A train station shows up on the map at the foot of Broadway in Burlingame, but according to Caltrain's own station page, it runs only on weekends. Under the current plan, that platform will be gone for good once the railroad is raised over Broadway.
If you're comparing parts of Burlingame and some of the homes on your list sit near the Broadway business district, this changes the picture. The big infrastructure project coming to the area will make the crossing safer. It will not add a station, and it will not bring the transit-oriented redevelopment plan the city once had for the area. Buyers here are buying the transit access and building rules that exist now, with a construction period ahead of them.
A station that runs two days a week
Weekday trains stopped at Broadway in 2005, CBS San Francisco reported. For years, local merchants pushed to bring weekday service back. That included a change.org petition and a public campaign by John Kevranian, the longtime president of the Broadway Business Improvement District and owner of Nuts for Candy.
Caltrain has raised practical objections. According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, the agency cited more traffic congestion at a crossing that already struggles, plus a station layout that makes passengers cross live tracks. The Burlingame City Council did not pursue reopening it. Kevranian resigned from the BID effective November 30, 2025. His letter, quoted by the Daily Journal, said: "When weekday service was removed over 20 years ago, the negative impact was immediate and profound."
The weekend-only station isn't a temporary inconvenience waiting on a fix. Once the station-free redesign was adopted, this became the permanent arrangement for the platform.
The redesign gave up the platform to fund the crossing
The decision came down to cost. A grade separation design that kept a rebuilt station was estimated at $889 million, more than double the original price, according to the Daily Journal. In March 2025, the City Council agreed to move forward without a Broadway station. That also removed the need for temporary "shoofly" tracks to carry trains around the work zone.
Here is what the project delivers now. On its project page, Caltrain describes raising the railroad, keeping pedestrian and bicycle access along Broadway, and adding new underpasses at Cadillac Way and Sanchez Avenue. The California Public Utilities Commission ranks Broadway as the highest-priority grade separation in the state. When the project is done, nearby homes get a safer crossing and new ways under the tracks, but no added train service.
The schedule so far:
| Milestone | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Council directs a design without a Broadway station | March 2025 | Caltrain |
| Agencies approve the agreement to complete 65% design | August 2025 | Caltrain |
| 65% design completed, cost estimate updated | June 2026 | Caltrain |
| 100% design work begins | Reported September 23, 2026 | Caltrain committee presentation |
| Earliest construction start | November 2028, subject to funding | Caltrain |
| Forecast completion | 2032 per the Transportation Authority; September 5, 2033 per Caltrain's Q1 2026 report | Daily Journal; Caltrain |
For this post's publication date at the end of October 2026, that puts the earliest construction start about two years away. The finish is six or seven years away. A household planning to stay five to seven years could own through most of the construction period, depending on when work actually begins.
Why the dates and the dollars come in two versions
The project's numbers keep changing, and that tells you something about how firm the timeline is.
In June 2026, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority approved $21.6 million in Measure A funds for final design. It also programmed $321.6 million for right-of-way and construction, contingent on a federal Railroad Crossing Elimination grant. In the Daily Journal's June 9, 2026 coverage, TA project delivery director Jess Manzi said the federal request was just above $90 million. She also said a "Phase One, bare-bones construction cost" of $380 million would have no funding gap if that grant came through. U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin secured another $3 million, and Mayor Michael Brownrigg called the federal government "the missing picture piece."
After that, Caltrain completed the 65% design and raised its total project estimate to $662 million. That covers planning, design, environmental work, property, utilities, construction and oversight. Caltrain's September 23, 2026 committee presentation said the federal grant application had been submitted. It did not report an award. Caltrain itself says the estimate will be updated again at 95% design and that delays add cost.
So any construction date you see should be read as "if funding comes through." November 2028 is the earliest possible start, and nobody has committed to it.
What ending the Broadway plan left standing
The second decision matters just as much to buyers. On April 7, 2025, the City Council voted 5–0 to adopt Resolution 030-2025, which ended further work on the Broadway Specific Plan. That plan was a proposed revamp of the area with mixed-use, transit-oriented development. Without a station, the city dropped it.
Ending the plan did not reduce what can be built. According to the council minutes, city staff described the existing Broadway Mixed Use District this way:
- Up to 50 dwelling units per acre
- Heights of 35 feet, or up to 46 feet with a special permit
- A floor-area ratio of 2
- Adjacent R3 blocks that also allow 50 units per acre
The Daily Journal reported at the time that existing standards already allowed more housing and bigger buildings than what stood there, and that the city could encourage private development without the plan.
Put the two decisions together and the outlook for the area becomes clearer. The station and the redevelopment plan that might have changed Broadway's character are both off the table. The building capacity already in the zoning code is still there. Near-term change around Broadway is likely to come one parcel at a time under existing rules, followed eventually by the rail work. These zoning figures summarize public records and are general information, not legal advice. Before relying on them for a specific property, confirm what applies with the City of Burlingame or a land-use professional.
Pricing a Broadway-area home in a 109% market
None of this has slowed Burlingame's market overall. According to the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, Burlingame single-family homes in Q3 2026 sold at a median of $3,450,000 across 57 sales. They averaged 14 days on market and sold at 109% of list price. In Q3 2025, the median was $2,947,500. For September 2026 alone, the median was $3,195,000 on just 15 sales, with 18 days on market and 109% of list. County-wide, the Q3 2026 median was $2,102,000, at 106% of list.
These figures cover the whole city, and the samples are small. They don't break out homes near the tracks, and nothing in them shows a price premium or discount for being near Broadway. What they do show is that bidding in Burlingame regularly goes above asking. In practice, a buyer competing for a home near Broadway pays the city's going rate, and the transit situation around that home won't change for years.
That calls for a few specific checks before you write an offer:
- Measure the commute from the actual address. Don't count the closest platform on the map. Broadway has no weekday trains, and the redesign won't add any.
- Place the home relative to the project. Know how close it is to Broadway, Cadillac Way and Sanchez Avenue, where the planned underpasses would go.
- Read the zoning on nearby lots. Under current standards, the parcels next door may allow more than what stands on them today.
- Plan your timeline around 2028 to 2033. Treat that range as a possible construction period, not a schedule anyone has committed to.
FAQ
Is the Broadway Caltrain station closing now? No. Caltrain's station page lists weekend service at Broadway today. The station-free design applies to the future grade separation.
When will construction start near Broadway? Caltrain says construction could begin as soon as November 2028, subject to funding. Caltrain had not announced a traffic plan or closure schedule for Broadway.
Will Broadway get bigger buildings now that the Specific Plan is gone? The plan's end left existing zoning in place, including 50 units per acre in the Broadway Mixed Use District. The Daily Journal reported that those standards already allowed more than what stood on the ground when the plan ended.
If you're weighing a home near Broadway and want help reading it against the project schedule, the zoning around it and the sales nearby, Cheryl Bower can go through the details with you before you set an offer price. If you already own near the crossing, start with a home valuation based on current Burlingame sales.
