Millbrae station is an intermodal transit station serving
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and
Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
, located in
Millbrae, California
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake t ...
. The station is the
terminal station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...
for BART on the
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alt ...
, served by two lines: The before 9 pm and the evenings. It is served by all Caltrain service. The station is also served by
SamTrans
SamTrans (stylized as samTrans; officially the San Mateo County Transit District) is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into port ...
bus service,
Commute.org and Caltrain shuttle buses, and other shuttles.
Rail service to the area began with 17 Mile House station, which opened in 1864 on land deeded by
Darius Ogden Mills
Darius Ogden Mills (September 25, 1825 – January 3, 1910) was a prominent American banker and philanthropist. For a time, he was California's wealthiest citizen.
Early life
Mills was born in North Salem, in Westchester County, New York ...
; it was renamed Millbrae the next year. The station was rebuilt in 1890 and 1907 after twice burning down. The 1907-built station was threatened with demolition in 1976, but was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1978. A modern intermodal terminal opened in 2002, connecting BART and Caltrain for the first time. The older station building was restored for use as a railway museum, which opened in 2004.
Station layout
![Two BART trains at Millbrae station, June 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Two_BART_trains_at_Millbrae_station%2C_June_2018.JPG)
Millbrae station has five tracks and three platforms at ground level, with a fare concourse on a mezzanine level above. The Caltrain tracks are on the west side of the station. The westernmost (southbound) track has a
side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...
; the northbound track uses half of an
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
shared with BART. South of the Millbrae Avenue bridge, the northbound track splits in two to form a triple-track section to allow passing trains. The northbound platform extends past the BART area as a side platform, and curves to serve the diverging track.
BART has three tracks; the western track serves the east side of the northbound Caltrain platform (with faregates between the two systems), allowing a
cross-platform connection between northbound service. The other two tracks serve an island platform. Because ridership at Millbrae is lower than expected, only the western track is used in regular service; the other two tracks are used for train storage.
A 2,200-space parking garage (with direct access to the mezzanine), busway, and surface parking lots are located on the east side of the station. A smaller busway and parking lot for Caltrain are on the west side.
The BART platform at Millbrae has six sculptures partially embedded in concrete blocks, with each figure representing a different era in community history. Forty-two terrazzo benches installed at the station show scenes of local nature and history.
History
Former stations
In 1862, after buying a section of
Rancho Buri Buri Rancho Buri Buri (also called Sánchez Rancho) was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California, given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Antonio Sánchez. The name derives from the Urebure village of the Ramaytush spe ...
from
José de la Cruz Sánchez
José de la Cruz Sánchez (November 8, 1799 – 1878) was a Californio statesman and ranchero who served as the eleventh Alcalde of San Francisco.
Life
José de la Cruz Sánchez was born November 8, 1799, in Santa Clara, California. He was ...
,
Darius Ogden Mills
Darius Ogden Mills (September 25, 1825 – January 3, 1910) was a prominent American banker and philanthropist. For a time, he was California's wealthiest citizen.
Early life
Mills was born in North Salem, in Westchester County, New York ...
deeded land to the under-construction
San Francisco and San Jose Railroad
The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ) was a railroad which linked the communities of San Francisco and San Jose, California, running the length of the San Francisco Peninsula. The company incorporated in 1860 and was one of the first ra ...
in exchange for a station to allow guests to visit his estate. The line opened in October 1863; the adobe 17 Mile House station opened in 1864 and was renamed Millbrae the next year.
The line was soon taken over by the
Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) for its
Peninsula Commute
The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a ...
service. The station burned in 1890.
The station burned again in 1906 and was replaced with a two-story colonnade-style depot of standard SP design the next year.
It was located on the west side of the tracks just south of Millbrae Avenue. In 1976, preparing to discontinue the money-losing Peninsula Commute (which instead became publicly funded as
Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
), the SP proposed to tear down the station.
However, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
as the Southern Pacific Depot on September 1, 1978, after efforts by the newly formed Millbrae Historical Society.
In August 1980, the building was moved south to make room for a widening of Millbrae Avenue.
Modern station
![Civic Center at Millbrae station, June 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Civic_Center_at_Millbrae_station%2C_June_2018.JPG)
As part of the
BART SFO Extension, a new intermodal terminal for BART, Caltrain, and Samtrans was built in Millbrae just north of Millbrae Avenue. BART service to the $70 million facility began on June 22, 2003.
The station was initially served by the
Pittsburg/Bay Point line, plus
a shuttle service to
San Francisco International Airport station
San Francisco International Airport station (often abbreviated SFO or SFIA) is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) terminal station located adjacent to Garage G inside the San Francisco International Airport. The elevated station is a transfer point ...
(SFIA).
The shuttle service was discontinued on February 9, 2004. The
Richmond line began serving Millbrae at weekday peak hours, with the Pittsburg/Bay Point line providing service at other times.
