Jump to content

Millbrae station

From Alfawiki
Millbrae station
Company typeTransit station
IndustryPublic transportation
Founded1864
Headquarters
Millbrae, California
,
United States
ProductsBART, Caltrain, SamTrans, shuttle services

Millbrae station serves as a key intermodal transit center for both Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain in Millbrae, California. It acts as the terminal station for BART on the San Francisco Peninsula, where the line operates until 9pm and the line runs during early morning and late evening periods. The facility supports all Caltrain routes and offers connections to SamTrans buses, shuttles operated by Commute.org and Caltrain, along with various local shuttle services.

Rail operations at this location commenced in 1864 with the establishment of 17 Mile House station on property granted by Darius Ogden Mills, which was renamed Millbrae a year later. The station underwent reconstruction twice following fires in 1890 and 1907. The 1907 depot, preserved from demolition in 1976, was officially recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 2002, a contemporary intermodal terminal was inaugurated, combining BART and Caltrain services. Subsequently, the historic building was restored and transformed into a railway museum that opened its doors in 2004.

Station layout

Millbrae station is equipped with five tracks and three platforms at ground level, complemented by a fare mezzanine above. On the western side are Caltrain tracks; the southbound track is served by a side platform, while the northbound track shares half of an island platform with BART. Just south of Millbrae Avenue, the northbound track divides to create a triple-track section allowing trains to pass. Extending beyond the BART zone, the northbound platform continues as a side platform serving this diverging track.

BART operates three tracks at this station: the westernmost track aligns with the east side of the northbound Caltrain platform, facilitating a cross-platform transfer between northbound trains. The remaining two tracks share an island platform but primarily function as storage tracks due to ridership numbers falling short of projections; only the western track sees regular service.

Amenities include a parking garage accommodating 2,200 vehicles with direct access to the mezzanine level, bus bays, and surface parking lots situated on the east side. On the west side, there is a smaller busway paired with an additional parking lot dedicated to Caltrain users.

Artworks on display along the BART platform consist of six sculptures embedded within concrete blocks that symbolize different phases of local history, alongside forty-two terrazzo benches illustrating regional nature and heritage.

Former stations

In 1862, following his acquisition of Rancho Buri Buri from José de la Cruz Sánchez, Darius Ogden Mills granted land to the then-under-construction San Francisco and San Jose Railroad for building a station to serve his estate. The railroad began operation in October 1863; the adobe structure named 17 Mile House opened in 1864 and was renamed Millbrae in 1865. Soon after, Southern Pacific Railroad took over operations for its Peninsula Commute service. The original station succumbed to fire in 1890.

After another blaze in 1906 destroyed it, a new two-story depot featuring colonnades was constructed in 1907 on the west side of the tracks just south of Millbrae Avenue. Plans by Southern Pacific in 1976 to demolish this building coincided with proposals to end Peninsula Commute service (which later became public Caltrain). Preservation efforts successfully resulted in its listing on the National Register of Historic Places as the Southern Pacific Depot on September 1, 1978. In August 1980, it was relocated slightly southward to allow expansion of Millbrae Avenue.

Modern station

As part of the BART SFO Extension, a new $70 million intermodal facility was constructed in Millbrae to serve BART, Caltrain, and SamTrans, officially opening on June 22, 2003. Initially, the station was served by the Pittsburg/Bay Point line along with an SFO shuttle service; however, the shuttle was discontinued in February 2004. Subsequent service modifications included the Richmond line operating during peak hours, while off-peak periods were covered by the Pittsburg/Bay Point line.

Funding for BART operations within San Mateo County comes from SamTrans, which experienced higher subsidy demands than anticipated due to lower ridership numbers. To manage expenses, BART reduced service in 2005 so that only the Dublin/Pleasanton line served both SFIA and Millbrae stations. In 2007, SamTrans transferred operational control and financial responsibility for the SFO/Millbrae extension to BART, accompanied by secured fixed funding.

Starting in 2008, service levels increased with the Richmond line providing weekday trips to Millbrae and the Dublin/Pleasanton line covering evenings and weekends; direct connections between SFIA and Millbrae were discontinued at this time. In 2009, the Pittsburg/Bay Point line extended its reach to Millbrae during nights and weekends, restoring direct service once again. Despite forecasts predicting 16,500 daily boardings by 2017, actual ridership remained below 7,000.

Service patterns continued to evolve over time: in 2019, the SFO–Millbrae line resumed operations on weekdays and Sundays; by 2020 it ran continuously throughout all hours with the Antioch line limited to SFIA. The SFO–Millbrae line ceased operation in August 2021 and was replaced by extensions of the Richmond line to SFIA on weekdays and Saturdays, while the Antioch line served Millbrae during evenings and Sundays. Sunday service on the Richmond (Red Line) began in February 2022; by September 2023, the Red Line operated around the clock between Millbrae and Richmond via SFO, with Millbrae serving as the terminal. Since January 2025, a shuttle has run between SFO and Millbrae during evening hours to accommodate Communications Based Train Control upgrades.

Following Caltrain's relocation to the modern facility, the historic station building was converted into the Millbrae Train Museum managed by the Millbrae Historical Society starting October 2004. The nearby Pullman car Civic Center, constructed in 1941 for the City of San Francisco train, was added as a museum exhibit in 2006. Future plans involve acquiring a locomotive and installing track infrastructure to support excursion train services.

Originally surrounded by four expansive surface parking lots and a busway located east of the tracks, these areas began redevelopment into a mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) called Gateway at Millbrae Station starting in 2020. All surface parking lots were closed by March 2020; meanwhile, the busway ceased operation in May 2020 with bus stops relocated accordingly. Temporary closures of the east entrance occurred in early 2022, though access to the parking garage remained available. The completed TOD project (2023) features 400 residential units, a hotel with 164 rooms, and roughly of office space.

Future

Millbrae has been designated as a future station for California High-Speed Rail. Senate Bill 1029 (2012) allocated funding specifically for extending Caltrain platforms to accommodate high-speed rail trains. The station will undergo expansion to support this upcoming service.

Transit connections

Millbrae station offers access to a variety of bus lines and shuttle services, including:

Adjacent to the southbound Caltrain platform is a dedicated busway accommodating the Burlingame-North Shuttle, Broadway Millbrae Shuttle, as well as SamTrans routes 38, 397, and 713. The SamTrans ECR route stops along El Camino Real, located west of the station. The majority of shuttle services make their stops on Rollins Road, which lies to the east of the station.


External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Millbrae_station&oldid=14587"