design also removed the temporary tracks that would have routed trains around a construction zone. When the station closes depends on the construction schedule, and the construction schedule depends on the funding steps above.

For anyone who walks to Broadway for the late train home, the long-term alternative is the one Caltrain already pointed to in 2024: the Burlingame Avenue station. The 2024 promise of weekday trains at Broadway no longer applies, and in its place the plan offers a crossing with no gates and two new underpasses at Cadillac Way and Sanchez Avenue.

If you own a home near Broadway, you've probably wondered how a crossing that is still years from construction affects what buyers see and ask about. Watson Marshall Group follows the project schedule closely and can walk you through what it means for your property's value today. Request a Home Valuation, and we'll include the Broadway timeline in your pricing discussion.