Burlingame Trying To Keep Trains on Track

Where is Burlingame's money train?

The Burlingame City Council on Monday examined Caltrain's plans to electrify tracks and further upgrade its facilities in the city. That could work in favor of Burlingame's hopes of reviving the Broadway train station and easing traffic backups in the area.

The Broadway station is currently open only on weekends, but city staff have reportedly received verbal promises from San Mateo County Transportation Authority officials that the station would be reopened during weekdays as train traffic increases in the area.

City Council members hope to push forward a plan that would solve traffic congestion where the tracks cross Broadway. Council members in the past have considered plans that would include underground rail options, but such a proposal could cost $500,000. SamTrans has only $200,000 for such improvements.

When two trains pass each other at the Broadway intersection — or holdout station — there is a traffic delay of up to 14 minutes per hour, according to a report in the San Mateo Daily Journal that cites numbers from the Burlingame City staff. That delay could get worse with more, faster trains coming on electrified tracks, according to the report.

Council members suggested scaling back their proposals in order to gain support from different agencies and neighboring cities. That money could come from federal funding, as well as assistance from the Association of Bay Area Governments.

“We don’t want to waste time for something we’re not going to get,” said Burlingame Mayor Ann Keighran. “The holdout station might be an easier way to go to relieve some of that congestion. We want to see that Broadway station open again. It’s really important to the community and the merchants.”