BART service to stations in San Mateo County is funded by
SamTrans
SamTrans (stylized as samTrans; officially the San Mateo County Transit District) is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into port ...
, rather than county tax revenues. As ridership stayed below expectations, SamTrans had to pay a larger-than-planned operating subsidy to BART. On September 12, 2005, in order to lower these subsidies, BART reduced service so that only the
Dublin/Pleasanton line served SFIA and Millbrae stations. SamTrans and BART reached an agreement in February 2007 in which SamTrans would transfer control and financial responsibility of the SFO/Millbrae extension to BART, in return for BART receiving additional fixed funding from SamTrans and other sources.
On January 1, 2008, BART increased service to the San Mateo stations. Service to Millbrae station was provided by the Richmond line on weekdays, and the Dublin/Pleasanton line on weeknights and weekends. Direct service between SFIA and Millbrae was discontinued. On September 14, 2009, the Pittsburg/Bay Point line was extended to Millbrae on nights and weekends (with the Dublin/Pleasanton line cut back to
Daly City station
Daly City station is an elevated Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Daly City, California, just south of the city limits of San Francisco. It is adjacent to Interstate 280 and California Route 1, which it serves as a park-and-ride statio ...
), restoring direct service at those times. Millbrae station was expected to have some 16,500 daily BART boardings by 2017, but has consistently fallen well short of projections, with under 7,000 daily boardings by then.
On February 11, 2019,
SFO–Millbrae line
The SFO–Millbrae line (also known as the SFO–Millbrae shuttle) was a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shuttle line in the San Francisco Bay Area that ran between Millbrae station and San Francisco International Airport station (SFO). The line ...
service resumed on weekdays and Sundays. The station continues to be served by the Richmond line on weekdays, with the Antioch line (formerly the Pittsburg/Bay Point line) serving both SFIA and Millbrae on weeknights and Saturdays. On February 10, 2020, the SFO–Millbrae line began running during all operating hours, with the Antioch line operating only to SFIA. SFO–Millbrae service ended on August 2, 2021; it was replaced by an extension of the Richmond line to SFIA weekdays and Saturdays, and an extension of the Antioch line to Millbrae evenings and Sundays. Richmond service began operating on Sundays effective February 14, 2022, with Antioch serving Millbrae only during evenings.
Caltrain no longer needed the historic station building after operations moved to the modern station. The Millbrae Historical Society negotiated with Caltrain to use the building as a museum in exchange for maintaining it. The Millbrae Train Museum opened in October 2004.
In 2006,
Pullman car ''Civic Center'', built in 1941 for the ''
City of San Francisco'', was moved adjacent to the station and opened as an exhibit.
The Society plans to acquire a locomotive and construct a section of track to run excursion service.
As built, Millbrae station had four large surface parking lots and a busway on the east side of the tracks. Construction of a mixed-use
transit-oriented development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between ...
project, Gateway at Millbrae Station, began replacing the surface lots in 2020. The first lot closed on January 25, the second on February 22, and the remaining two on March 23. The busway closed on May 18, 2020, with bus and shuttle stops relocated. The east surface entrance and elevator were temporarily closed on February 1, 2022, with access to the garage maintained directly from the station concourse.
Future
Millbrae is planned to be a
California High-Speed Rail
California High-Speed Rail (also known as CAHSR or CHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system currently under construction in California in the United States. Planning for the project began in 1996, when the California Legislature and Gover ...
station. Senate Bill 1029, passed in 2012, provided funds to lengthen the Caltrain platforms for future high-speed rail trains. The station is to be expanded to accommodate the service.
Transit connections
![SamTrans Airport Flyer bus at Millbrae station, July 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/SamTrans_Airport_Flyer_bus_at_Millbrae_station%2C_July_2018.JPG)
Millbrae station is served by a number of bus routes and shuttles:
*
Commute.org shuttles: Burlingame Bayside, North Burlingame, North Foster City
*
Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
:
Broadway/Millbrae shuttle
*
Flixbus
*
Genentech shuttle
*
SamTrans
SamTrans (stylized as samTrans; officially the San Mateo County Transit District) is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into port ...
: , , ,
*
Sierra Point shuttle
A busway adjacent to the southbound Caltrain platform is used by the Burlingame-North Shuttle, Broadway Millbrae Shuttle, and SamTrans routes 38, 397, and 713. SamTrans route ECR stops on
El Camino Real to the west of the station. Most of the shuttle services stop on Rollins Road east of the station.
References
External links
Caltrain - MillbraeBART - Millbrae*Google Maps Street View
BART entranceCaltrain entrance
{{Bay Area Rail Stations
Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in San Mateo County, California
Stations on the Antioch–SFO+Millbrae line
Stations on the Richmond–Millbrae+SFO line
Caltrain stations in San Mateo County, California
Bus stations in San Mateo County, California
Millbrae, California
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1907
Proposed California High-Speed Rail stations
Bay Area Rapid Transit stations located above ground