Hillsdale station (Caltrain)


Hillsdale is one of three Caltrain stations in San Mateo, California. The station was temporarily closed on May 16, 2020 and is planned to reopen in fall 2020. The station is next to the Bay Meadows neighborhood and close to the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

Transit connections

Hillsdale station is well-connected by several Samtrans bus routes and one AC Transit Transbay Route, making it a hub for services to Foster City, Hillsborough, and San Mateo, with some routes extending north to San Francisco, south to Palo Alto Caltrain, east to Hayward BART, and west to Half Moon Bay and Pacifica. This station also has bus service to and from San Francisco International Airport.
Hillsdale station is also served by Samtrans' All Nighter Route 397, an all-night bus service connecting San Francisco, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport, and the El Camino Real corridor between Millbrae and Palo Alto Caltrain via East Palo Alto.
Hillsdale station is also served by shuttle routes operated by Caltrain and Commute.org.

Bay Meadows station

Until December 20, 2005, the former Bay Meadows Racetrack had the now-closed Bay Meadows stop, less than a half-mile north of Hillsdale. There was no building, just an opening in the chain link fencing where riders could access the grandstand parking lot. When Hillsdale was renovated, the platform was extended a few hundred feet to the north, eliminating the need for the separate station. Hillsdale is now the closest station to the former racetrack area.

Relocation

The City of San Mateo applied for Measure A funds to help fund a grade separation project in 2013; the majority of the $180 million project is funded from Measure A and Proposition 1A. The proposed 25th Avenue Grade Separation Project will elevate tracks in southern San Mateo, eliminating the at-grade crossing at 25th Avenue and adding grade-separated crossings at 28th and 31st Avenues, which are currently interrupted by Peninsula Corridor tracks. Tracks will rise at the maximum allowable grade, starting from where they emerge south of the State Route 92 overcrossing, to minimize the depression of 25th Avenue to maintain vertical clearance for road vehicles under the new rail bridge. The grade separation is also designed to accommodate a potential mid-line overtake required for Caltrain/HSR blended operations, which would expand the Peninsula Corridor right-of-way to up to four tracks. PCJPB awarded an $82.9 million contract to the Shimmick/Disney Joint Venture in July 2017.
As part of the grade separation project, Hillsdale station will be relocated to 28th Avenue, closer to the transit-oriented development at Bay Meadows. Preliminary renderings show the new Hillsdale station will be an island platform generally extending south from 28th, with parking provided east of the tracks. Construction began in fall 2017 and is scheduled to complete in spring 2021.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the project was held on September 26, 2017.
The existing parking lot at Hillsdale will be closed starting in 2018, and a temporary lot, accessible from 28th, 31st, and Delaware, will serve Hillsdale. After construction of the new Hillsdale station is complete, the temporary lot will be upgraded and serve as the new permanent lot.